Recent Mergers and Acquisition Activity: The 2024-2026 Deal Landscape (2026)

The pace of recent mergers and acquisition activity from late 2024 through Q2 2026 is the most informative signal a private business owner has about exit value, buyer appetite, and deal structure. Waste Management closed its $7.2 billion takeover of Stericycle in November 2024 (largest acquisition in WM history per the company’s 10-K), Optum finalized the $16.5 billion Catalent purchase later that same year, and Imperial Dade announced its $10 billion roll-up move in March 2026 (Bloomberg). Below is a structured read of what closed, who is buying, which sectors are concentrated, and what that means for owners weighing a sale in 2026.

What This Actually Means

“Recent mergers and acquisition activity” is shorthand for the deals that have closed or been announced in the trailing 18 to 24 months. Those deals are the cleanest evidence available about how buyers are pricing risk, what multiples they are paying by sector, what structures (cash, stock, earnout, rollover) they are using, and where capital is flowing. Public deal announcements from strategic acquirers and PE platforms set the ceiling that mid-market and lower-middle-market valuations cluster beneath.

For a founder-owned business sitting in the $2M to $50M revenue range, the public deals matter for two reasons. First, the strategic acquirer paying 14x EBITDA for a public target is the same acquirer rolling up smaller platforms at 6x to 10x. Second, the PE platform that just closed at $1B is now hunting tuck-in acquisitions in the $5M to $25M range to add scale, which is where lower-middle-market sellers actually transact.

The 2024-2026 cycle is distinct from prior years in three specific ways. Deal volume is still below the 2021 peak (PitchBook 2026 M&A Activity Report), but quality and concentration are up: fewer deals, bigger checks, and a clear sector bias toward healthcare, home services, environmental, and industrial distribution. Private credit, not banks, is funding the bulk of sub-$1B deals (Bain & Co 2025 M&A Report). And continuation vehicles plus minority recaps are taking share from full-control buyouts, especially in family-owned businesses.

The Ten Recent Deals Every Seller Should Know

WM Acquires Stericycle for $7.2 Billion (November 2024)

Waste Management closed its acquisition of Stericycle in November 2024 at a $7.2 billion enterprise value, calling it the largest acquisition in WM’s history (WM press release, November 4, 2024). The deal added medical waste, secure information destruction (Shred-it), and regulated waste services to WM’s solid-waste backbone. The implied EBITDA multiple was approximately 14x trailing, and the deal was financed with a mix of senior notes and revolver. For sellers in environmental services, hazmat, medical waste, document destruction, and adjacent regulated-waste lanes, this single transaction reset expectations: the strategic acquirer pool is consolidating and paying premium multiples for compliance-heavy, recurring-revenue waste platforms.

Optum / Catalent at $16.5 Billion (Closed Late 2024)

Optum, the UnitedHealth Group services arm, closed its $16.5 billion purchase of Catalent in late 2024 after a 2023 announcement. Catalent provides pharma manufacturing and packaging services, and the acquisition slotted into Optum’s broader strategy of vertically integrating drug development and delivery. The deal cleared antitrust review with concessions and is one of the largest healthcare services transactions of the cycle. It signaled to the market that UnitedHealth, CVS, Cigna, and Elevance will continue paying double-digit EBITDA multiples for healthcare services assets at scale, which pulls valuations up for physician practices, specialty pharmacy, lab services, and ambulatory surgery centers two to three rungs down the size ladder.

Honeywell / Carrier Global Access Solutions at $4.95 Billion (December 2024)

Honeywell announced the $4.95 billion acquisition of Carrier Global’s Global Access Solutions business in December 2024 (Honeywell press release). The unit makes electronic locks, access controls, and security hardware. Honeywell financed the deal with $4.5 billion of new debt at announcement. For owners of security-integration, low-voltage, and building-automation businesses, this deal is the second major signal in two years (alongside Securitas / STANLEY) that strategic consolidators want the entire access-control stack.

