2025年SaaS并购报告之买家视角

2025StateofSaaSM&A

BUYERS’PERSPECTIVES

3rdAnnualReport

ABOUTTHISRESEARCH

Weconductedourthirdannualsurveyin4Q24,gatheringinsightsfromnearly200participants.Thisgroupincludedthetopprivateequityinvestorsandstrategicbuyersinthemiddle-marketsoftwarespace.Wealsosurveyedthefounders/CEOsofB2Bsoftware

andSaaScompanies.Understandingmarketdynamicsfromtheperspectiveoftheseplayersiscriticalforbothbuyersandsellerstostrategicallypositionthemselvesforsuccess.

43%43%

14%

Ofthoseresponding

CEOs

PrivateEquity

StrategicBuyers

TABLEOFCONTENTS

AbouttheAuthors 3

ExecutiveSummary 4

M&AMarketDynamics 7

ValuationTrends 10

WhatPrivateEquityInvestors&StrategicBuyersWant 13

MetricsUsedtoValueHigh-QualitySaaSCompanies 16

TheImpactofAIonM&A 17

ALookAhead 20

NextStepsforSaaSCEOs 22

ABOUTTHEAUTHORS

ThesurveycontentandanalysiswerejointlydevelopedbyDiamondInnabiandAustin

Hammer,principalsatSoftwareEquityGroup.

Diamondhasbeenwiththecompanyformorethanadecade,guidingclientsthroughtheirsell-sideM&Ajourney,sharinginsightsasaguestonnumerouspodcastsanddrivingprocessimprovementstoenhanceoutcomesforSEGclients.AustinhasbeenwithSoftwareEquityGroupsince2018,leading

transactionsinavarietyofverticals,hostingwebinarsandauthoringourindustry-leadingquarterlySaaSreports.

AustinHammerPrincipal

DiamondInnabiPrincipal

3

EXECUTIVESUMMARY

TheSaaSM&Amarketisstabilizing,with

growingconfidencefor2025.Positive

economicnews—includinginterestratecuts—andtheelection’sconclusionhavealleviateduncertaintythathaslingeredoverthemarket

inrecentyears.Fearsofarecessionhavefaded,aswell.

Asaresult,buyersexpectamorerisk-tolerantenvironmentinthenewyear.

Withinterestratesfalling,thereshouldbe

increasedPEinvestmentandM&Aactivity,”oneCEOsaid.“Myunderstandingisthatthereisstillalotofdrypowderinthemarket.”

Competitionremainshighamongprivateequityandstrategicbuyers,andthemarketisripefor

softwareEquityGroup

SEG

Optimismisbuildingfor2025.

Ifyou’rethinkingaboutexiting,payattentiontothesignals—

SaaSbusinessownerstosell.Revenueretention,profitabilityandAI-readinessarecriticalforSaaSbusinessesthatwantpremiumvaluations.

Toassessthestateofthemarket,Software

animprovingeconomy,fallinginflationandbuyerswillingtoabsorbmorerisk.”

EquityGroup(SEG)analyzeddatafromour

annualsurveyofCEOs,privateequityinvestorsandstrategicbuyers.Wealsobroughtindatafromourquarterlyreportsandtransactions.

AustinHammer

Principal

Ourgoalwastouncovervaluationdriversandtobetterunderstandsellerandbuyerprioritiesandcompetitivedynamicsgoinginto2025.

Newtoourresearchthisyear:theimpactofAIonsoftwarebusinessesandwhatthatmeanstoM&A(moreonthatlater).

4

Here’swhatwefound:

SaaSbusinessesdemonstratingsustainablegrowthholdtremendousopportunityin2025.

High-qualitySaaScompanieswithstrongrevenueretentionrates,scalabletechnology,predictablecashflowand

healthyEBITDAmarginsareindemand.Buyersarewillingtopayapremiumforcompaniesthatcandemonstrate

growth,makingthistheperfecttimetoengagewithM&Aadvisorstodiscussprioritiesandstrategicgrowthinitiatives.

Valuationshavestabilizedamidincreasedcompetition.

Valuationshavecomedownfromtherecordhighsof2021,buthigh-qualitybusinessesarestilltradingatsolidmultiples.Privateequityandstrategicbuyersreportstrongcompetitionforhigh-qualitySaaScompanies,withalimitedsupplyofattractivetargetsdrivingupmultiples.

