1. Executive Summary

Industry overview (macro + sector-specific)

Business and Professional Services is the part of the economy that makes everything else run smoother. Consulting, IT services, BPO, staffing, marketing services, data and information services, governance-risk-compliance, and a long tail of specialized outsourced work. It’s “people plus process” at the core, but the best businesses in the sector increasingly look like something else: scaled delivery engines with repeatable workflows, proprietary data, and sticky client relationships.

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Two forces are shaping deal activity right now.

First, reinvention pressure. Clients want more outcomes and fewer billable-hour surprises. That’s pushing providers to buy capabilities fast: AI-enabled delivery, cyber, data platforms, compliance tooling, and vertical expertise. You can see that mindset show up in market-wide commentary from Bain, which describes 2025’s rebound as broad-based and driven by strategic moves, not just financial engineering. (Bain)

Second, cost-of-capital realism. Money isn’t “free” anymore, and that has changed buyer behavior. Deals still happen, but underwriting is tighter. Buyers pay up when they can point to resilience (recurring revenue, long contracts, essential services) and clear operating upside (margin expansion, delivery mix shifts, cross-sell).

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Recent M&A momentum (deal count, value)

Zooming out to the global backdrop: 2025 was a big rebound year for M&A overall. Bain reports global deal value rising 40% to about $4.9 trillion in 2025, with many executives expecting deal activity to hold or increase into 2026. (Bain)

Inside Business Services specifically, deal flow has been steady-to-up and very active in the mid-market. R.L. Hulett’s PitchBook-based tracking shows Q2 2025 deal volume rising to 979 deals from 903 in Q1 2025, a clear quarter-over-quarter bump. (RL Hulett)

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High-level multiples and key trends

Valuation spreads in this sector are wide, and the “why” is pretty intuitive once you live in it for a minute.

Public comp anchors (helpful for sanity checks):
KPMG’s professional services snapshot (as of July 31, 2024) shows TEV/LTM EBITDA around:

• 11.1x for BPO
  
  
• 15.6x for IT consulting
  
  
• 16.9x for consulting
  
  
• Roughly 21–22x for data and information services
  
  

In plain language: the closer the model is to recurring data/workflows with pricing power, the higher the multiple tends to go. (KPMG)

Private-market precedent signals (business services):
R.L. Hulett reports median EV/EBITDA for disclosed-multiple deals in 1H 2025 at 23.3x for private equity-led deals and 8.7x for strategic deals. That gap usually means sponsors are paying premiums for scalable platforms they can roll up, while strategics are more selective unless they can underwrite near-term synergies. (RL Hulett)

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Major players / consolidators (who’s driving consolidation)

Consolidation is happening in a few repeatable patterns:

1. Capability buys: adding AI, data, compliance, and specialized workflows to defend margins and deepen client “stickiness.”
   
   
2. Scale combinations: building broader platforms to win global budgets and negotiate better, especially in marketing services, IT services, and BPO.
   
   
3. Sponsor-backed platform roll-ups: PE has been particularly active in business services. R.L. Hulett reports PE representing 85% of total capital invested in 1H 2025 (their PitchBook-based measure). (RL Hulett)
   
   

A quick, concrete example of a scaled strategic consolidation: Omnicom announced it completed its acquisition of Interpublic on November 26, 2025, after regulatory approvals and closing conditions were satisfied. 

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Summary of Key Metrics

2. Industry M&A Market Overview

Deal activity trends (YoY and QoQ)

Business services dealmaking has been quietly steady, with a noticeable lift from the low point in 2023. R.L. Hulett’s PitchBook-based tracker shows Q2 2025 deal volume at 979 transactions, up 8.4% from 903 in Q1 2025, and up 3.6% versus Q2 2024. (RL Hulett)

What’s driving it is not a single “everyone’s troubles again” story. It’s more practical than that:

• More economic stability in the background (cooling inflation, rate-cut expectations) has helped buyers move from cautious to active. (RL Hulett)
  
  
• The market mix has shifted toward mid-sized deals. In 1H 2025, the $50–$500MM band increased to 24.0% of volume from 15.2% in 2024, which is exactly what you’d expect when buyers want meaningful scale but still avoid the riskiest, hardest-to-finance mega-bets. (RL Hulett)
  
  
• PE is showing up more often and with bigger checks. PE represented 42.4% of deal volume in 1H 2025 (up from 39.7% in 2024), and 85.0% of total capital invested. (RL Hulett)

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Notable megadeals (what actually moved the dollars)

If you want to explain why “capital invested” can swing wildly quarter to quarter, you basically point to the biggest check written in that period.

