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:
- There was some early hope that deal activity may increase during 2024. However, the data shows that 2024 has remained relatively on par with 2023, both in terms of deal volume and valuations.
- Valuation multiples show an increased focus on EBITDA as investors are targeting profitability over growth, with the <$1bn North American and European markets, ranging between 14x-17x.
- The two of the largest deals in 2024 in our dataset (Ansys & Altair) focus on AI-adjacent verticals as large strategics continue to try to gain a competitive advantage in this space.
- Three of the five largest deals in North America and Europe were take-private transactions, signalling that public ownership remains less attractive than private ownership.