Industrials M&A Update

RESOURCE HIGHLIGHTS

• In Q2, the S&P 500 Industrials Index increased by 12.7%, but underperformed a 14.0% increase in the S&P 500 over the same period.
• The median EV/EBITDA multiple for reported private equity deals in the Industrials sector increased to 18.7x in 1H 2026 from 9.0x in 2025, but decreased for strategic deals to 10.2x from 10.9x in the prior year.
• M&A deal volume in the sector increased 7.4% in Q2 to 626 deals from 583 deals in Q1, and increased 41.6% from 442 deals in Q2 of the prior year.
• Europe was the most active region in Q2 with 250 deals in the sector. Most notably in Europe was CVC Capital Partners’ $2.6 billion acquisition of Smiths Detection, a London-based manufacturer of security screening systems.
• Total capital invested in M&A transactions decreased 40.7% in Q2 to $55.6B from $93.7B in Q1, but increased 217.7% from $17.5B in Q2 of the prior year. The decrease from Q1 was primarily due to Toyota Motor’s $37.4 billion acquisition of Toyota Industries. Comparatively, the largest reported Q2 deal was Shield AI’s acquisition of Aechelon Technology.