R.L. Hulett highlights two “gravity wells” in early 2025:

• Silver Lake’s $13.0B acquisition of Endeavor (March 2025) drove a big chunk of Q1 capital invested, then made Q2 look smaller by comparison. (RL Hulett)
  
  
• Baker Tilly’s $7.0B acquisition of Moss Adams (June 2025) was the largest reported deal in Q2. (RL Hulett)
  
  

And you still see plenty of meaningful mid-market transactions that reflect capability and delivery expansion, like:

• Bridgepoint’s $383.9M acquisition of Argon & Co (April 2025) in operations strategy and transformation consulting. (RL Hulett)
  
  
• DoorDash’s $175.0M acquisition of Symbiosys (June 2025), tied to engineering, QA, and cloud-managed services capability (a reminder that buyers are not always “services companies” on paper). (RL Hulett)
  
  

Private equity vs strategic acquirer share (who’s buying, and how that’s changing)
There are two different “shares” that matter, and they tell different stories:

1. Share of deal count (how often they show up)
   In 1H 2025, PE buyers accounted for 42.4% of deal volume, the highest percentage in the past five years in this dataset. (RL Hulett)
   
   
2. Share of dollars invested (who is writing the biggest checks)
   PE represented 85.0% of total capital invested in 1H 2025, up sharply from 61.8% in 2024. (RL Hulett)
   
   

That combination usually signals a sponsor-led market with active platform creation and occasional large-cap sponsor deals that distort the “dollars” line item.

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Capital availability (what financing feels like on the ground)

Buyers are buying, but the market is not acting like it’s 2021. Two signals show up clearly:

• Underwriting is disciplined. R.L. Hulett points to stabilizing inflation and the potential for rate cuts improving confidence, but also notes lingering macro factors like higher borrowing costs and tariff uncertainty as reasons 2025 volume is expected to be slightly lower than 2024. (RL Hulett)
  
  
• Lenders are selective, especially in the lower middle market. A Q3 2025 market update citing PitchBook notes that valuations for deals under $50M were in the mid-6x TEV/EBITDA range and lenders stayed selective with modest leverage. (cornerstone-business.com)
  
  

Translation into human terms: good assets still get financed, but “good” means predictable cash flow, defensible contracts, and a real integration plan. Anything that smells like “we’ll figure it out after close” gets punished.

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M&A Volume/Value by Year

3. Valuation Multiples and Comps

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When people say “business services is a roll-up market,” they’re usually reacting to one thing: valuation is heavily determined by model quality, not just sector label. Two companies can both call themselves “consulting,” yet trade at very different multiples depending on recurring revenue, data, workflow stickiness, and how scalable delivery is.

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Median EV/Revenue and EV/EBITDA by sub-sector (public comp anchors)

A clean, widely used set of public market anchors comes from KPMG’s professional services snapshot (as of July 31, 2024). These are mean trading multiples by subsector.

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Comps Table: Peer Multiples & Financials

Quick read on what this means:

• Data and information services earn the premium because the market treats many of these businesses like mission-critical subscription workflows, not “hours sold.”
  
  
• BPO sits lower because it’s more labor-intensive and often priced on cash yield and contract quality rather than pure growth.
  
  
• IT consulting and consulting land in the middle because they can be high margin, but they’re still constrained by talent supply and utilization discipline.
  
  

Historical multiple ranges (3–5 year view)

A) IT consulting public multiple time series (Capital IQ-based)
Aventis Advisors publishes a useful time series using Capital IQ data (updated May 16, 2025) for a sample set of IT Consulting firms (n=25). (Aventis Advisors)

Key points you can use in narrative:

• IT consulting EV/revenue peaked around late 2021 at 2.9x, then fell back toward pre-pandemic levels by 2024. In May 2025, IT consulting EV/revenue was about 2.2x. (Aventis Advisors)
  
  
• IT consulting EV/EBITDA peaked late 2021 at 17.1x, and by May 2025 the median EV/EBITDA was 13.0x. (Aventis Advisors)

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B) Private market multiples (business services deal comps)
Private-market disclosed multiples in business services can print very differently depending on buyer type. R.L. Hulett’s PitchBook-based work shows median EV/EBITDA for disclosed-multiple transactions at 23.3x for PE-led deals in 1H 2025 versus 8.7x for strategic deals.

