Argos Index® mid-market

Q2 2026: the Argos Index® continues its slight rebound to 8.8x EBITDA

Paris (France) – 3 September 2026 – The mid-market Argos Index® for the first quarter of 2026, published by Epsilon Research, the online platform for the management of unlisted M&A transactions, and Argos Wityu, the independent European investment fund, is now available. Launched in 2006, this index tracks the valuations of unlisted eurozone SMEs in which a majority stake has been acquired during the last six months.

In the second quarter of 2026, acquisition prices for European SMEs continued their rebound to 8.8x EBITDA. The recovery reflects the structural resilience of the Eurozone’s mid‑market despite lost momentum in M&A activity owing to Europe’s exposure to the Iran conflict, the spike in oil prices, the resulting inflation risk, and the fact that long‑term eurozone rates remain at an elevated level.

Slight rebound in acquisition prices for European SMEs, to 8.8x EBITDA

In the second quarter of 2026, acquisition prices for unlisted European SMEs rose 2.3% quarter‑on‑quarter, continuing the price recovery that began in Q1. This trend was broad‑based across buyer types and market segments.

The rebound was driven by both investment funds and strategic buyers, despite the gap in multiples.

• Multiples paid by investment funds rose further to 10.2x EBITDA in Q2 2026, extending the rebound that followed a low of 8.3x in Q4 2025.
• Multiples paid by strategic buyers also increased, from 7.8x to 7.9x, keeping corporate pricing broadly disciplined.
• The gap between fund and strategic buyer multiples widened slightly to 2.3x, continuing the divergence observed since the start of the year.

Diverging evolution of the extremes of the distribution.

• In Q2 2026, transactions at extreme multiples made up 32% of the sample, up from 28% in the previous quarter.
• The share of deals at multiples below 7.0x EBITDA increased to 27%, from 22% in Q1.
• The share of deals above 15x EBITDA continued to decline to 5%, a historical low.
• This gap reflects diverging pressure across sectors.

Eurozone mid‑market M&A activity declined as volumes fell.

• Estimated eurozone mid‑market M&A deal volume fell 8% quarter‑on‑quarter, extending the Q1 pullback.
• Investment fund deal volume rose 11% year‑on‑year in H1 2026 but was down 16% versus H2 2025.
• The LBO share remained stable at 14% by deal count, while its share by value stayed higher at 32%.

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