Season 3 Episode 1
In this episode of Bundy Group Insights, Clint Bundy and Stewart Carlin reflect on a pivotal year in the M&A market, reviewing key developments from 2025 and discussing what business owners should be thinking about as they head into 2026.
The conversation begins with a discussion of the broader M&A environment. While headline attention focused on large, marquee transactions, 2025 was notable for the breadth of global deal activity, with more than 50,000 M&A transactions completed worldwide—a first-time milestone—and approximately 19,503 transactions in North America, the third-highest annual total on record. These figures underscore that market strength in 2025 was driven not just by deal size, but by sustained transaction volume across the middle market.
Clint and Stewart then review Bundy Group's performance in 2025. The firm closed eight transactions totaling approximately $440 million in aggregate value and delivered nearly 50% average premiums on Bundy Group-led sell-side engagements. These outcomes were achieved in a selective, diligence-heavy market through disciplined preparation, competitive processes, and deep sector specialization. Several client engagements are highlighted to illustrate how execution quality and positioning continued to drive strong results.
The episode concludes with a look ahead to 2026, including a sector-by-sector discussion across business and industrial services, technology-enabled services, and healthcare. Alex Chausovsky, President and CEO of 3DM Consulting, joins the conversation to provide additional economic and market context, offering perspective on geopolitics, policy dynamics, AI adoption, and why complexity—rather than outright uncertainty—is likely to define the operating and deal-making environment in the year ahead.