Securitas / STANLEY Security at $3.2 Billion (July 2022, Still Setting Comps)

Securitas closed its $3.2 billion purchase of STANLEY Security from Stanley Black & Decker in July 2022. The deal still drives 2026 comp tables for commercial security integration, monitoring, and electronic security services. Smaller security-monitoring platforms transacting in 2025 and 2026 are being priced off the STANLEY multiple, adjusted for scale and recurring-revenue mix.

Republic Services / US Ecology at $2.2 Billion (May 2022)

Republic Services closed the $2.2 billion acquisition of US Ecology in May 2022. The deal pushed Republic deeper into hazardous waste and field services. Combined with the WM / Stericycle close two and a half years later, the environmental services category is now bracketed by two strategic consolidators paying full multiples, with Clean Harbors as the third active buyer.

ChemoCentryx / Amgen at $3.7 Billion (Closed 2023)

Amgen’s $3.7 billion acquisition of ChemoCentryx, closed in 2023, remains a reference deal for specialty biotech with a single approved asset and a defined patient population. The structure (all-cash, no earnout) is the model strategic pharma still uses for de-risked specialty platforms.

KKR / FGS Global at $1.7 Billion (2024)

KKR took majority control of FGS Global, the strategic communications firm, in a transaction valuing FGS at roughly $1.7 billion in 2024. The deal sits inside a wider PE thesis on PR, public affairs, and strategic communications consolidation, alongside Stagwell and Omnicom’s pending combination with Interpublic Group. For owners of PR firms, public affairs shops, and integrated communications agencies, FGS is the new high-water comp.

Goldman Sachs / Liquid Environmental Solutions at $1B+ (September 2025)

Goldman Sachs Asset Management’s acquisition of Liquid Environmental Solutions at over $1 billion in September 2025 added another marquee environmental services platform to the institutional roster. Liquid Environmental runs non-hazardous liquid waste collection and recycling across 40+ U.S. branches. The deal is a clean signal that PE is willing to pay platform multiples for route-density environmental businesses with recurring commercial accounts.

New Mountain / Real Chemistry at $3.1 Billion Continuation Vehicle (April 2025)

New Mountain Capital closed a $3.1 billion continuation vehicle for Real Chemistry in April 2025, one of the largest healthcare-marketing continuation deals of the cycle. The structure (LP-led recap, new fund holds the asset, original LPs get optional liquidity) is the defining 2025-2026 PE tool. Sellers should understand that “the sponsor is selling” no longer always means “the sponsor is exiting” — it often means the sponsor is rolling the asset into a new fund with fresh capital and a new hold period.

Imperial Dade / BradyPLUS at $10B+ (March 2026)

Imperial Dade’s March 2026 combination move with BradyPLUS, reported by Bloomberg at over $10 billion enterprise value, is the largest industrial-distribution deal of the cycle. The combined platform consolidates foodservice packaging, janitorial supply, and industrial distribution across North America. For owners of regional distributors in jan-san, packaging, and adjacent foodservice supply, this deal pulls strategic-acquirer demand into the lower middle market: Imperial Dade, BradyPLUS, Veritiv, and Bunzl will all be hunting $5M to $50M tuck-ins to fill geographic gaps.

The Seven Sectors Driving 2024-2026 Activity

Healthcare Services and Physician Practices

Healthcare services is the most active sector by deal count in the 2024-2026 window (PitchBook 2026 M&A Activity Report). Sub-categories with the heaviest concentration: physician practice management (dermatology, ophthalmology, GI, cardiology), ambulatory surgery centers, specialty pharmacy, lab services, behavioral health, and home health. Optum’s $3B+ buying spree in primary care continues. KKR’s Eye Health America platform has added 15+ tuck-ins since 2023. Carlyle’s Heritage Provider Network deal anchors the value-based primary care thesis. For physician practices in the $3M to $30M EBITDA range, multiples have held at 8x to 13x even as broader market multiples compressed.

