Welcome to the latest edition of the Silverpeak software M&A report, a biannual review of European and North American deal activity within the software sector.
Our dataset includes over 25,000 software M&A transactions from 2019 to 2024 and combines data from Capital IQ and Pitchbook.
Key findings:
- Q1 2025 starts similarly strong as 2024, however median deal value has almost doubled
- The mid-market continues steady and stable growth, and mega deals have returned
- In all deals that disclosed both EV/R and EV/EBITDA ratios, EV/EBITDA decreased, while EV/Rev increased suggesting a focus on profitability
- Disclosed European software M&A deals under $1b have not exhibited the same market growth as North America
- Strategic buyers dominate the deals over $1b, marking a change from the typical PE buyouts
- The level of strategic acquisitions has remained stable over the past 12 months, suggesting PE still active in the mid-market
- European buyers have drastically increased their share of European targets in the past 3 months