SEG

softwareEquityGroup

5

softwareEquityGroup

SEG

TheRuleof40

isametricusedtoevaluateSaaScompaniestoassessthebalancebetweengrowthandprofitability.

Profitabilityandclientretentionarecriticaldifferentiatorsforbuyers.

BuyerswantbusinesseswithbalancedRuleof40profilesand

clearpathstoprofitability.Grossretentionratesabove90%arecritical,withbothprivateequityinvestorsandstrategicbuyers

{

emphasizingtheirimportance.BuyerswantSaaSbusinessesthataremaintainingsteady,scalablegrowthtomitigaterisk.

TheRuleof40

=GrowthRate(%)+ProfitMargin(%)

SellersneedaplanforAI.

Aresultofatleast40%isconsideredhealthy.

AIrepresentsthemostimportanttechnologicaladvancementsincetheinternet.Asaresult,itwillplayabigroleinM&A

decisionsin2025.BuyerswantSaaScompaniestodemonstrateandunderstandAI’spotentialimpact—negativeorpositive—ontheiroperationsandproducts.

6

M&AMarketDynamics

3Q24wasthebestquarter

forSaaSM&Asince2022—a

signalthathigh-qualityassetsarereturningtothemarket.”

AustinHammer

Principal

7

SaaSM&Adealvolumeiscurrentlyinlinewithpre-COVIDlevels.

SEGexpectsthistrendtocontinue,settingupforasolidyearin2025.

Althoughbothbuyersandsellerswereconcernedaboutapotentialrecessionin2023,thosefearshavenowsubsided.Themarkethasshiftedfromonedefinedbyriskaversionin2022and2023tocautiousoptimismin2024.ThemarketremainshighlycompetitiveforqualitySaaScompanies,withbuyersreportingincreasedorstablecompetitionforattractiveassets.

2023

2024

Astrongemphasisontheshortageofhigh-qualitySaaSassets.

Datashowsamorestablemarket,withsimilarorslightlyincreasedvolumesofhigh-qualitytargets.

Buyerswererisk-averseduetoeconomicuncertaintyandshiftedtheirfocustoprofitablegrowthandhighretentionrates.

Theriskappetiteappearstohavestabilizedthankstomorefavorableeconomicconditions.Profitabilitycontinuestobekey.

Strategicbuyersandprivateequityinvestorswerefocusedonsurebets:mission-criticalanddurablesoftwarebusinesses.

Mission-criticalsolutionsarestillattractive,butbuyersaresignalingadditionalopportunitiesininnovation-drivensectorssuchasAIandcybersecurity.

SEG

softwareEquityGroup

8

AbouthalfofCEOsperceivetheenvironmenttobesomewhatorsignificantlymoreattractiveforsellingtheirbusinessesin2025.MostSaaSCEOsreportedmoreinboundinterestin2024relativeto2023,particularlyfrombuyersspecializingintheirmarketverticalsorininnovativesectorslikecybersecurityandAI.StrategicbuyerscontinuetoprioritizeM&Aaspartoftheirgrowthstrategies.

VerticalSaaScomprisedabout43%ofalldealsinthethirdquarter2024,reflectingacontinuedtrendofbuyerstargetingpurpose-builtbusinesses.Healthcareledasthemostactivesegment,withnotablemomentumalsoseeninrealestate,governmentandenergy.CEOsinahigh-growthverticalmaybeinaprimepositionforacquisition

asbuyersinthoseverticalslooktoextendtheirofferingsandbuildend-to-end

AttractivenessofCurrentMarkettoSellBusinessvs.2023

CEOs

Significantlymoreattractive

6%

Somewhatmoreattractive

44%

Aboutthesame

37%

Somewhatlessattractive

12%

Significantlylessattractive

1%

softwareEquityGroup

SEG

solutions.

BuyersVolumeofhigh-qualitytargetsvs.2023

Upsignificantly(20%+)

20%

Upsomewhat(3%to19%)

27%

Aboutthesame(-2%to+2%)

36%

Downsomewhat(-3%to-19%)

14%

Downsignificantly(-20%+)

3%

9

ValuationTrends

Thegreatestsinglepredictorofvaluationisgrowth.But

intoday’smarket,profitable,balancedgrowthmatters

morethanever.”

