◆ Deal Insights · sector read
Business Services
Deal-ledDeal volume is doing the work while venture money holds steady: integration and synergy programmes are the main opportunity.
M&A deals
+18%›
59 in the last 3 months vs 50
Venture capital
−7%›
€5.3bn in the last 2 quarters
Public mandates
–›
too few to read
Capital pressure
39%›
1,396 of 3,561 venture-backed overdue
01The month's strongest deals
Where the Business Services mandates are forming.
The highest-conviction Business Services deals in the 30 days to 4 September, each with the advisory angle. Click a deal for the mandate and the buyer.
Business Services · United KingdomTrigger 8/10
AMSBought by Korn Ferry · $1bn
Business Services · SwedenTrigger 8/10
Dynava GroupBought by Servana · $11m
Business Services · MoroccoTrigger 8/10
🔒Bought by 🔒
🔒 The mandate angle is for members
Business Services · AustriaTrigger 8/10
🔒Bought by 🔒
🔒 The mandate angle is for members
Business Services · DenmarkTrigger 8/10
🔒Bought by 🔒
🔒 The mandate angle is for members
Every Business Services deal in six months
02Who sells next
The likely sellers, and who needs them sold.
Venture-backed Business Services companies ranked by StrategyAI's acquisition odds, the ones past their normal time to raise, and the funds in their harvest years.
◆ StrategyAI prediction · likely to be acquired next
56 Business Services companies have at least twice the typical odds of being bought within two years.
1
Relex Solutions
Software · Finland · In its raise window · €705m raised
Exit-readyCapital pressureSerial buyers due
×3.7
2
🔒
Marketing · Greece · Overdue to raise
Exit-readyOverdue to raiseCapital pressure
×3.5
3
🔒
HRtech · UK · Overdue to raise
Exit-readyOverdue to raiseFund harvesting
×3.5
4
🔒
Software · UK · In its raise window
Exit-readySerial buyers due
×3.3
5
🔒
HRtech · UK · Overdue to raise
Exit-readyOverdue to raiseCapital pressure
×3.0
6
🔒
Software · UK · Overdue to raise
Exit-readyOverdue to raiseCapital pressureSerial buyers due
×3.0
7
🔒
Edtech · UK · Overdue to raise
Exit-readyOverdue to raiseCapital pressure
×2.8
8
🔒
Proptech · Latvia · Deploying
Exit-ready
×2.7
9
🔒
Software · France · In its raise window
Exit-readySerial buyers due
×2.7
10
🔒
Software · Spain · Overdue to raise
Exit-readyOverdue to raiseFund harvestingSerial buyers due
×2.7
×N is the odds of an acquisition within 24 months against a typical venture-backed company (3.0%). The model is backtested on European exits; an indication, not advice.
Overdue for an exit
1,396 Business Services companies are past their normal time to raise; 569 are backed by a fund in its harvest years.
hackajob
Exit-ready 100HRtech · UK · 41 months since Series B · €29m raised
Northcoders
Exit-ready 100Edtech · UK · 33 months since its last round · €25m raised
🔒
Exit-ready 100HRtech · UK · 46 months since Series D+
🔒
Exit-ready 100Marketing · Greece · 30 months since Series D+
🔒
Exit-ready 100Software · UK · 45 months since Growth/Late
🔒
Exit-ready 100Software · Germany · 31 months since Series C
🔒
Exit-ready 100Software · Spain · 47 months since Series B
🔒
Exit-ready 100Proptech · Netherlands · 35 months since Series C
🔒
Exit-ready 99Software · UK · 34 months since Series B
🔒
Exit-ready 99Software · UK · 29 months since Series C
The fund clock · funds that have to sell
41 venture funds (€4bn) are in their harvest or extension years: 40 managers who need exits, and the sale processes that come with them.
Manager · fundSizeClosedAgeStage
Rocket Internet Capital Partners IGermany · Software, E-Commerce, Fintech, Marketplaces, Travel€930m201610.7 yrsExtension
Highland Europe IIISwitzerland · Software, Internet€463m20188.3 yrsHarvest
🔒Germany · Internet, Mobile, Software, Health, Finance, Digital-Media––8.7 yrsHarvest
🔒UK · Prop-Tech––6.7 yrsHarvest
🔒Germany · Fintech, Digital-Health, Prop-Tech, Industry-4.0, Enterprise-Software, Mobility, Logistics––7.6 yrsHarvest
🔒Germany · Mobility, Logistics, Travel, Prop-Tech, Food-Tech, Agri-Tech, Digital-Health, Ecommerce, Marketplaces, Fintech, Insurtech, Productivity, Future-of-Work––7.3 yrsHarvest
🔒UK · AI, Fintech, Internet, Hardware, Software––9.5 yrsHarvest
🔒Russia · Consumer-Internet, Marketplaces, Fintech, Marketing, Transportation, Ed-Tech––10.2 yrsExtension
🔒Belgium · Software, Digital-Conversion, IT-Services––8.8 yrsHarvest
🔒Russia · Cloud-Software, Ed-Tech, Fintech, Health-Tech––10.4 yrsExtension
Harvest: years six to ten, when a fund sells its companies to return capital. Extension: past ten years and overdue to wind up. Source: EuroVC fund closes.
03Leadership moves
Who just changed the team at the top.
Leadership moves · last 30 days
31 Business Services companies changed leadership this month; 1 of them were acquired in the past year. A new CEO or CFO after a deal is the first sign of a new plan.
🔒Leadership change · Business Services · France · 11 SeptAcquired in the last year
🔒Senior hire · Business Services · United Kingdom · 26 Sept
🔒Leadership change · Business Services · United Kingdom · 15 Sept
🔒Leadership change · Business Services · United Kingdom · 15 Sept
🔒Leadership change · Business Services · United Kingdom · 15 Sept
🔒Leadership change · Business Services · Cyprus · 15 Sept
🔒Leadership change · Business Services · United States · 15 Sept
🔒Leadership change · Business Services · United Kingdom · 15 Sept
🔒Leadership change · Business Services · United Kingdom · 15 Sept
🔒Leadership change · Business Services · United Kingdom · 15 Sept
04Other sectors
Read another sector.
Every Business Services name, every morning.
Members see the companies behind every number, the people they already know there, and live signals scored against eleven mandate patterns.
M&A: EMEA transactions, momentum compares the latest three months with the three before. Venture capital: tech.eu Funding Explorer (CC BY 4.0) and EuroVC. Predictions are StrategyAI model outputs: indicative, not advice.