Software M&A activity remained robust in Q2 2025, with deal volume just marginally (4%) down on record-breaking Q1 and up 52% over the same period in 2024. Activity was skewed toward smaller deals with deal value in Q2 up only 12% year-on-year. Strategic buyers continue to drive activity during 2025, and the median valuation premium for a strategic versus financial buyer doubled versus Q1 from 0.4x to 0.8x, with median strategic multiple of EV / LTM revenue for Q2 of 5.4x compared with 4.6x for financial buyers.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) continues to be at the center of many strategic theses in both horizontal and vertical software deals, with buyers seeking software vendors with embedded AI features, particularly in document intelligence and conversational AI. Data governance and management is another area seeing strong AI-driven interest, with Informatica’s acquisition by Salesforce a recent example.
Global Software Sector Valuation Data
Our Global Software Sector Update –Summer 2025 aims to identify trends and provide insights across the sector, focusing on key themes, deal activity and market changes. Want to learn more about our valuation data and public company trading statistics? Download our Global Software Sector Update Valuation Data–Summer 2025.
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