Each year, right after the Labor Day holiday, members of the Association for Corporate Growth (ACG) gather to discuss M&A during the ACG Great Lakes Capital Connection conference. This year Grand Rapids, Michigan, hosted the event and delivered on the expectation that with each passing year, this meeting gets better and better. ACG is one of the largest groups of M&A professionals focused on lower to middle market companies, and attendees include individuals from private equity firms all across the U.S.
Earlier this spring, we reported market optimism — despite tariff concerns and overall lagging M&A activity — and plenty of capital looking for a good home. Just a few short months later, many are disappointed in the “sleepy” volume of market transactions to date for 2025. However, many groups have noticed a recent uptick in deal activity — giving hope to conference attendees as we head toward 2026. But is this optimism similar to the market expectations we had earlier this year, which turned out to be a “head fake”? Will this optimism lead to more disappointment for glass-half-full investment bankers and private equity groups, or more transactions heating up in Q4 and beyond?
Of course, time is the true measure. What we know for sure is that the fundamentals of the market remain healthy. There is plenty of capital available for acquisitions, and valuation multiples remain elevated. Although it’s a great time for closely held companies to go to market, cyclicality — the unpredictable and often severe impact of economic boom-and-bust cycles — remains one of the top deal killers. Tariffs also remain a dominant topic, and rightful concern, and those companies affected should expect a great amount of buyer due diligence.
Bottom line, private companies who are ready to sell can expect a broad audience and good valuations as long as EBITDA has been trending up and tariffs can be managed or, better yet, are irrelevant to your deal.
Contact Jim Lisy or a member of your service team to discuss this topic further.
In this blog Cohen & Co is not rendering legal, accounting, investment, tax or other professional advice. Rather, the information contained in this blog is for general informational purposes only. Any decisions or actions based on the general information contained in this blog should be made or taken only after a detailed review of the specific facts, circumstances and current law with your professional advisers.