Private Equity Deal Activity Trends summary
Private equity may be leading the charge, but all buyers are navigating the same headwinds: macroeconomic uncertainty, elevated financing costs, and heightened diligence expectations.
In response, dealmakers are:
- Chasing fewer, higher-conviction opportunities.
- Doubling down on strategic fit and scalability.
- Relying on proprietary networks and benchmark data to validate targets.
This report provides data and insights into sector performance, shifts in deal types, and winning strategies.
Key trends include:
- Private equity leads M&A share: Private equity buyers drove 53% of M&A activity in H1 2025 despite overall volume slowing.
- Add-ons accelerate: Private equity firms executed 2.7 add-ons per platform in H1 2025, above the multi-year average of 2.4.
- Selective sourcing pays off: Conversion rates increased to 27% for deals sourced in Q2 2024, marking the first improvement after several quarters of decline.
