Laurent Capital Research
Original data on lower middle market M&A: who is buying, what companies are worth, what a sale costs in tax, and where the next generation of sellers will come from. Free to cite with a link.
Reports
Each report publishes its method, its sources and the underlying dataset.
Research report
Add-On Acquisition Tracker
Business services accounted for 73 of the 294 private equity-backed add-on acquisitions of US and Canadian B2B companies we verified for Q3 2026 (25%), with accounting and advisory firms the single most acquired subsector.
Updated 2026-10-26
Research report
The Most Active Acquirers in the Lower Middle Market, 2026
Serial buyers with two or more deals in the same niche made 57% of the 575 announced acquisitions of U.S. and Canadian companies we tracked across eight lower middle market niches from November 2025 to October 2026.
Updated 2026-10-27
Research report
The Seller’s Tax Map: What Selling a Business Costs in Every State (2026)
On a $25 million long-term gain from selling company stock, an owner in California pays about $3.33M more in combined federal and state tax than one in Texas or any of the other 8 states that do not tax the gain ($9.28M versus $5.95M).
Updated 2026-10-26
Research report
Public Company Valuation Multiples by Sector (October 2026)
As of October 26, 2026, vertical software & SaaS was the highest-valued of eight sectors at a median 32.5x LTM EV/EBITDA across listed US and Canadian peers, and IT services & managed services the lowest at 11.0x.
Updated 2026-10-26
Research report
The Succession Gap: How Many Business Owners Are Nearing Retirement, State by State
In 2023, 51.3% of owners of US employer businesses were 55 or older and 23.1% were 65 or older, up from 20.1% in 2017 (Census Bureau Annual Business Survey).
Updated 2026-10-26
Research report
Silicon Valley & Bay Area Lower Middle Market M&A Review, 2026 Year to Date
Of 26 verified 2026 acquisitions of Bay Area lower-middle-market B2B companies where the buyer's headquarters could be confirmed, 18 (69%) went to buyers based outside California.
Updated 2026-10-27
Research report
Directory of Independent Sponsors and Search Funds in North America (2026)
Directory of 183 buyers verified on their own websites, 63 independent sponsors and 120 search funds; median published minimum EBITDA is $2M for sponsors and $1M for searchers.
Updated 2026-10-27
Research report
NetSuite Ecosystem M&A Deal Tracker
34 sourced acquisitions since 2019; accounting and advisory firms were the most frequent buyers of NetSuite partners.
Updated 2026-10-26
Free tools
Calculators built on the same rules of thumb our bankers use.
Free tool
Seller’s Tax Calculator by State
Estimate federal and state tax and net proceeds on the sale of a business in any of the 50 states and DC.
Updated 2026-10-26
Free tool
Business Valuation Calculator for B2B Companies (Indicative Range)
A free calculator that turns sector, adjusted EBITDA (or SDE) and five quality factors into an indicative low, mid and high enterprise value, explains each adjustment to the multiple, and bridges enterprise value to cash at close.
Updated 2026-10-26
Free tool
M&A Advisor Fee Calculator: Lehman, Double Lehman and Modified Lehman
Enter a deal value to see the M&A advisor's success fee, all-in effective rate and tier-by-tier math under Lehman, double Lehman, custom tiers or a flat rate.
Updated 2026-10-26
Free tool
Net Working Capital Peg Calculator
Computes a target's monthly net working capital from twelve month-end balances, sets the peg on a trailing twelve-month, six-month, three-month or month-specific basis, and shows the dollar-for-dollar purchase price adjustment, with or without a collar, for any estimated closing level.
Updated 2026-10-26
For journalists and researchers
Figures from our research may be quoted and republished with attribution to Laurent Capital and a link to the source page. Datasets are released under CC BY 4.0. For interviews, custom cuts of the data or questions about methodology, call (650) 999-9845 or email info@laurent.capital.
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