Argos Index® mid-market

Q4 2025: the Argos Index® continues its downward trend to 8.3x EBITDA

Paris (France) – 18 February 2026 – The mid-market Argos Index® for the fourth quarter of 2025, 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 fourth quarter of 2025, acquisition prices for European SMEs fell to 8.3x EBITDA, the lowest level since 2014. The decline is the result of both lower multiples for larger deals and lower prices paid by investment funds. Prices continued to be held back by the macrofinancial environment, which included an increase in long-term interest rates, record sovereign debt levels, heightened geopolitical tensions and uncertainty stemming from Donald Trump’s unpredictable policies, which continued to weigh on investor confidence and valuation assumptions.

Acquisition multiples for unlisted European SMEs

• In the fourth quarter of 2025, acquisition prices for unlisted European SMEs declined again (by 4.6%) to 8.3x EBITDA, the weakest level seen since the first half of 2014.
• There was a sharp correction in the upper mid-market, where multiples fell by 22%, while valuations at the lower end of the market stabilized.

Lower prices paid by investment funds

• In the fourth quarter of 2025, multiples paid by investment funds fell further to 8.7x EBITDA.
• Multiples paid by strategic buyers stabilized at the low level of 7.7x EBITDA.

Ongoing serious downward pressure on prices

• In the fourth quarter of 2025, transactions at extreme multiples accounted for 34% of the index sample, in line with the previous quarter.
• The proportion of deals at multiples of over 15x EBITDA remained at an all-time low of 7%.

Acceleration in eurozone mid-market M&A activity at the end of the year

• Mid-market M&A activity in the eurozone rose by 30% in the second half compared with the first, as did LBO volumes, and was up 8% on a full-year basis relative to 2024.
• This rebound was supported by stronger-than-expected eurozone fundamentals, i.e. controlled inflation, improving economic growth and corporate earnings.

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