Two important modeling implications:

• PE “platform pricing” is often underwriting a future roll-up (multiple arbitrage plus operational improvement), so headline multiples can look high.
  
  
• Strategic pricing can look lower in medians because many strategic deals skew smaller or are reported without full value disclosure; also strategics tend to demand clear synergy math before paying up.
  
  

Comparison to S&P 500 and related industries

It’s easy to compare apples to oranges here, so I’d frame it this way:

• For broad-market context, FactSet’s Earnings Insight reported the S&P 500 forward 12-month P/E at 22.4 as of Dec 5, 2025, above the 5-year and 10-year averages they cite. (FactSet Insight)
  
  
• For business services subsectors, public EV/EBITDA anchors (like KPMG’s) tend to cluster in the low teens for labor-heavy services and stretch into the 20s for data and workflow-heavy models.

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Historical Valuation Multiples

4. Top Strategic Acquirers and Investors

This sector has a very specific kind of gravity. The most active buyers aren’t hunting “companies” in the abstract. They’re hunting repeatable capabilities: a new vertical, a stronger delivery footprint, a workflow or dataset they can embed, or a specialized team that can start billing next Monday.

Below is a practical, global view of who’s been active recently and why.

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Most active strategic acquirers (last 12–24 months, representative)

1. IT services and consulting consolidators
   These buyers live on capability fill-ins and geographic expansion. They buy talent, client relationships, and delivery capacity, then scale it through a global sales machine.
   
   

Accenture
Accenture is the clearest example of a serial acquirer. One industry roundup counted 23 Accenture acquisitions in 2025 alone (deal terms often undisclosed), spanning cybersecurity, cloud, data, and platform consultancies. (CRN)
How to think about it: Accenture uses M&A like product development, stitching in specialists to stay ahead of client demand and talent shortages. (Accenture)

HCLTech
HCLTech announced the acquisition of Singapore-based Finergic Solutions in early 2026 (about S$19M / roughly $14.8M) to deepen wealth management consulting capability. It’s a small deal in dollars, but it fits the pattern: buy niche expertise, then scale it. (The Economic Times)

Other frequent consolidators you’ll often see in global services (activity varies quarter to quarter)
Capgemini, Cognizant, Infosys, TCS, Wipro, CGI and others. (Included here as common consolidators by sector role; deal-specific examples can be added if you want a stricter “only if cited” list.)

2. CX, BPO, and outsourced operations platforms
   Here, acquisitions tend to be about specialized vertical workflows (healthcare, regulated services), nearshore/offshore reach, and automation layers that protect margin.
   
   

Teleperformance (TP)
Teleperformance signed to acquire ZP Better Together, a specialist in language services and platforms supporting the deaf and hard-of-hearing community, announced Nov 26, 2024. (tp.com)
TP’s 2024 annual results disclosure notes the transaction was completed Feb 5, 2025, and framed it as strengthening its higher-value Specialized Services segment. (Business Wire)
Why this matters: it’s a move up the value chain, away from pure “voice” volumes and toward specialized, sticky service lines.

Concentrix
Concentrix announced it acquired BlinkCX, a tech-driven CX consulting firm in the Philippines. (business.inquirer.net)
This is typical of how CX giants evolve: pair delivery scale with consulting and transformation capability so they can win larger, more strategic client budgets.

3. Data, analytics, and business decisioning platforms
   These deals often have the most straightforward valuation logic: proprietary datasets and embedded workflows tend to carry higher valuation support than labor-heavy services, especially when retention is strong.
   
   

Clearlake Capital (with partners) taking Dun & Bradstreet private
A major example in the data and analytics corner of business services: Dun & Bradstreet announced Clearlake completed its acquisition on Aug 26, 2025. (Dun & Bradstreet)
PitchBook coverage described the take-private as a $7.7B transaction when announced (March 2025), underscoring that large checks still get written for scaled data platforms. (PitchBook)

4. Accounting, advisory, and professional services scale plays
   This is one of the most interesting shifts in the past couple years: large-scale combinations and private capital backing in categories that historically relied more on partnership dynamics than buyout playbooks.
   
