Mid-Market M&A 2026: Why Quality Assets Command Record Multiples
The headline numbers mislead. European mid-market deal volume in the first half of 2026 is roughly flat against last year, and commentators have called the market "hesitant". Yet in the processes we are running, well-prepared companies are receiving more offers, from more countries, at higher multiples than at any point since 2021. Both things are true — and the gap between them is the story.
A market of two speeds
Capital has not left the market; it has become more selective. Private equity is sitting on record uncommitted capital with a shrinking investment window, and strategic acquirers have repaired their balance sheets. What has changed is the definition of an acceptable target. Buyers who once accepted concentration risks, thin management benches or unaudited figures now walk away — or price the weakness twice over.
The result is a two-speed market. Companies that arrive prepared — clean data, credible plans, de-risked operations — face genuine competition among buyers. Companies that arrive unprepared face a buyer's market of one.
What "quality" actually means to a buyer
- Earnings the buyer can keep. Recurring or repeat revenue, contracts that survive a change of control, and margins that don't depend on the founder's personal relationships.
- A second layer of management. The single most common reason offers come in below expectation is a company that cannot run without its seller.
- Numbers that survive diligence. Every finding a buyer's advisers discover late is priced at a multiple of its size.
The implication for owners
If you are considering a sale within three years, the market is telling you precisely where the return on preparation lies. The premium for quality is real, measurable and — unlike interest rates or geopolitics — entirely within your control.
We expect the divergence to persist through 2027. Sellers who use the intervening time deliberately will meet the strongest side of this market; those who wait for a "better year" may find the calendar was never the constraint.
"The market is not hesitant. It is discriminating. That is a different problem — with a controllable solution."
Alexander Vogel, Managing PartnerDiscuss what this means for your company.
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