M&A Activity in the Third Quarter — Down 19%

Optis Partners recently released a report on mergers and acquisitions. They dropped significantly in the third quarter. It’s the lowest level of activity since the second quarter of 2018.

There were 439 deals in the first nine months of this year. That’s down 19% from the same time period last year. Transactions in the third quarter number 144 and that’s down 27% from a year ago in the same quarter.

Optis partner, Steve Germundson said the 600 deals announced during the 12 month period ending September 30th is down 21% from a year ago.

“Deal flow to date in 2026 is slower than we anticipated,” he said. “Based on conversations we’ve had and historical trends, we expect Q4 to pick up somewhat but still at a slower pace than prior year-end quarters.”

As usual, private-equity backed and hybrid buyers did most of the transactions and accounted for 76% of them. BroadStreet Partners is the most active with 57 deals. Inzone Insurance services had 48.

Managing Partner Tim Cunningham said private-equity-backed and hybrid buyers accounted for 76% of announced transactions in the third quarter and the first nine months of the year. Hub International had 22.

“Most of the private equity-backed platforms still want to make acquisitions but are facing pressure to prioritize deleveraging, integration, and exits over sheer volume,” Cunningham said. “This pulls deal counts down even as capital commitments stay high.”

When it comes to buyers, the largest 10% accounted for 55% of transactions. That compares with 46% in 2021.

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