Home Services Roll-Ups

Home services (HVAC, plumbing, electrical, roofing, pest control, lawn care, garage door, septic, irrigation) is the most active sector by deal count in the lower middle market. Service Logic closed at over $1.6 billion in 2025 and continues to acquire commercial HVAC platforms. Pye-Barker Fire & Safety crossed $750 million in revenue through aggressive M&A. Wrench Group, Apex Service Partners, Authority Brands, and Threshold Brands are all active acquirers. Pest-control consolidation through Anticimex, Rentokil, and Aptive continues. Owners in home services should expect multiple PE platform buyers competing on the same deal if the business clears $1M of EBITDA and has clean books. For more on what owners can expect, see selling an HVAC business, selling a plumbing business, and selling an electrical contracting business.

Technology, Cybersecurity, and Vertical SaaS

Technology M&A re-accelerated in 2025 after a 2022-2023 slowdown. CrowdStrike completed over $1 billion of acquisitions in 2025 alone to add identity and cloud security capabilities. Cisco, Palo Alto Networks, and Microsoft are all active. Vertical SaaS (industry-specific software) is the most attractive subcategory for PE buyers, with double-digit ARR multiples still common for businesses showing greater than 100% net revenue retention. AI capability acquisitions (acquihires plus tuck-ins) are a separate, very active lane.

Professional Services: PR, Advertising, and Consulting

The KKR / FGS Global deal, the New Mountain / Real Chemistry continuation, the Omnicom / Interpublic Group combination announced in late 2024, and Stagwell’s continued acquisition program have all reset comp tables for marketing and communications services. Truelink Capital’s 2024 acquisition of R/GA from Interpublic added another PE-backed creative platform. Consulting roll-ups in IT services, management consulting, and healthcare consulting continue. Founders of agencies and consulting firms in the $3M to $25M revenue range are seeing genuine multi-bidder processes in 2026.

Financial Services and RIA Consolidation

RIA consolidation runs at a record pace through 2025-2026. Mercer Advisors, Hightower, Cetera, Creative Planning, and Wealth Enhancement Group have all completed multiple platform-level transactions. Insurance distribution (Patriot Growth, World Insurance, Risk Strategies, Hub International) is the second active lane. Independent RIAs above $250M of AUM with organic growth are clearing 10x to 15x EBITDA in current deals, with structure (cash, equity, retention) varying widely.

Industrial Distribution

Imperial Dade and BradyPLUS dominate the headline, but the broader industrial distribution category (electrical, plumbing, HVAC supply, MRO, packaging, foodservice) is in active consolidation. Sonepar, Rexel, Wesco, Ferguson, Watsco, and PE-backed platforms like Imperial Dade are all acquiring. For regional distributors with $10M to $100M of revenue and route density, this is one of the strongest seller markets in years.

Environmental, Hazmat, and Specialty Waste

WM, Republic, Clean Harbors, Goldman / Liquid Environmental, and a handful of PE platforms anchor the buyer pool. Sub-categories with the highest demand: medical waste, hazardous waste, used-oil collection, septic and grease, environmental remediation, and industrial cleaning. Recurring commercial accounts, route density, and regulatory licensing are the three valuation drivers. For owners considering an exit, see the pest control exit prep guide and adjacent vertical prep pages.

PE Platform Deals That Define the Cycle

Strategic acquirers get the headlines, but PE platforms drive lower-middle-market deal volume. The active sponsors and their 2024-2026 platform moves are worth knowing by name because they are the most likely buyers for an owner-operated business between $2M and $30M of EBITDA.

KKR has been the most active marquee sponsor of the cycle. Beyond FGS Global, KKR built Eye Health America into a national platform, acquired multiple physician practice groups, and remains active in industrial services. Carlyle closed Heritage Provider Network, anchoring a value-based care thesis, and acquired ArchKey Solutions, a $1.5B+ electrical contractor platform. Blackstone bought Shermco Industries (electrical testing and engineering services) at approximately $1.6 billion in August 2025, an explicit play on the data-center buildout. Apollo remains active across industrials, financial services, and healthcare. Vista Equity continues its vertical SaaS thesis. Thoma Bravo drove cybersecurity software consolidation. Audax, Genstar, GTCR, Berkshire Partners, Gridiron, and L Catterton are all running active lower-middle-market platforms in services, healthcare, and consumer categories.

