DISTRIBUTION M&A MARKET DYNAMICS
Global Distribution M&A finished Q2 2024 with 193 closed transactions, a 14.2% increase from Q1 2024. Q2 2024 activity stayed steady relative to the same quarter in 2023, closing just three less transactions in the comparable period.
Distribution M&A volumes in the U.S. increased YoY with 100 closed transactions in Q2 2024, a 5.3% increase from the prior period. This increase was driven by strategic buyers, who acquired 6.1% more companies when comparing the trailing twelve-month period to 2023. GF Data’s Q2 2024 M&A report, which tracks middle market M&A activity, attributes this to an increase in strategic add-on acquisitions in the first half of 2024, “as private equity firms focus on building platform investments rather than launching new ones.” It went on to add that middle market strategic “add-on transactions reached 44% of the deals tracked by GF Data over the last two quarters compared to 35% of transactions recorded in 2023.”
Distribution M&A Pulse – Q4 2025
Q4 2025 reflected lower transaction volumes alongside sustained strategic engagement. Global distribution M&A activity declined 36% year over year during the quarter, with U.S. volumes exhibiting a similar contraction.
Distribution M&A Pulse – Q3 2025
In Q3-25, the market saw 138 Distribution transactions close worldwide.
Distribution M&A Pulse – Q2 2025
Globally, 149 Distribution transactions closed in Q2-25. Strategic buyer activity declined meaningfully from Q2-24 as many companies shifted focus toward operational improvements and organic growth instead of pursuing acquisitions amid tariff-related uncertainty.
Distribution M&A Pulse – Q1 2025
In Q1-25, the market saw 141 Distribution transactions close worldwide.
Distribution M&A Pulse – Q4 2024
The US Distribution sector finished 2024 with a year-over-year decline in M&A activity recording 81 deals in Q4-24, an 18.2 percent decrease from Q4-23.