DiamondInnabi

Principal

10

EveryoneseemstothinktherewillbemoreM&Avolumein2025and,atleast,thesameifnotbettervaluations.Asthe

In2023,ourresearchuncoveredaperceptiongap:HalfofCEOsbelievedvaluationshaddeclinedcomparedwith2022,whileSEG’sexperienceshowedthatvaluationsforhigh-qualitycompanieshadrisen.

Thisyear’sresponsesreflectstableorincreasingvaluations,withprivateequityinvestorsandstrategicbuyerssayingthatvaluationshavestayedthesameorincreasedsomewhatforhigh-qualityassets.

macroeconomicpictureimproves,buyersarelikelytostartprioritizinggrowthagain—butprofitabilitystillsetsthefloor

forvaluation.

ThisreflectsamoreconsistentviewbetweenbuyersandsellersasCEOsgrowmoreoptimisticandthemacro-economicbackdropstabilizes.

Accordingto

SEG’s3Q24SaaSM&AandPublicMarketReport,

M&Amultipleshavebeenholdingsteadyin2024.3Q24multiplesputthemedianat4.9xandaverageat5.7x.

AustinHammer

Principal

AstheFederalReservecontinuesratecuts,strategicbuyersandinvestorsexpectmultiplestogrow.Lowerinterestratesareatailwindforvaluations.Respondentstothesurveyseemtoagree:75%ofSaaSCEOsexpectvaluationstostaystableorincreaseinthenextyear.

SEG

softwareEquityGroup

11

Mostprivateequityinvestorsinour

surveysaythecompetitivelandscapeforSaaScompanieshasintensified:

48%

Nearlyhalfreportedthenumberoftargetshasgoneupsomewhatorsignificantly.

53%

Morethanhalfareseeingmorecompetitionforthosetargets.

57%

57%viewthecurrentenvironmentassomewhatorsignificantlymorecompetitivethan2023.

Strategicbuyerssaidthevolumeofhigh-qualitytargetsis

aboutthesameasthatof2023,butthatthecompetitivenessforthosetargetshasincreased.

Giventhis,it’sanopportunetimeforCEOstoproactivelypositiontheirbusinessesinthemarketandpreparefor

competitivebiddingtomaximizetheirvaluation.

softwareEquityGroup

SEG

CEOs

PerceptionsofValuationsforHigh-QualitySaaSBusinessesvs.2023

Upsignificantly(20%+)

6%

Upsomewhat(3%to19%)

53%

Aboutthesame(-2%to+2%)

30%

Somewhatlessattractive

10%

Significantlylessattractive

1%

Buyers

ValuationsforHigh-QualitySaaSBusinessesvs.2023

Upsignificantly(20%+)

Upsomewhat(3%to19%)

Aboutthesame(-2%to+2%)

Somewhatlessattractive

Significantlylessattractive

7%

29%

42%

20%

12

2%

Durabilityandbalancedgrowthareinvoguerightnow.Buyersarelookingforsuredoubles,

notgrandslams.”

DiamondInnabi

WhatPEInvestors

&StrategicBuyersWant

Principal

13

In2024,buyersareprioritizingsimilarcharacteristicsasin2023:

High-qualitybusinesseswithprofitablegrowthandhighrevenueretention.

Investorsandstrategicbuyersdon’twantthe“growth-at-all-costs”modelofyearsgoneby.Cash-burningbusinessesarenotattractivetobuyers,withrareexceptionsinnicheandemerginghigh-growthsegments.

Revenuegrowthremainsatopfocuswithover24%ofprivateequityinvestorsand22%ofstrategicbuyersrankingitamongthetopthreemostcrucialfactorsforconsideration.Thisemphasishighlightstheimportanceofpredictable,

recurringrevenue—asignofahealthybusiness.

Qualitativefactorsalsoholdimportanceforbuyers,providingcontextinto

aspectsofabusinessthatnumbersalonecan’tcaptureandaroadmapthatcanmakeabusinessscalableandsustainableinthelong-term.Forprivateequity

investors,marketattractiveness,competitivepositioningandthemanagementteamareimportantqualitativemetrics.Strategicbuyersalignwiththesewithoneexception:Productfitandcapabilitiesaremostimportanttothem.

PrivateequityinvestorsplacedtotalARR/recurringrevenueandgrossretentionastheirsecondandthird-mostimportantmetric,respectively.

