2025 Unwrapped: Top Content From Axial Newsletters

With just one day left before the calendar turns, we’re looking back at the most-read and most-shared content from Axial’s Middle Market Review and Exit Ready newsletters.

From Axial platform data and member surveys to industry and firm rankings, this year’s most popular pieces reflect what readers found useful, relevant, and worth revisiting from 2025. Below are the top articles, reports, and podcasts from the year, grouped by category.

Wishing everyone a safe and happy New Year!

Masters in Small Business M&A Podcast

Masters in Small Business M&A is produced by its host, Peter Lehrman, and the Axial team. In every episode, we delve into the dynamic world of small business M&A, interviewing a diverse mix of seasoned and emerging owners, operators, acquirers, and M&A advisors whose strategies and methods are being put to the test. Enjoy these podcast episodes from 2025.

• Building a Consequential Investment Bank with Adam Breslawsky
• Hagan Kappler is building Daisy, a Rollup & Franchisor in Smart Home Services
• The Shifting EtA Landscape: The Rise of Self-Funded Search with Royce Yudkoff & Richard Ruback
• Investing in Bootstrapped Vertical Market Software: A Conversation with Lance Fenton
• From Apollo & Viking to the Gritty Lower Middle Market. Building Tucker’s Farm with Kyle Tucker
• Nick Huber’s Journey From College Entrepreneur to RE Acquirer Back to Full-Time CEO
• Furniture Industry M&A with Bo Stump
• LP First Capital: Behind the Impressive Rise of a Top-Tier Independent Sponsor

All of the episodes above are available to watch on Axial’s YouTube channel.

Market Reports Backed by Axial Data

The select reports below draw on proprietary data from the Axial platform to examine buyer demand, deal activity, and sourcing dynamics across the lower middle market.

Dead Deal Report: Breaking Down 2024’s Broken LOIs

Various factors can cause a deal to fall apart—financing challenges, EBITDA discrepancies, and diligence findings, among others. However, with the complexity of LOIs and unique deal structures, pinpointing a single cause is rarely straightforward. To better understand why some deals broke down, we reviewed a selection of Axial-sourced deals with executed LOIs that fell apart in 2024. The findings are based on 65 unsuccessful transactions across seven buyer types and nine industries. Read here →

How Many Deals do PE Firms Source on Axial Every Year? (Hint: 1,000s)

Most private equity firms see only a fraction of the deal opportunities available to them. Industry benchmarking shows that PE firms cover less than 20% of relevant lower middle market deal flow on average, with even top-quartile firms reaching just 27.5%. This article breaks down how Axial expands sourcing coverage—using a technology-enabled deal sourcing engine to help firms access opportunities that traditional methods miss. Read here →

The Shape of Demand: How the Lower Middle Market Buyer Landscape Is Being Rewritten

The lower middle market buyer landscape is evolving quickly, with independent sponsors, family offices, holding companies, and search funds playing a growing role. Axial data shows nearly 1,000 new buyers joined the platform in early 2025, with demand increasingly concentrated in the $1M–$3M EBITDA range. This report breaks down who today’s buyers are, what they’re targeting, and how they’re getting deals done. Read here →

Winning Methods in Deal Sourcing: Texas Edition

Axial Founder & CEO Peter Lehrman presented at Rice University’s Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition Conference on the realities of sourcing deals in a more competitive lower middle market. Using Axial’s state-specific data from more than 12,000 deals brought to market over the past year, this report highlights key trends and outlines three pillars for building a repeatable, credible sourcing engine. Read here →

The Winning LOI eBook: Vol. 3, Issues 51-75

The Winning LOI series anonymously reveals small business M&A valuation data and key deal terms associated with winning LOIs. This third volume in the ebook series features the latest 25 issues of The Winning LOI (#51–75), showcasing transactions across a range of industries that successfully closed in 2025. Read & download here →

Perspectives From Axial Dealmakers

These articles draw on monthly surveys of Axial members to capture how dealmakers are thinking about current market conditions, buyer behavior, and evolving deal dynamics. Together, they offer a real-time snapshot of sentiment and priorities across the lower middle market.

