M&A Sentiment, AI Readiness, and Deal Dynamics Across the Knowledge Economy
Disciplined optimism. AI-driven differentiation. Fundamentals back in focus.
The 2026 edition of Equiteq’s Global Buyers Report provides an in-depth view into how strategic acquirers and private equity investors are approaching M&A across the global Knowledge Economy.
Based on buyer surveys, proprietary deal data, and Equiteq’s advisory experience across consulting, technology services, digital, and professional services, the report reveals a market entering 2026 with renewed clarity. After years of volatility, buyers are more selective, more disciplined, and more focused on long-term value creation - but appetite for acquisitions remains strong.
This year’s findings show a market shaped by AI maturity, capital deployment pressure, and a return to fundamentals such as leadership quality, revenue resilience, and cultural fit.
Key Findings
- Buyers enter 2026 with measured bullishness, prioritizing quality over volume
- Private equity remains the most aggressive buyer group, driven by capital deployment and add-on strategies
- AI has become a strategic necessity, not a differentiator, across all buyer types
- 94% of strategic acquirers and 82% of private equity investors rate AI as important or very important to their strategy
- Add-on acquisitions are outpacing new platform investments
- Valuations remain stable and closely tied to verifiable performance and execution capability
Market Sentiment: Disciplined Optimism Returns
Buyer sentiment entering 2026 is best described as bullish but recalibrated. While growth expectations have moderated from post-pandemic peaks, capital remains available and strategic priorities are clearer.
Around half of all buyers expect to complete more acquisitions in 2026, led by private equity, where over 60% anticipate increased deal activity. Strategic buyers are more mixed but show improving confidence compared to previous years.
This is not a retreat from M&A - rather a reset toward sustainable dealmaking, longer-term value creation, and tighter alignment between buyers and sellers.
AI and M&A: From Experimentation to Execution
Artificial intelligence has moved decisively from experimentation to execution. Buyers are no longer asking whether a target uses AI, but whether it is structurally prepared to deploy it at scale.
Key themes shaping AI-driven M&A include:
- Commercially proven AI use cases, not experimental tools
- Integration with modern data stacks and cloud platforms
- AI embedded into recurring workflows and service delivery
- Talent depth and operational readiness
Buyers increasingly discount surface-level AI branding and generic automation. Instead, they reward firms with domain-specific AI, governed data assets, and the ability to operationalize AI safely within enterprise environments.
Despite heightened interest, buyers remain cautious. Valuation risk, uncertain ROI, and rapid technological obsolescence are now the most frequently cited concerns in AI-related acquisitions.
Propensity for Acquisitions: Add-ons Drive the Market
Private equity activity continues to be shaped by the need to deploy capital and deliver returns. As a result, add-on acquisitions account for the majority of PE deal volume, while new platform investments represent a smaller share.
Add-ons offer:
- Faster deployment of capital
- Lower integration risk
- Targeted capability upgrades in AI, data, cloud, and cyber
- Clearer exit narratives
Strategic buyers, meanwhile, are increasingly using M&A to close capability gaps quickly, often through fewer but larger transactions.
Sectors and Verticals in Focus
Buyer interest remains concentrated in a set of structurally resilient verticals:
- Financial Services - the most attractive sector due to scale, regulation, and ongoing digital transformation
- Healthcare & Life Sciences - steady demand driven by data intensity, regulation, and demographic trends
- Energy & Utilities - rising interest linked to energy transition, regulation, and infrastructure investment
- Defense & Cybersecurity - selective but fast-growing, particularly within public-sector-adjacent markets
Other sectors continue to attract interest where transformation, regulation, or mission-critical services create durable demand.
Geography: North America Dominates, Selective Global Expansion
North America remains the clear center of gravity for Knowledge Economy M&A, driven by:
- Depth of technology ecosystems
- Scale of private equity capital
- Concentration of AI, data, and cloud capabilities
Europe continues to attract buyers seeking high-quality assets at comparatively lower entry valuations, particularly in regulated markets. Asia-Pacific and ANZ markets are approached more selectively, often as capability-led or strategic foothold investments.
Digital, Consulting, and Professional Services M&A
Across digital and consulting services, buyer priorities have sharpened:
- Data integration, governance, and AI readiness are more valuable than standalone analytics
- Cloud orchestration, multi-cloud management, and regulated workloads drive public cloud M&A
- Cybersecurity services remain highly resilient due to talent scarcity and regulatory pressure
- Consulting and professional services are regaining favor where they bridge C-suite strategy and technology execution
Generic, labor-intensive service models face growing scrutiny, while specialized, platform-aligned, and vertically embedded firms continue to command strong interest.
How Buyers Evaluate Deals in 2026
Despite shifting market conditions, buyer evaluation criteria remain remarkably consistent:
- Management quality and leadership strength
- Revenue growth and resilience
- Profitability and margin sustainability
- Cultural alignment and execution capability
AI readiness is now an additional layer of diligence, used to assess whether businesses can remain competitive over the next cycle of technology change.
For high-quality assets that meet these criteria, buyers remain willing to pay strong multiples - but expectations are firmly grounded in performance, not potential alone.
What’s Inside the Report
- Global buyer sentiment and M&A outlook for 2026
- AI’s impact on acquisition strategy, diligence, and valuation
- Private equity vs strategic buyer behavior
- Sector, vertical, and geographic investment priorities
- Digital, consulting, and professional services M&A trends
- Deal evaluation benchmarks and buyer decision drivers
- Outlook for M&A activity across the Knowledge Economy
Download the Global Buyers Report 2026 to understand how buyers are thinking, where capital is flowing, and what defines an attractive, future-ready business in today’s Knowledge Economy.