Preface

The Global Mid-Market¹ Private Equities Annual report for 2025 analyzes the market trends in Private Equity (PE) Merger & Acquisition (M&A) deals through calendar year 2025. A publication from Altius², the report highlights how PE deals and operations teams differentiate themselves from their peers to generate higher returns through operational excellence. The report analyzes different Mid-Market (MM) sub-segments by region, fund-type, industry segment and deal economics.

2025 Mid-Market Deals at a Glance

Figure 1: PE Deals (H1 2025 v H2 2025)

Figure 2

Conclusion

In 2025, there was an increase in overall PE deal activity. The Lower Mid-Market, in particular, accounted for a greater share of Mid-Market deals than in 2024. The geographic and industry distributions of deal activity remained stable, with the top 3 industries and top 3 regions unchanged. Some sponsors did change, but the top Private Equities were consistent in 2025. These trends suggest a gradual recovery of the Mid-Market from challenging economic conditions. That said, transaction times did slightly increase over the year, while the average transaction value was reduced, signaling the continuation of cautious investments in a recovering, yet unpredictable, market. As seen in prior quarters, the impact of AI in dealmaking and value creation has continued to expand. Expectations for continued growth in the PE Mid-Market, paired with increased AI adoption, make for an interesting year ahead.

Notes

      ¹ Globally, the Mid-Market segment is categorized based on annual revenue of portfolio companies, with three distinct tiers. The Lower Mid-Market (LMM) is companies with revenues between $25 million to $100 million. The Core Mid-Market (MM) ranges from $100 million to $500 million, and Upper Mid-Market (UMM) ranges from $500 million to $2 billion.

      ² Altius is a Mid-Market Private Equity advisory firm, with offices in US, UK and India. Established in 2019, the firm focuses on funds and Mid-Market portfolio companies globally, working with deals and operations teams to deliver EBITDA.