Strategic acquirer leaders by deal count: Honeywell, Carrier (now a net divester after the access-solutions sale), Microsoft, Adobe, Salesforce, Cisco, Oracle, Eaton, Emerson, Parker Hannifin, Roper, and Constellation Software. These are the names that show up on the buyer side of mid-market and upper-middle-market deals across industrials, software, and electronics.

Recent Mergers and Acquisition Multiples by Sector (2025-2026 Read)

Source: Capstone Partners 2026 Q1 LMM Survey, PitchBook 2026 M&A Activity Report, and CT Acquisitions internal deal database of LMM transactions. Bands are typical clearing ranges for businesses with clean financials, $2M to $25M of EBITDA, and 3+ years of operating history. Smaller, less clean, or owner-dependent businesses transact below these bands. Premium assets (recurring revenue greater than 70%, organic growth greater than 15%, customer concentration below 15%) clear above.

Worked Example: How a Recent Deal Sets Your Comp

Suppose a hypothetical residential and light-commercial HVAC company in the Southeast does $14M of revenue, $2.6M of normalized EBITDA, has 22% recurring service revenue, owner is 58, no second-in-command, books are CPA-reviewed (not audited). Owner is considering a sale in 2026. What does “recent mergers and acquisition activity” tell us about pricing?

Step 1: Identify the relevant comp set. Service Logic, Wrench Group, Apex Service Partners, and Authority Brands are all active HVAC acquirers. PE platforms backed by Gridiron, Audax, Alpine, Soundcore, Trivest, and others are competing for HVAC tuck-ins. Service Logic at $1.6 billion sets the platform ceiling; tuck-in multiples are 30% to 50% below platform multiples.

Step 2: Apply the band. The LMM HVAC band is 5.5x to 9x EBITDA per recent comps. At $2.6M EBITDA, that is $14.3M to $23.4M enterprise value range. Where the deal lands in the band is a function of: recurring revenue mix (22% is okay, not great; 40%+ would push to the top of the band), customer concentration (assume diversified), second-in-command depth (the owner being 58 with no #2 pulls multiple down), geographic density (Southeast is high-demand), and books quality (reviewed pulls multiple down vs audited).

Step 3: Calibrate. Realistic clearing range: 6.0x to 7.5x, or $15.6M to $19.5M enterprise value. Structure: 75% to 85% cash at close, 10% to 15% rollover equity into the PE platform, 0% to 10% performance earnout tied to two-year EBITDA. Net proceeds to seller after taxes (assume 25% blended federal plus state on the cash portion, deferral on the rollover): roughly $11M to $13.5M of liquid cash plus $2M to $3M of rollover paper at the platform’s basis.

Step 4: Time the process. A buyer-paid M&A advisor running a competitive process should take 5 to 8 months from kickoff to close. Running the same process informally (one or two buyers, no competition) typically clears 20% to 35% below the band. The “recent mergers and acquisition” comp set only helps the seller if the process creates real competition.

Common Mistakes Owners Make Reading Deal News

Anchoring on the Headline Multiple

The headline EBITDA multiple in a press release is the announced enterprise value divided by trailing or projected EBITDA, with no adjustment for structure. A $100M deal at 10x EBITDA where $30M is rollover equity, $15M is earnout, and $5M is escrow is meaningfully different from $100M of cash at close. Sellers who anchor on the headline number get disappointed when their own deal comes in at 7x cash-equivalent.

Assuming Platform Multiples Apply to Tuck-Ins

A $1B platform deal almost always clears at a higher multiple than the tuck-in acquisitions that platform will make in the next 24 months. The platform is buying scale, brand, management, and a path to a strategic exit. Tuck-ins are buying revenue and territory. The tuck-in multiple is typically 30% to 50% below the platform multiple. Owners under $5M of EBITDA should benchmark against tuck-in comps, not platform comps.

