GF Data® has released its Q4 2025 M&A and Leverage Reports, offering a full-year view of private equity–sponsored transactions completed through December 31, 2025. The latest data reflects a middle-market dealmaking environment shaped by macroeconomic uncertainty and cautious underwriting as the year came to a close.
Contributing private equity firms reported 297 completed transactions for the full year — a 23% decline from 2024and a 41% drop from the peak volume recorded in 2021.
“The full-year results confirm what we saw building throughout 2025,” said Bob Dunn, managing director of GF Data. “Buyers remained disciplined in the face of financing constraints, and deal activity was increasingly concentrated in larger, well-capitalized transactions.”
Despite the volume decline, average purchase price multiples held steady year-over-year at 7.2x trailing 12-month adjusted EBITDA. A closer look at quarterly data, however, reveals uneven results — with valuations and deal volume frequently moving in opposite directions throughout the year.
On the leverage side, debt availability showed modest improvement late in 2025, with platform leverage rebounding in Q4. Even so, leverage levels for the full year remained below historical norms, as sponsors relied more heavily on equity and deployed debt selectively in a still-cautious credit environment.
The M&A and Leverage Reports are available exclusively to GF Data subscribers.