   

Baker Tilly and Moss Adams (backed by Hellman & Friedman)
Baker Tilly and Moss Adams announced a planned combination on April 21, 2025, explicitly described as backed by Hellman & Friedman. (Baker Tilly, Hellman & Friedman)
Moss Adams’ own release described the deal as creating the sixth largest advisory CPA firm in the U.S., expected to close in early June 2025. (Moss Adams)
Why this matters globally: it’s a signal that scaled professional services platforms are now a mainstream sponsor target when the growth, specialization, and operating model support it.

Private equity platforms and roll-up strategies (how sponsors are playing it)

Private equity’s footprint in business services has been dominant recently by invested dollars in the PitchBook-based tracking used by R.L. Hulett (their Q2 2025 update highlights PE as a very large share of capital invested). (RL Hulett)

The sponsor playbook in this sector is usually one of these:

1. Platform + add-ons (classic roll-up)
   Buy a strong platform with a credible management team, then bolt on smaller firms to expand geography, vertical coverage, or capabilities. This works best when delivery and back office can be standardized.
   
   

Example: Bridgepoint partnering with Argon & Co
Bridgepoint announced a strategic investment in Argon & Co on April 16, 2025, positioning the partnership around growth and expansion for the consultancy. (Bridgepoint Corporate2022, Argon & Co)

2. Take-private for operational reset and portfolio shaping
   When public markets underprice complexity or near-term reinvestment needs, sponsors step in.
   
   

Example: Silver Lake completing the acquisition of Endeavor
Endeavor announced completion of its acquisition by Silver Lake on March 24, 2025. (Silver Lake)

3. “Scale capital” entering professional services
   The Baker Tilly and Moss Adams combination backed by Hellman & Friedman is a clean illustration of private capital enabling a step-change in scale and investment capacity. (Baker Tilly, Hellman & Friedman)

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Logo Grid: Active Acquirers

Deals by Acquirer, Value, and Rationale

5. Transaction Case Studies

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Case studies are where the sector stops feeling abstract. Multiples and deal volume matter, sure, but what really explains Business and Professional Services M&A is the why: capability gaps, scale economics, data moats, and sponsor-backed platform building.

Below are four representative transactions that capture the dominant deal archetypes in the market today.

Case Study 1: Omnicom acquiring Interpublic (Marketing Services Scale Deal)

Deal overview

• Buyer: Omnicom Group
• Target: Interpublic Group (IPG)
• Deal type: Strategic combination (marketing and advertising services)
• Closing date: November 26, 2025
• Deal size: All-stock transaction (terms announced previously; closing confirmed by Omnicom)
  Source: Omnicom completion release. (omc.com)

Strategic rationale
This deal is about scale plus platform relevance. Marketing services is being reshaped by:

• Data-driven personalization
• Commerce integration
• AI-enabled campaign optimization
• Pressure from clients to consolidate agency spend

Omnicom positioned the combined company as the world’s leading marketing and sales firm built for the next era of “intelligent growth.” (omc.com)

Multiple paid
Not disclosed in the closing release. Treat valuation as not public rather than guessing.

Expected synergies (typical)

• Shared media and technology platforms
• Procurement leverage
• Cross-selling across global client relationships

Analyst takeaway
This is the classic “scale combination” play: fewer, larger marketing platforms competing for global budgets.

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Case Study 2: Workday acquiring Sana (AI Capability Expansion)

Deal overview

• Buyer: Workday
• Target: Sana (AI-native knowledge and learning platform)
• Announcement date: September 16, 2025
• Deal value: Approximately $1.1 billion
  Source: Workday definitive agreement announcement. (newsroom.workday.com)

Strategic rationale
This is a capability buy, not a cost-cutting deal.

Workday described Sana as a way to bring AI-powered search, knowledge, and learning into the flow of work, essentially making enterprise workflows smarter and more proactive. (newsroom.workday.com)

Multiple paid
Not disclosed.

Expected synergies
The synergy math here is product-led:

• Higher attach rates for AI modules
• Stronger customer retention through embedded learning
• Expansion into AI-driven employee experience workflows

Analyst takeaway
Business services and enterprise services are converging around AI-enabled workflow platforms. Buyers are paying for future relevance.

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Case Study 3: Silver Lake taking Endeavor private (Sponsor Take-Private Reset)

Deal overview

• Buyer: Silver Lake
• Target: Endeavor Group Holdings
• Deal type: Take-private acquisition
• Completion date: March 24, 2025
  Source: Silver Lake completion announcement. (silverlake.com)

Strategic rationale
Endeavor is a scaled services ecosystem spanning sports, entertainment, and representation. The take-private reflects a common sponsor thesis:

• Public markets undervalue complex, multi-asset platforms
• Private ownership enables restructuring and long-term operational focus

Multiple paid
Not disclosed in the completion release.

