Hampleton Partners Report: Enterprise software M&A separates the wheat from the chaff

The decline in deal counts in the first half of 2026 signals not weakness but selectivity. According to the latest Enterprise Software M&A Market Report 2H2026 from Hampleton Partners, 1,132 transactions were recorded in 1H2026, down roughly 8% from 1,231 in the second half of 2025. However, Valuations are climbing: the trailing 30-month median EV/Revenue edged up to 3.8x, while the median EV/EBITDA reached a new high of 18.8x. 
Miro Parizek, Founder and Senior Partner at Hampleton Partners, comments: “This is a disciplined market, not a weak one. Strategic buyers are operating close to record levels and are using M&A deliberately to add capability and talent. Private equity, by contrast, has become more selective: fewer deals, but capital concentrated on the few, defensible assets for which high earnings multiples are paid. The narrative around AI has matured as well. Buyers no longer pay a premium for an AI label, but for the trust, governance and reliability around the software, the part that is worth far more than the code itself.”

Strategic buyers accounted for a record-high 74% of activity in 1H2026, while private equity fell back to 26%. The apparent contradiction as fewer PE deals, but markedly higher PE multiples. On an EV/Revenue basis the two groups have converged at around 3.8x, while on EV/EBITDA private equity paid a median of 26.0x against just 13.6x for strategic buyers, almost double. This is not generosity but calculation: sponsors concentrate capital on a small number of mission-critical software companies in regulated or complex verticals, where switching costs are high and exposure to generic AI is low. In Vertical Applications, the median EV/EBITDA climbed to 22.4x. For everything else, willingness to pay is falling noticeably.

AI has been seen as an existential threat to established software. That fear is overstated, but its consequences are not. Buyers today treat AI as a feature to be embedded in existing platforms, not as a selling point that commands a premium. The effect is a growing split in the market: classic SaaS providers without a credible AI strategy or proprietary data are losing value, while data-rich platforms that are deeply embedded in customer workflows command premiums. The value lies not in the code but in the surrounding layer of data, support, governance, security and reliability, and that is precisely what generic AI cannot reproduce.
Enterprise software remains one of the most resilient and liquid sectors for M&A, but the market no longer rewards everyone equally. For owners weighing a sale, the implication is clear: those who can demonstrate a defensible niche, recurring revenue and genuine AI-readiness will meet strong demand and premium multiples. Those who cannot should expect a more demanding process.

Valsoft is the most active buyer in the sector. Volaris and Visma are also extremely active in a market where Hampleton tracked over 4,470 buyers that have made multiple acquisitions over the last 30 months.

Valsoft: 35 acquisitions, including NedFox (retail ERP and POS software, NL), DigitalEd (online learning and assessment platform for STEM, CA) and KidKare by Minute Menu (daycare management and compliance software, US).

Volaris: 28 acquisitions, including socoto (marketing automation software, DE), Accent Technologies (sales enablement software for regulated industries, US) and Interplayers (health and wellness ecosystem software, BR).

Visma: 25 acquisitions, including MaisMei (compliance app for micro-entrepreneurs, BR), EstateApp / Jakoa Enterprises (property maintenance management software, FI) and WeFact (invoicing and administration software for SMBs, NL).

Download the full Hampleton Partners Enterprise Software M&A Market Report 2H2026, which explores key industry trends and acquisition case studies within the main subsectors: Enterprise Applications, Vertical Applications, Business Intelligence & Customer Analytics, Information Management, Infrastructure Management, and Design, Testing & Simulation.

Hampleton Partners’ M&A Market Reports are compiled using data and information from the 451 Research, Capital IQ, CB Insights, Gartner, IDC and more.

Hampleton Partners advises owners of software and technology companies on M&A transactions and growth financing with strategic buyers or financial investors. Hampleton’s experienced deal makers have advised hundreds of tech industry shareholders to date, providing hands-on expertise and targeted advice to entrepreneurs looking to sell, partially retire, or accelerate their growth.

With offices across Europe, and partners in North America and East Asia, Hampleton offers a global perspective with industry expertise in Enterprise Software, Digital Commerce, IT & Business Services, Artificial Intelligence, Automotive, Mobility & Infrastructure, Cybersecurity, Fintech, Healthtech, Supply Chain Management, Healthtech, HR Tech, and Insurtech. 

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