Capstone Partners Reports: Middle Market M&A Valuations Soften, Market Participants are Optimistic for a Recovery in 2024
BOSTON, March 21, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Capstone Partners, a leading middle market investment banking firm, released its 2023 Middle Market M&A Valuations Index, reporting that while equity markets largely shrugged off the rapid succession of interest rate hikes in 2023, middle market merger and acquisition (M&A) valuations experienced downward pressure. Elevated transaction costs, uncertainty over projected cash flows, and a reserved private equity buyer pool contributed to average M&A valuations falling to 9.6x EV/EBITDA in 2023, compared to 9.9x in 2022. Several deals that transacted at premium valuations helped to bolster this average, while the median EBITDA multiple fell more drastically to 8.0x EV/EBITDA compared to 8.5x in the prior year. While business owners encountered a challenging valuation environment, several bright spots of the market have provided optimism for resilience and recovery in transaction value in 2024. Notably, average three-year EBITDA purchase multiples in the Business Services, FinTech & Services, Industrial Technology, Technology, Media & Telecom, and Transportation, Logistics & Supply Chain industries improved on a year-over-year (YOY) basis.