Expected synergies
Not a synergy-driven merger. More of a sponsor playbook:

• Portfolio simplification
• Margin improvement
• Asset monetization optionality

Analyst takeaway
Take-privates remain a key outlet for sponsors in services when public valuation and strategic complexity diverge.

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Case Study 4: Baker Tilly + Moss Adams combination (Professional Services Platform Scale)

Deal overview

• Parties: Baker Tilly and Moss Adams
• Deal type: Strategic merger combination backed by Hellman & Friedman
• Announcement date: April 21, 2025
• Expected close: Early June 2025
  Source: Baker Tilly release. (bakertilly.com)
  Source: Moss Adams release. (mossadams.com)

Strategic rationale
This deal is a signal transaction for the accounting and advisory market.

The combination was positioned as creating the sixth-largest advisory CPA firm in the U.S., with greater scale to invest in:

• Technology-enabled advisory services
• Sector specialization
• Competitive recruiting and retention

Private capital backing underscores the sector’s shift toward sponsor-supported consolidation. (bakertilly.com)

Multiple paid
Not disclosed.

Expected synergies

• Cross-selling across advisory and tax platforms
• Shared infrastructure and investment capacity
• Broader geographic footprint

Analyst takeaway
Professional services are no longer immune to platform economics. Scale and capital support are becoming competitive necessities.

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One-Page Snapshot per Deal

6. Valuation Framework and Modeling

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This section is the “how the sausage gets made” part of a services deal. Buyers can debate strategy all day, but price usually comes down to a few valuation lenses and a short list of drivers that either feel bankable or feel like wishful thinking.

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How deals are priced in business and professional services

1. Trading comps
   Use public peers as a reality check on what the market pays for similar growth, margin, and risk. It’s the fastest anchor, but it needs judgment because services business models vary wildly inside the same label.
   
   

How it’s used in practice:

• Pick a peer set that matches delivery model (project vs managed services), revenue profile (recurring vs episodic), and margin structure.
  
  
• Normalize for one-offs and restructuring.
  
  
• Apply a range, not a point estimate, then cross-check against precedents.
  
  

2. Precedent transactions
   Precedents tell you what someone actually paid when they had to sign a purchase agreement, not just what the stock market implies on a random Tuesday.
   
   

How it’s used in practice:

• Segment by buyer type (strategic vs sponsor). They underwrite differently.
  
  
• Segment by size and quality. Disclosed multiples skew toward larger, cleaner processes.
  
  
• Adjust for timing and the rate environment if you’re spanning multiple years.
  
  

3. DCF (discounted cash flow)
   DCF is most persuasive when the target has a stable contract base, clear reinvestment needs, and a believable path for margins and cash conversion. In services, DCF also forces the team to get honest about a few uncomfortable things: utilization, wage inflation, churn, and working capital.
   
   

Typical control premiums

For public-company takeovers, the control premium is the difference between the offer price and the unaffected share price. In plain terms, you pay extra because control is worth something.

A commonly cited market rule of thumb is that control premiums are often in the 20% to 30% range, with wider outcomes possible depending on competitive dynamics and scarcity. (Corporate Finance Institute)

How to use this in a model (non-advisory):

• If you’re building a sanity check around a public target, control premium helps reconcile trading value to plausible bid value.
  
  
• If the process is competitive, the premium can balloon. If it’s a negotiated deal with limited competition, it can be tighter.
  
  

Key model drivers in business services

Revenue drivers

• Organic growth split into price, volume, and mix
  
  
• Net revenue retention for recurring or managed services models
  
  
• New logo wins and expansion in top accounts
  
  
• Contract length and renewal profile
  
  

Margin drivers

• Utilization and bill rates (consulting, IT services)
  
  
• Delivery mix: onshore vs nearshore vs offshore
  
  
• Automation and tooling adoption (how much work shifts from labor hours to repeatable workflows)
  
  
• SG&A leverage after integration
  
  

Cash conversion drivers

• DSOs and unbilled receivables (big swing factor in project work)
  
  
• Deferred revenue for subscription-like workflow services
  
  
• Capex and capitalized software for tech-enabled service platforms
  
  

Quality of earnings reality checks (the stuff that changes price conversations)

• Normalized EBITDA and one-time addbacks
  
  
• Owner comp normalization
  
  
• Client concentration and revenue recognition practices
  
  
• Working capital peg mechanics (what the buyer expects as “normal”)

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Sample DCF Input Summary

Sensitivity Analysis Table

7. Trends and Strategic Themes

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This is the part of the market where it stops being about “who bought whom” and starts being about why the same deal shapes keep showing up. Business and Professional Services M&A right now is basically a tug-of-war between speed (buy the capability) and certainty (buy the cash flow you can actually defend).