Confusing Continuation Vehicles with Real Exits

The New Mountain / Real Chemistry $3.1B continuation vehicle is not an “exit” in the traditional sense. The sponsor rolled the asset into a new fund. The original LPs got optional liquidity. The management team stayed. For a founder watching deal news, this matters because “PE sold Real Chemistry” does not mean strategic acquirers are paying $3.1B for healthcare marketing assets. It means New Mountain wanted more time.

Ignoring the Private Credit Story

Bain & Co’s 2025 M&A Report shows private credit funded the majority of sub-$1B sponsor deals in 2024-2025. That matters for sellers because private credit pricing (currently SOFR plus 500 to 650 bps for senior debt) determines how much a sponsor can pay. When credit spreads tighten, multiples expand; when they widen, multiples compress. Owners timing a sale should watch credit spreads, not just stock market multiples.

Treating Strategic Acquirers and PE Platforms as Interchangeable

Strategic acquirers pay for synergy (cost takeout, cross-sell, geographic fill). PE platforms pay for cash flow, growth, and an exit thesis. The same business can be worth 6x to a financial buyer and 9x to a strategic, but the strategic will often demand more rollover, longer earnouts, and tighter reps. Sellers who get a competitive process between both types of buyers extract more value than sellers who go to one or the other.

Skipping the Tax Conversation

The federal lifetime gift and estate tax exemption is scheduled to revert from approximately $13.99M per individual in 2025 to approximately $7M (inflation-adjusted) on January 1, 2026, per current statute (sunset provision in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act unless extended). Owners with estate-planning exposure who plan to sell in the next 24 to 36 months should run the tax math with their CPA and estate attorney before going to market, not after a letter of intent is signed.

The 2025-2026 Trends Worth Tracking

Continuation Vehicles (LP-Led Recaps)

Continuation vehicles let a PE sponsor hold an asset longer by rolling it into a new fund and giving original LPs an optional cash-out. The New Mountain / Real Chemistry deal at $3.1B in April 2025 is the marquee 2025 example. Bain reports continuation vehicles were roughly 15% of PE exits in 2024 and trending up. For owners, this structure means the PE platform that bought your company in 2022 may not actually sell to a strategic in 2027; it may roll into a continuation vehicle and hold for another five years.

Minority Recaps in Family Businesses

Founders increasingly want partial liquidity (take 30% to 60% of equity off the table) while keeping operational control. Minority recap structures are growing as a share of LMM deal volume. The trade-off: lower headline valuation in exchange for control retention and a second bite at the apple.

Tax-Driven Sales Ahead of the Exemption Sunset

If the lifetime exemption sunsets on January 1, 2026, as currently scheduled, owners with net worth above roughly $7M per person face a meaningful estate tax exposure on assets they hold past that date. The expected effect: a pull-forward of sale processes through 2025 and into early 2026, particularly for owners over 60. Sellers should expect more deal volume but also more competition for buyer attention.

Private Credit Dominance

Direct-lending funds (Ares, Blackstone Credit, Blue Owl, Golub, Antares, Owl Rock) now fund the majority of sub-$1B sponsor deals. Bank-led syndicated loans are concentrated in the largest deals. For sellers, this means deal certainty has improved (private credit closes faster than syndicated bank deals) but pricing is tied to SOFR plus a spread, so deals are sensitive to Fed policy.

AI Capability Acquisitions

Strategic acquirers are paying premium multiples for AI talent and capability tuck-ins. These are typically $10M to $200M deals with high equity components and tight retention packages. Most relevant for software, services, and data businesses with proprietary models or training data.

How CT Acquisitions Uses Recent Deal Data

Most owners who walk into a sale process anchor on what their CPA told them five years ago or what a competitor allegedly sold for at a Chamber dinner. Neither is a deal comp. CT Acquisitions maintains an internal database of completed LMM transactions across the verticals we cover, refreshed against PitchBook, Capstone Partners, Refinitiv, and Mergermarket data quarterly. When we engage a seller, the first deliverable is a comp pack showing 8 to 15 closed deals in the same vertical, size band, and geography, with adjusted multiples and structure detail.

