Terry Hannafin and Ramsey Goodrich represented CMG at Association for Corporate Growth’s flagship middle‑market dealmaker conference DealMax in Las Vegas last week with more than 3500 M&A professionals in attendance. Ramsey was again a featured speaker at the event, this time for “The Next Chapter of Dealmaking,” a forward-looking discussion on trends shaping how middle‑market transactions are evolving.
There were a few key takeaway themes from the conference that directly affect middle-market business owners:
- Deal flow is picking up, albeit slowly. The pending ‘silver tsunami’ is continuing to build but today there is only a ‘swell’ of deals coming to market.
- The market is resilient – the constant stream of challenges (tariffs, Middle East conflict, consumer sentiment) has not dampened enthusiasm for deals. They are being considered ‘short term’ blips.
- Valuations for great companies remain elevated. There are not enough “A” level companies (growing, strong margins, defendable market position, strong management teams) to satisfy the demand of investors. As a greater supply of deals comes to the market, valuations may come back down.
- Everyone wants ‘Blue Collar’ services – landscaping, facility services, HVAC, electrical contractors are all ‘hot’ now. The recurring nature and insulation from AI make them highly attractive. “AI can’t mow the lawn – at least not yet”
- AI is everywhere – Every single conversation surrounded this topic. While AI will certainly change the way we work, and how we hire junior teams, we are still on the front end of the wave.
- Private Equity is holding on – the average hold period for PE investors is now approaching 7 years (from a normal average of four), but they have to start selling soon. They purchased the current cohort of companies at the peak of the market so are reluctant to sell them at lower multiples.
CMG has been a strong supporter of ACG for more than 25 years, having been local and global board members. We are already looking forward to this annual conference in 2027.