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Sector shifts that are changing deal behavior

1. AI is moving from “nice demo” to “billable delivery”
   The service winners are building repeatable delivery engines, not just hiring bigger teams. You’re seeing that in how large IT services firms talk about AI: more productivity, more deals, and clients shifting from pilots to real rollouts. (Financial Times)
   
   

What that means for M&A:

• Buyers pay for capability that shortens the time to revenue: AI implementation teams, data engineering, model governance, and workflow integration.
  
  
• Assets with proprietary data or embedded workflows keep getting the benefit of the doubt on valuation because they feel less like labor and more like a product.
  
  

2. Technology-enabled outsourcing is still consolidating
   PwC’s latest outlook for industrials and services calls out continued consolidation across professional and managed services and technology-enabled outsourcing, with expectations for increased activity in 2026. (PwC)
   
   

What that means for M&A:

• Deals skew toward targets that can plug into a scaled platform: standard processes, consistent reporting, and repeatable delivery.
  
  
• “Messy but fixable” targets can still sell, but the price tends to reflect integration risk more aggressively than it did in 2021.
  
  

3. Nearshoring and regional delivery are becoming a board-level operating choice
   Nearshoring is not just about cost anymore. It’s about time zones, resilience, and keeping delivery close enough that projects do not feel like a relay race. Trend commentary frequently highlights Latin America and regional diversification, and some datasets show continued emphasis on regional sourcing and diversification even when quarter-to-quarter indicators bounce around. (Forbes, blog.qima.com)
   
   

What that means for M&A:

• Buyers look for nearshore delivery hubs they can scale quickly, especially in BPO, CX, and IT services.
  
  
• Cross-border add-ons become easier to justify when they reduce operational friction, not just payroll.
  
  

4. PE and private capital keep driving the pace, but underwriting is more grown-up now
   The pattern is simple: platforms with clean cash flow and real integration capacity are still competitive. Everything else gets negotiated hard.
   
   

You can see how sponsor-backed professional services are playing out in real transactions and sponsor stories. For example, Bridgepoint’s backing of professional services businesses is explicitly paired with plans for expansion and add-on M&A, and there are also high-profile sponsor-led moves in the wider services ecosystem. (FNLondon, Baker McKenzie)

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Emerging business models that are showing up in deal rationales

1. AI-enabled service lines
   Think: managed AI operations, model risk management, AI governance, and “AI in the flow of work” delivery. Buyers want a credible, sellable offering, not just internal productivity.
   
   
2. Workflow-plus-data hybrids
   These are services businesses that feel like software in how they retain clients: subscription-like data, sticky integrations, and ongoing value delivery. That’s why scaled data and information assets still attract big capital even when the broader market is choosy.
   
   
3. Industry-specific platforms
   Vertical specialization is a cheat code in services. Healthcare revenue cycle, financial services compliance, energy field services, legal tech-enabled services, insurance claims workflows. Buyers love anything that turns “generic capability” into “must-have expertise.”
   
   
4. Talent marketplaces and flexible delivery
   Staffing, consulting, and project delivery models keep drifting toward blended workforces. It’s not always glamorous, but clients like speed and flexibility. AI is also starting to influence recruiting operations and compliance expectations in staffing. (Staffing Hub)
   
   

Antitrust and regulatory themes that matter for deal execution

This sector is not usually the headline antitrust battlefield, but it’s not invisible either, especially in areas like large marketing combinations, data-heavy businesses, and labor-adjacent markets.

What’s stable and worth building into your deal expectations:

• The FTC and DOJ issued the 2023 Merger Guidelines, which outline the analytical frameworks the agencies use when reviewing mergers. (justice.gov, Federal Trade Commission)
  
  
• The FTC has stated the 2023 Merger Guidelines are in effect and used as the framework for merger review. (Federal Trade Commission)
  
  

Practical implication for business services deals:

• If the combination is clearly a “top-two in a narrow niche” or creates control over key data assets or distribution, expect more scrutiny and longer timelines.
  
