Enterprise Software & Data M&A: Deal Volume Returns, Valuations Reset and Europe Takes the Lead

Enterprise Software & Data M&A 2026 has returned to growth, with 780 transactions globally in H1 — up 15% year-on-year and marking a decisive shift from funding rounds to strategic exits. After the more selective environment of 2025, the sector recorded 780 transactions in H1 2026, an increase of 15.0% year-on-year. Strategic acquirers doubled down on scale and AI capabilities, financial investors kept backing platforms with durable recurring revenue, and European targets attracted a growing share of global deal activity — all while public market valuations underwent the sharpest repricing in years. The message is clear: the buyers who know this sector are still buying, and they are buying capability.

At MP Corporate Finance, we track M&A activity across the full Enterprise Software & Data value chain — from ERP, CRM and Office-of-the-CFO applications to data streaming, analytics and cloud platforms, and the IT services and consulting businesses that implement them. What we observed in the first six months of 2026 was a market led by strategic consolidators, driven by AI and data capabilities, and characterised by a valuation reset that is creating opportunities on both sides of the table.

Back to growth: 780 deals and a structural shift from funding to M&A

Deal volume returned to growth in H1 2026, with 780 transactions globally against 678 in the same period a year earlier. Just as important as the headline number is what sits underneath it: the market’s shift away from capital raising has become structural. Funding rounds accounted for just 18% of transactions, down from 24% a year earlier, while M&A rose to 82% of activity as the venture and growth rounds of earlier years continued to convert into strategic exits. The result is a market with more sellers, more mature assets and more buyers competing for them.

Deal activity was characterised by a handful of selective landmark transactions alongside continued mid-market consolidation, aimed at strengthening specialised technological capabilities and expanding geographical reach. IBM’s acquisition of Confluent to advance real-time data streaming for enterprise AI workloads, and the take-private of Office-of-the-CFO platform OneStream by Hg, General Atlantic and Tidemark, set the tone at the top end, while a steady flow of capability bolt-ons defined the mid-market.

Strategics double down on scale and AI capabilities

Strategic investors further strengthened their position as the prime buyer group, accounting for around 63% of M&A transactions in H1 2026. The rationale remained consistent: capability-driven consolidation and “one-stop-shop offering” ambitions. Buyers were not acquiring revenue for its own sake; they were acquiring the data, AI and delivery capabilities that keep their core platforms relevant to enterprise customers.

The deal list reads like a capability shopping list. Accenture added cloud data and AI capabilities in the Iberian market with Keepler Data Tech and deepened its AI consulting expertise with Faculty Science; Cognizant acquired Astreya Partners to scale automation-led IT managed services; Sage Group bought Doyen AI to bring AI-powered data migration into its accounting suite; Siemens broadened its electronics design portfolio with ASTER Technologies; Parsons strengthened its big data capabilities across defence and intelligence markets with Altamira Technologies; and ADT enhanced its monitored security offering with the AI-based sensing technology of Origin Wireless.

Sponsors stay active — and Europe overtakes North America

Financial investors accounted for around 37% of M&A transactions and remained a decisive force at the larger end of the market. Beyond the OneStream take-private, Insight Venture Management and Sixth Street Partners backed real-time commodity and energy analytics platform Kpler Holding, Apax Partners took on ESG and supply chain risk data platform Sedex Information Exchange, Goldman Sachs Alternatives invested in high-density data centre operator Fonds QScale to capitalise on AI-driven demand, EQT expanded into Japan’s cloud and AI engineering services market with Mamezo, TPG’s Rise Fund scaled health-and-social-care data infrastructure provider Findhelp, and TA Associates acquired cloud-based business process outsourcer OneSource Virtual. The pattern is consistent: sponsors are backing platforms with durable recurring revenue and clear buy-and-build potential.

Geographically, H1 2026 marked a turning point. Europe overtook North America as the most active target region, accounting for 49% of M&A targets against 39% for North America and 12% for the rest of the world — the first time the North America-to-Europe deal ratio has fallen below parity. European software and data businesses are increasingly on the radar of global strategics and sponsors alike, as the Accenture, EQT, and Apax transactions illustrate.

AI in the deal flow and the valuation reset

AI has now woven through the deal flow rather than sitting beside it. Around 18% of all H1 2026 transactions involved some form of AI — from AI-native platforms to agentic assistants — and strategic buyers executed nearly 42% of AI-related M&A, underscoring the focus on embedding AI into core platforms rather than acquiring it as a standalone bet. Sage’s Doyen AI, Accenture’s Faculty Science and Keepler, IBM’s Confluent and ADT’s Origin Wireless all fit this pattern: AI bought to make an existing franchise stronger.

At the same time, public market valuations have undergone a massive shift. The median TEV/Revenue multiple of our 23-company Enterprise Software & Data peer group fell to 2.6x as of 30 June 2026, down from 3.9x a year earlier, with the most pronounced contraction of the cycle occurring in H1 2026 — enterprise values fell while peer revenues and margins continued to grow.

Aggregate LTM revenue across the peer group rose 8.7% to around €210bn and the median EBITDA margin stood at 22.1%. Private-market transaction multiples held up somewhat better at 3.1x revenue but also compressed from 4.8x. The spread within the peer group was wide — from Sopra Steria at 0.6x and Cognizant at 0.8x, through SAP at 4.1x and Dassault Systèmes at 3.4x, to Oracle at 8.4x and Snowflake at 17.2x — and it rewards scalable, high-growth, and AI-relevant platforms over people-intensive services models.

Enterprise Software & Data M&A 2026: outlook for owners and buyers

The outlook for H2 2026 remains promising. With deal volume back in growth mode, a structural pipeline of former funding-round companies converting into exits, moderate leverage across the peer group (median 1.5x net debt/EBITDA, with most peers in a net cash position) and continued strategic appetite for AI and data capabilities, we expect consolidation to continue through the second half of the year. The structural drivers — the embedding of AI into core enterprise platforms, the demand for real-time data and analytics, and the shift of European targets into the centre of global deal activity — are not fading, and the buyer universe that has formed around them is deep and motivated.

For owners considering their options, the current environment rewards preparation. Buyers are specific about what they want: durable recurring or re-occurring revenue, a defensible data or workflow position, a credible AI roadmap and a clear fit into a larger platform. Businesses that can demonstrate these attributes are commanding premiums well above the peer-group median — and the gap between those that can and those that cannot is widening.

The structural case for Enterprise Software M&A 2026 remains intact — and the buyer universe is deep and motivated.If you would like to discuss what the current M&A environment means for your business, we would be happy to share our perspective.