The SMB M&A Pipeline: Q4 2024

Welcome to the Q4 2024 issue of The SMB M&A Pipeline, the quarterly series that surfaces a top-of-the-funnel breakdown of the deal activity on Axial’s platform. The aggregated metrics include quarterly deal volumes, financial and geographic characteristics, and pursuit rates, sorted by industry category.

All deal data is fully anonymized to protect the confidentiality of these transactions.

Pursuit Rates

“Pursuit rate” measures the rate at which Axial’s buyside members register interest in a deal that an Axial sell-side member has invited them to consider. If NDAs, IOIs, and LOIs reflect the deepening progression of interest among acquirers on a given deal, the pursuit rate is one step higher in the funnel than the signed NDA. It offers insight into the forward deal pipeline and the initial interest level of prospective Axial buyside members.

An Overview of Q4 2024

In Q4 2024, 2,549 deals came to market, representing a 17.20% year-over-year increase in overall deal flow. All seven major industries experienced growth for the second consecutive quarter compared to the same period in 2023. Notably, Healthcare saw a 42.86% rise, while Business Services and Consumer Goods also saw significant increases of 31.79% and 20.70%, respectively.

Q4 capped off a record-breaking year for deal volume on Axial, with 10,735 deals coming to market in 2024—a 7.8% increase from 2023 and the highest annual total on record.

Deal Volume vs. Pursuit Rate

Industrials ranked 1st in both deal volume and pursuit rate, demonstrating continued strong market interest. Food & Hospitality and Consumer Goods exhibited contrasting trends: Food & Hospitality ranked high in deal volume (2nd) but the lowest in pursuit rate (7th), while Consumer Goods ranked 3rd in deal volume but 6th in pursuit rate.

Below is a detailed breakdown of industry-specific and overall deal activity on Axial in Q4. Feel free to incorporate this data into your materials as you see fit.

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Axial is the trusted deal platform serving the lower middle market ($2.5-$250M TEV).

Over 3,500 advisory firms and 3,000 corporate and financial buyers have joined Axial to efficiently connect with relevant capital partners, source actionable deals, and build new relationships.

Visit the Member Closed Deals page to see selected transactions that have been sourced and closed via Axial.