I am constantly asked, how is the market? With rising consumer costs and the war with Iran, there are many macro factors that affect buyer and seller sentiment.
Axial recently released an interesting report reflecting pursuit activity through the first half of 2026. For the analysis, a “pursuit” is defined as the action of a prospective buyer expressing explicit interest in a specific deal that an advisor has shared with them on the Axial platform, which is primarily used by private equity, strategic and family office buyers along with some independent sponsors. Pursuits reflect the top-of-the-funnel interest of prospective buyers before we, as business brokers, move to specific milestones such as NDAs, IOIs and LOIs.
Highlights of Axials’ 1H 2026 Pursuits Report:
- Pursuits were the highest for businesses between $1M to $5M EDITDA with an average of 31.9 pursuits across 1,092 deals. This accounted for 72% of pursuits in the dataset.
- Businesses from $5M to $10M in EBITDA had many fewer deals during the time period (120) but each deal generated an average of 37.1 pursuits. For comparison, businesses $10M or higher in EBIDTA generated an average of 21 pursuits.
- Industrials led all sectors for most pursuits.
- Other highly attractive industries to prospective buyers included business services, technology, healthcare, consumer goods and transportation.
It is important to note that buyer interest was largely consistent across many industries with most industries generating between 20-25 pursuits per deal.
Top Pursued Deals BY EBITDA Ranges:
| EBITDA Range | Industry | Buyer Interest Generated |
|---|---|---|
| $10M+ | Technology | 126 |
| Education | 102 | |
| Industrials | 101 | |
| $5M – $10M | Consumer Goods | 228 |
| Industrials | 223 | |
| Consumer Goods | 167 | |
| $1M – $5M | Transportation | 379 |
| Business Services | 281 | |
| Industrials | 257 | |
| $500K – $1M | Industrials | 177 |
| Industrials | 165 | |
| Industrials | 142 |
I found this report to be interesting and insightful showing overall broad pursuits happening across industry, EBITDA and geographies. For the full report click here.
If you are considering buying or selling your business, we welcome the opportunity to assist you from start to finish.
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