  
• If the deal is a roll-up of fragmented niches with clear customer choice and strong competitors, it usually runs cleaner, but the story still has to be coherent.
  
  

Expert POV: where the sector is headed, in plain language

If you want a one-sentence theme for 2025–26, here it is:
The market is paying for outcomes and repeatability, and punishing anything that looks like headcount growth with a shrug.

The winners tend to share three traits:

• They can scale without chaos (standard delivery, real metrics, strong integration discipline).
  
  
• They have a defensible wedge (vertical expertise, workflow embed, or proprietary data).
  
  
• They can tell a simple story about margin durability (not just “we’ll grow,” but how they’ll keep the economics).

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Timeline of Trend Emergence

8. 2025–26 Market Outlook (Global Business and Professional Services)

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The mood heading into 2026 feels different than the last couple years. Not “party like 2021,” but more like “boards finally have enough clarity to move again.” Lower-rate expectations, improving financing windows, and a pile of private capital that still needs to get deployed are pushing activity forward, even if buyers are staying picky on quality.

What follows is a non-advisory outlook on drivers, headwinds, and the types of deals most likely to happen.

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Expected M&A drivers (why deals should keep happening)

1. Continued consolidation in tech-enabled outsourcing and professional services
   PwC’s 2026 industrials and services outlook explicitly calls out consolidation across professional and managed services and technology-enabled outsourcing, with expectations for increased activity in 2026.
   
   
2. “AI capability buying” becomes normal, not special
   Large acquirers are leaning into AI both as a delivery accelerant and a commercial wedge. The more that clients demand AI-enabled outcomes, the more buyers will acquire specialist teams, governance, and workflow integration capabilities instead of building them slowly.
   
   
3. Financing windows look more usable
   Leveraged finance outlooks for 2026 generally anticipate more issuance and more competition, which tends to support sponsor activity and larger deal sizes when assets are strong.
   
   
4. Private equity still has strong incentives to transact
   Dry powder is not infinite, but it remains a key force. S&P Global Market Intelligence notes dry powder has been coming off all-time highs amid slower fundraising, which is exactly the kind of environment that can push sponsors to prioritize realizations and disciplined deployments rather than waiting forever for perfect conditions.
   
   

Headwinds (what can slow or reshape deal flow)

1. Quality bifurcation stays intense
   In plain English: good assets sell fast, average assets get negotiated hard. Business services is a category where client concentration, utilization, and cash conversion can flip a valuation story in one diligence meeting.
   
   
2. Integration capacity becomes the real bottleneck
   2026 is likely to reward acquirers who can integrate without breaking delivery. More deals will fail in integration than in signing.
   
   
3. Regulatory and policy uncertainty still matters
   Even when business services are not the poster child for antitrust, big combinations and data-heavy assets can pull in longer review timelines. Large banks’ 2026 outlook commentary highlights uneven momentum and increasing regulatory complexity as a defining feature of the market.
   
   

Buy-side vs sell-side expectations (how each side is thinking)

Buy-side (strategics and sponsors)

• Strong preference for recurring revenue, sticky contracts, and defensible vertical positioning.
  
  
• More comfort paying up when there is a credible “workflow or data moat,” or when a platform can absorb add-ons without chaos.
  
  
• Financing is improving, but underwriting remains disciplined: buyers want visible cash flows and real levers.
  
  

Sell-side (founders, partnerships, and sponsor exits)

• Sellers with clean KPIs (retention, utilization, margin discipline, low concentration) can create competitive tension.
  
  
• Traditional professional services firms are increasingly open to combinations or sponsor support as competitive intensity rises, especially in talent-heavy niches.
  
  
• Expect more “structured” outcomes: minority growth, staged buyouts, or carve-outs where buyers can de-risk the first step.

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Funnel of Deal Types by Strategic Priority

Outlook Grid (Short / Mid / Long Term)

9. Appendices and Citations

Deal tables

Data sources and methodology (how the numbers were built)

1. Deal activity and momentum

• Business services deal volume and PE vs strategic split, as referenced, was taken from R.L. Hulett’s PitchBook-based Business Services M&A update (Q2 2025). Source: https://rlhulett.com/app/uploads/2025/07/Business-Services-MA-Update-Q2-2025.pdf
• Any deal counts or medians presented should be treated as the source’s coverage universe, not a complete census of all global transactions (common limitation of market datasets).

