The Dutch SME takeover market reached a new valuation record in the second half of 2025. The average EBITDA multiple rose to 5.0, making SME businesses more expensive than ever before. At the same time, entrepreneurs are selling their businesses at an increasingly younger age.
These are the main findings of the Takeover Barometer, the periodic research of acquisition platforms Brookz and Dealsuite on figures and trends in the Dutch takeover market. The survey was conducted among 291 Dutch merger & acquisition advisory firms focusing on businesses with revenues between 0.5 and 50 million euros.
EBITDA multiple at highest level ever
Good news for selling entrepreneurs: on average, Dutch businesses never paid as much as they did in the second half of 2025. Indeed, the average EBITDA multiple for Dutch SMEs rose to 5.0; the highest level in ten years (since the survey began in 2015). Multiples increased in most sectors. Only in the Agri & Food sector a slight decrease (-0.1) was observed.
The highest EBITDA multiples were paid for businesses in Software Development (7.5), IT Services (6.7) and Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals (6.5). The Retail (2.5) and Hospitality, Tourism & Recreation (3.3) sectors ranked at the bottom, but both also experienced increases (+0.2) in H2-2025.
That the SME takeover market is on the rise was also shown by the number of sales transactions. Despite economic uncertainty, on balance 8% more businesses were sold in the past six months. In particular, more businesses in the middle and high segments were sold: the number of transactions with a deal value between 5 and 7.5 million euros rose by 3 percentage points, while the number of transactions of large businesses (deal value > 10 million euros) rose by as much as 5 percentage points.
Entrepreneurs are sell a business at a younger age
Although age combined with lack of succession is still the most important reason (41%) to sell a business, the average age of selling entrepreneurs has clearly declined over the past decade. Whereas the average age of a selling entrepreneur was still 59 years in 2015, it dropped to 54 years in 2025. In the process, the turnaround time of a sales process has increased. Four years ago, 20% of all sales processes lasted longer than 12 months. In the second half of 2025, that percentage has increased to 30%. Most transactions in H2-2025 lasted between six and 12 months (49%).
According to Floyd Plettenberg, CEO of Dealsuite, this calls for realistic expectations from selling entrepreneurs: 'Longer lead times are not a sign of the market cooling, but of diligence. In an environment where uncertainty has become structural, buyers are taking more time to properly understand risks. That leads to more extensive due diligence and more considered decision-making, ultimately resulting in sales processes with longer lead times.'
Outlook 2026 positive
Although uncertainty is a part of the SME takeover market, a positive sentiment prevails among takeover advisors. Over 80% of acquisition advisory firms are optimistic about the next 6 months, particularly due to availability of capital and continued interest in well-positioned SME businesses. Expressed as a report grade, advisers rate their expectations for the first half of 2026 at 7.0.