Axial’s 2025 Independent Sponsor Report

Independent Sponsors continue to play a growing role in lower middle market M&A. Over the past 12 months, they accounted for 27% of closed deals on the Axial platform—more than any other buyer type. Drawing on survey responses from 83 active sponsors, along with feedback from M&A advisors and family offices, Axial’s 2025 Independent Sponsor Report examines how the segment is evolving in sourcing, financing, and execution. Read here →

How Fed Rate Cuts Are Shaping LMM M&A

The Federal Reserve’s recent 0.25% rate cut lowered the federal funds rate to a target range of 3.75%–4.00%, signaling a shift in the cost of capital as inflation eases. To understand how this change may impact the lower middle market, Axial surveyed members on how lower borrowing costs could influence valuations, competitive dynamics, and seller timing heading into 2026. Read here →

How AI Is Changing M&A: Insights from Axial Dealmakers

Artificial intelligence is increasingly being integrated into M&A workflows. Based on an Axial member survey conducted in the first half of 2025, 74.2% of respondents reported already using AI tools in deal sourcing or marketing, with another 9.7% planning to adopt them later this year. The article explores how AI is being applied across the deal lifecycle, from drafting CIMs to screening buyers and automating outreach. Read here →

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If you’d like to receive articles like the ones featured above, subscribe below to get weekly issues of Middle Market Review.

Exit Ready: Content For Business Owners

Exit Ready is the Axial newsletter that distills the best content, tips, and guides for exit-minded business owners running $5–$100M businesses. This year’s most popular articles focused on practical steps owners can take well before going to market, alongside market insights to help them better understand buyer expectations and timing.

Many of these articles also reflect a recurring theme: the importance of working with the right advisor at the right time. Axial’s Advisor Finder program helps business owners connect with experienced M&A advisors based on their business, goals, and timeline, making it easier to find the right fit before entering a sale process.

See below for a selection of 2025 Exit Ready articles.

What Falling Interest Rates Mean for Seller Valuations and Timing

With recent rate cuts easing the cost of capital, this article explores how falling interest rates can expand buyer pricing power and influence valuation outcomes—and why timing matters for sellers in this environment. Read here →

The Economics of Hiring an M&A Advisor: Are They Worth the Fees?

Hiring an M&A advisor is often one of the most consequential decisions a business owner makes during a sale process. This article breaks down the economics of working with an advisor, examining how fees, expertise, and process management can influence overall outcomes and net proceeds for sellers. Read here →

Earnout Agreements and Structures: A Business Owner’s Guide with Industry Data

Earnout provisions are a common way to bridge valuation gaps between buyers and sellers, but their structure can significantly affect post-close outcomes. This article explains how earnout agreements work, the key terms that shape them, and practical considerations for owners evaluating whether an earnout makes sense in a transaction context. Read here →

EBITDA Multiples by Industry: How Much Is Your Business Worth?

EBITDA multiples vary significantly across industries, and understanding those differences can help owners frame realistic valuation expectations. This article presents industry-specific multiple trends based on recent deal data, offering a reference point for benchmarking business value within broader market contexts. Read here →

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Subscribe to Exit Ready

For more business owner content like the articles above, subscribe to Exit Ready to receive practical guidance and market context delivered straight to your inbox twice each month.

Top-Ranked Axial Members

These ranking pieces highlight some of the most active and sought-after members on the Axial platform, including League Tables, Industry Top 50s, and Top 20 lists for Private Equity Funds and Independent Sponsors. Together, they offer a snapshot of which members stood out in 2025.

Click on the cover images below to view each list and the accompanying report.

Investment Banking League Tables

Business Broker League Tables

Last year, Axial launched a new league table to rank the Top 25 Business Brokerages in the lower middle market. This league table benchmarks and recognizes M&A advisory excellence in the sub-$10M market.

Buyside Rankings

In addition to highlighting our sell-side members, we also released two buyside ranking publications spotlighting the Top 20 Private Equity Funds and Independent Sponsors, based on activity and engagement on the Axial platform and overall firm success.

Industry Top 50

Each year, we highlight the Top 50 investors and M&A advisors on Axial across technology, industrials, and healthcare. In addition to recognizing these top members, each feature includes reflections and insights from our Industry M&A Outlook surveys.

Axial is the trusted deal platform serving the lower middle market ($2.5-$250M TEV).

Over 3,500 advisory firms and 3,000 corporate and financial buyers have joined Axial to efficiently connect with relevant capital partners, source actionable deals, and build new relationships.

Visit the Member Closed Deals page to see selected transactions that have been sourced and closed via Axial.

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