the serial acquirer
Market Observatory · 2026-Q3
What was paid, per unit of revenue
Every disclosed price in the register, one row per observation, coloured by how well it is evidenced rather than by who the buyer is.
0.77x–2.71x
paid per unit of annual revenue for small, mature
vertical software — 13 observations
3.14x–13.95x
paid for larger, growing cloud businesses —
14 observations
0.43x
the gap between them, where no measured price
falls
measured — consideration and revenue both stated in the acquisition note — nothing computed but the division grossed up from a partial stake — price paid for a majority stake, scaled to 100% — a control premium would make the true figure lower reconstructed — derived from disclosed bridges; the individual price appears nowhere ceiling only — no per-deal revenue disclosed; an upper limit follows, not a value
Tracked but not in the table: Constellation Software, Chapters Group AG, Lumine Group. They are in the register for capital deployed and deal counts, but none of them states a price against the revenue of a single acquisition — so there is nothing to put in the last column. Chapters Group discloses enough for a ceiling only, which is not a price paid.
The rest of the register
Guess what serial acquirers paid →What European software serial acquirers actually pay, from filed accounts. Guess the price, then see the source.
How much they deploy →How much capital each European software serial acquirer actually puts to work, and across how many acquisitions.
What they owe, and what it costs →Net debt against revenue, the interest each buyer actually pays, and every credit facility on file with its terms.
What their own capital costs →An estimate of what each buyer pays for capital, set against the 20-30% return they demand of the companies they buy.
Method, limits and imprint →How every figure in this register is sourced, what the sample does not support, and the legal notices.
European software serial acquirer multiples, 2026 →Median 3.14x revenue across 33 disclosed software acquisition prices by European serial acquirers, by basis, year and buyer.
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