Q1 2026

Specialty Chemicals & Performance Materials Sector M&A Update

In Q1, the S&P 500 Specialty Chemicals Sub Industry Index increased 3.3%, outperforming the S&P 500 which saw a 4.8% decrease over the same period.
The median EV/EBITDA multiple for reported private equity deals in the Specialty Chemicals & Performance Materials (“Specialty Chem”) sector increased to 22.4x in Q1 from 12.3x in 2025, and increased for strategic deals to 11.7x from 10.3x in the prior year.
M&A deal volume in the sector increased 7.7% in Q1 to 267 deals from 248 in Q4 2025, but decreased 13.9% from 310 in Q1 of the prior year.
Europe was the most active region in Q1 with 103 deals. Most notable in Europe was OMV’s $19.1 billion acquisition of Borealis, an Austrian manufacturer of polyolefin chemicals.
Total capital invested in M&A transactions increased 91.0% in Q1 to $52.9B from $27.7B in Q4 2025, primarily due to several mega-sized deals in Q1 including the Borealis deal mentioned above.