Southern Europe Mid-Market M&A: Stable Valuations, Strong Buyer Appetite

September 11, 2025 – The Southern European mid-market M&A landscape, which is made up of Spain, Portugal, Greece, and Italy, in the first half of 2025 showed resilience, with steady deal activity, a strong focus on smaller transactions, as well as the increasing use of artificial intelligence in dealmaking. Findings from the latest Southern Europe M&A Monitor, based on input from leading advisory firms across Spain, Portugal, Greece, and Italy, highlight that the market has adapted to a “new normal’’, with advisors expressing optimism for the months ahead. Nearly half of all transactions were sub-€5 million (26% under €2.5m; 20% €2.5–€5m), underscoring continued momentum in smaller deals.

Financing Conditions Improving

While access to financing in H1-2025 was broadly similar to late 2024 for most advisors (53%), more respondents reported easier rather than harder conditions (30% vs. 17%). For H2-2025, a larger share expect easing (39%) than tightening (31%), indicating a cautiously improving outlook even as 30% foresee stability.

Valuations Hold Steady

The average EV/EBITDA across Southern Europe stands at 5.3x, with sector dispersion from 7.4x (Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals; Software Development) to 3.8x (Construction & Engineering). 

AI Enters the M&A Mainstream

Artificial intelligence is now essential to the process: 17% of advisors use AI regularly and 62% have used it a few times; only 7% have not engaged with AI. The strongest perceived benefits are in market research, identifying off-market opportunities, and faster target evaluation; the impact is more mixed in due diligence and limited in post-merger integration. 

Buyer Interest Remains High

The market remains a seller’s market, with an average of 8.4 serious buyers per company brought to market. Buyer appetite is particularly strong in IT Services, Software Development, and Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals. 

Deal Terms: More Risk-Sharing

Earn-outs increased the most in H1-2025 (53% reported higher use). Warranties & indemnities and suspensive conditions also saw broader application, while asset/liability transactions remained largely unchanged. 

Assignments & Outlook

Assignments rose versus H2-2024: 58% of advisors reported an increase (34% similar; 8% decrease). Sentiment is upbeat: 90% of advisors have positive expectations for H2-2025. 

Floyd Plettenberg, CEO of Dealsuite, commented:

“A decade ago, market turbulence often paralysed M&A activity. Today, many dealmakers have adapted to operating in an environment where uncertainty is constant. This resilience is particularly visible in the SME segment, where we continue to see healthy deal flow and an evolution in deal structures that share risk more evenly between buyer and seller. It is a sign of a more mature and strategic M&A market in southern Europe.”

About the Southern Europe M&A Monitor

‍This edition is based on insights from 117 mid-market M&A advisory firms in Spain, Italy, Portugal, and Greece. The monitor tracks transaction volumes, sector trends, valuation multiples, deal terms, financing conditions, buyer intent, and market sentiment across companies with €1m–€200m in revenues.