2. Valuation multiples

• Public trading multiple anchors by subsector (TEV/LTM Revenue and TEV/LTM EBITDA) were taken from KPMG’s professional services industry update snapshot (as-of date in the report). Source: https://corporatefinance.kpmg.com/kpmg-us/content/dam/kpmg/corporatefinance/pdfs/2024/professional-services-industry-update.pdf
• IT consulting historical multiple context was referenced from Aventis Advisors (Capital IQ-based). Source: https://aventis-advisors.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/IT-Services-Valuation-Multiples-2015-2025-Q1-2025-update.pdf

3. Market context benchmarks used in modeling discussion

• Control premium concept reference for public M&A framing: Corporate Finance Institute. Source: https://corporatefinanceinstitute.com/resources/valuation/control-premium/
• Cost of capital reference point: Kroll recommended US equity risk premium and corresponding risk-free rates. Source: https://www.kroll.com/en/reports/cost-of-capital/recommended-us-equity-risk-premium-and-corresponding-risk-free-rates
• Implied equity risk premium benchmark series: NYU Stern (Damodaran). Source: https://pages.stern.nyu.edu/~adamodar/New_Home_Page/datafile/histimpl.html

4. Deal and acquirer source documents (primary where possible)

• Accenture acquisition activity roundup: https://www.crn.com/news/channel-news/2025/all-of-accenture-s-acquisitions-in-2025
• Accenture acquisitions landing page: https://www.accenture.com/us-en/case-studies/about/accenture-acquisitions
• Teleperformance acquisition of ZP Better Together press release: https://www.tp.com/media/03efjkmy/teleperformance-press-release-acquisition-of-zp-ev-def.pdf
• Teleperformance 2024 annual results announcement (mentions completion context): https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250227092643/en/Teleperformance-2024-Annual-Results/
• Concentrix acquisition coverage (BlinkCX): https://business.inquirer.net/501419/concentrix-acquires-blinkcx-in-the-philippines
• HCLTech Finergic acquisition coverage: https://m.economictimes.com/tech/information-tech/hcltech-to-acquire-singapore-based-finergic-solutions-for-about-rs-136-cr/articleshow/127306478.cms
• Dun & Bradstreet completion release (Clearlake take-private): https://www.dnb.com/content/dam/web/company/content/newsroom/corporate/2025/2025-08-26.pdf
• Workday to acquire Sana announcement: https://newsroom.workday.com/2025-09-16-Workday-Signs-Definitive-Agreement-to-Acquire-Sana
• Baker Tilly + Moss Adams combination announcement: https://www.bakertilly.com/news/baker-tilly-and-moss-adams-to-combine
• Moss Adams combination announcement: https://www.mossadams.com/about/press/press-releases/2025/04/moss-adams-and-baker-tilly-combine
• Bridgepoint investment in Argon & Co: https://www.bridgepointgroup.com/about-us/news-and-insights/press-releases/2025/bridgepoint-announces-strategic-investment-in-argon-co
• Silver Lake completion of Endeavor acquisition: https://www.silverlake.com/endeavor-announces-completion-of-acquisition-by-silver-lake/
• Omnicom completion of Interpublic acquisition: https://www.omc.com/newsroom/omnicom-completes-acquisition-of-interpublic-forming-the-worlds-leading-marketing-and-sales-company-built-for-intelligent-growth-in-the-next-era/

5. Policy and regulatory references used in trend framing

• DOJ Antitrust Division, 2023 Merger Guidelines: https://www.justice.gov/atr/2023-merger-guidelines
• FTC statement noting joint 2023 Merger Guidelines are in effect: https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2025/02/ftc-chairman-andrew-n-ferguson-announces-ftc-dojs-joint-2023-merger-guidelines-are-effect

6. Outlook references used in Section 8 framing

• PwC Industrials and Services deals trends: https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/services/deals/trends/industrials-services.html
• Morgan Stanley M&A outlook (2026): https://www.morganstanley.com/insights/articles/mergers-and-acquisitions-outlook-2026-activity
• Moody’s leveraged finance and CLO outlook hub: https://www.moodys.com/web/en/us/insights/credit-risk/outlooks/global-leveraged-finance-and-clos.html
• S&P Global Market Intelligence note on dry powder (context on private equity incentives): https://www.spglobal.com/market-intelligence/en/news-insights/articles/2025/12/private-equity-dry-powder-recedes-from-all-time-highs-amid-slow-fundraising-96015525

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