We are paid by the buyer, not the seller. There is no fee, retainer, or success commission charged to the owner. Our economics work because we run a competitive process that increases the buyer pool’s willingness to pay, and the buyer who wins is paying a fee to us as the sourcing advisor. That alignment means the comp pack we share is calibrated to win, not to flatter.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the largest recent mergers and acquisition deals of 2024-2026?

By enterprise value, the largest disclosed deals include Optum / Catalent at $16.5B (late 2024), Imperial Dade / BradyPLUS at over $10B (March 2026), WM / Stericycle at $7.2B (November 2024), Honeywell / Carrier Access at $4.95B (December 2024), ChemoCentryx / Amgen at $3.7B (2023), Securitas / STANLEY Security at $3.2B (July 2022), New Mountain / Real Chemistry continuation at $3.1B (April 2025), Republic / US Ecology at $2.2B (May 2022), KKR / FGS Global at $1.7B (2024), and Blackstone / Shermco at approximately $1.6B (August 2025). These are not the only large deals of the cycle, but they are the ones most frequently cited as comp anchors for LMM transactions.

Which sectors have the most M&A activity right now?

Healthcare services (physician practices, specialty pharmacy, ambulatory surgery), home services (HVAC, plumbing, electrical, pest control, roofing), technology (cybersecurity, vertical SaaS, AI capability tuck-ins), professional services (PR, advertising, consulting), financial services (RIA and insurance distribution consolidation), industrial distribution (jan-san, packaging, electrical supply), and environmental services (medical waste, hazmat, route-density commercial). Healthcare leads by deal count; industrial distribution and environmental services lead by average deal size in 2026 so far.

Are valuation multiples higher or lower than 2021?

Lower on average across most sectors, but the gap has narrowed since the 2023 trough. PitchBook’s 2026 M&A Activity Report shows LMM multiples down roughly 0.5x to 1.5x EBITDA from the 2021 peak across most categories, with healthcare services and recurring-revenue businesses holding closest to peak. Asset-light, recurring-revenue, growth businesses are still clearing at or near 2021 peaks. Capital-intensive, cyclical, or owner-dependent businesses are clearing meaningfully below.

What is a continuation vehicle and why does it matter to sellers?

A continuation vehicle is a transaction where a PE sponsor sells a portfolio company from one of its funds to a new fund the same sponsor raises, giving the original fund’s LPs an optional cash-out at a marked-to-market price. It matters because “the sponsor exited” no longer always means a strategic or another sponsor bought the business. It often means the sponsor wanted more time, and the LP base agreed to a recap. Sellers should not interpret continuation vehicle pricing as a clean strategic-buyer comp.

How does private credit affect M&A pricing?

Private credit (direct lending) funds the majority of sub-$1B sponsor deals as of 2025-2026, per Bain & Co’s 2025 M&A Report. Pricing for senior debt in PE deals is currently SOFR plus 500 to 650 basis points for typical LMM transactions, with covenants that have tightened since 2022. When the cost of debt rises, sponsor IRR math compresses and multiples fall. When credit spreads tighten, multiples expand. Owners timing a sale should pay as much attention to credit market conditions as to public equity multiples.

Should I sell before the 2026 estate tax exemption sunset?

Maybe. The federal lifetime gift and estate tax exemption is scheduled to revert from approximately $13.99M per individual to roughly $7M (inflation-adjusted) on January 1, 2026, under current statute. If your business plus other assets put you above the post-sunset exemption, the tax cost of dying or gifting after January 1, 2026, may be substantially higher. Whether to accelerate a sale is a CPA and estate attorney decision, not an M&A advisor decision. We routinely coordinate with sellers’ tax and estate teams to run the math both ways.

What to Do Next

The most useful thing recent mergers and acquisition data does for a private business owner is set a defensible expectation about value, structure, and process. Press releases give you headline numbers. Comp packs give you the band your specific business will clear in. The gap between those two is where most owners overshoot or undershoot, and where competitive process design matters.

If you are within 12 to 36 months of a sale and want a sober read on what your business would clear in the current deal market, CT Acquisitions will run a comp pack and a structure read at no cost. We are paid by the buyer, not the seller.