Forprivateequityinvestors,marketattractiveness,competitivepositioningandthestrengthofmanagementteamareimportantqualitativemetrics.

RevenuegrowthremainsatopfocusamongstPEInvestors&StrategicBuyers

StrategicbuyersplacedtotalARR/recurringrevenueinthefirstslotandEBITDAmargininthird.Strategicbuyersareincreasinglymorediscerning,holding

acquisitionstoahigherbarbecauseoftheimpacttheywillhaveontheirownvaluations.Theywantsynergies,scalabilityandlong-termvaluecreation.

SEG

softwareEquityGroup

14

HowwelldoSaaSbusinesseslineupwithwhatbuyersarelookingfor?

About30%ofCEOsinoursurveybelieveprofitabilityisofhighimportancetostrategicbuyersandinvestors—placingitintheirtopthreemetrics.Moreinterestingly,whilerecognizinggrossrevenueretentionisimportanttobuyers,nearlyafourthofCEOsdon’ttrackthemetric.

TherecontinuestobeadisconnectbetweenwhataCEOthinkspotentialbuyerswantandwhatanattractivesoftwarecompanylookslikeintheeyesofstrategicbuyersandprivateequityinvestors.

LeadersshouldfocusonimprovingEBITDAwhilemaintainingstrongARRgrowthtoattracttop-tierbuyers.

Ontheflipside,whenitcomestopickingabuyer,whatareCEOslookingfor?Topcriteriainclude

reputationandtrustworthiness,buyerperformance

inthemarket,andexpertiseandexperienceintheirindustry.

softwareEquityGroup

SEG

Inthecurrentmarkets,growthat

allcostsdoesn’twork.Unprofitable

businessesdon’tsell.It’sago/no-gothing

–ifyou’rebreakevenorbetter,you’reago;ifyou’reburningcash,you’reano-go.

AustinHammer

Principal

15

METRICSUSEDTOVALUE

HIGH-QUALITYSaaSCOMPANIES

StrategicBuyers

Topquantitativemetrics

CEOs

Perceivedtopmetricsforbuyers

PrivateEquity

Topquantitativemetrics

1ARR/RecurringRevenueGrowth

2TotalARR/RecurringRevenue

3GrossRevenueRetention

4Netrevenueretention

1ARR/RecurringRevenueGrowth

2TotalARR/RecurringRevenue

3EBITDAMargin

4GrossRevenueRetention

WhatCEOstrack

1ARR/RecurringRevenueGrowth

2TotalARR/RecurringRevenue

3EBITDAMargin

4GrossMargin

1TotalARR/RecurringRevenue

Despiteits

importancetobuyers,28%of

CEOsdon’ttrack

grossrevenueretention.

2ARR/RecurringRevenueGrowth

3EBITDAMargin

4GrossRevenueRetention

Topqualitativemetrics

1Marketattractiveness

2Competitivepositioning

3Managementteam

4Productfit/capabilities

Topqualitativemetrics

1Productfit/capabilities

2Marketattractiveness

3Competitivepositioning

4Managementteam

SEG

softwareEquityGroup

16

ofAI

TheImpact

onM&A

Buyersdon’tneedyoutosolveAI,buttheywantyoutohaveaneducatedopiniononit.”

AustinHammer

Principal

17

AIisn’tjustatoolforinnovation;it’samultiplierforvaluation.Software

companiesthatintegrateAIeffectivelyarepositioningthemselvesnotonlyasindustryleadersbutasindispensable

players,commandingpremiummarketvalueinatech-drivenfuture.

AIisadouble-edgedswordforSaaScompanies:Itcanbolsterasoftwarecompany’scompetitivemoat…orpresentasignificantdisruptionrisk.

Giventheemergingnatureofthetechnology,buyersdon’texpectSaaScompaniestohaveitall

figuredout.ButtheydoneedCEOstobeabletopresentaclear,educatedviewonhowAIdoesandcouldaffecttheirbusinesses:

1

3

2

foroperationalefficienciesasafeatureorproductenhancementasariskintheirmarkets

DiamondInnabi

Principal

AIisamassiveopportunityforbusinessesthatcanproperlyleverageitinternallyandaspartoftheirproductsuites.

Nearlythree-quartersofCEOssaidtheyaremostexcitedaboutAIfortheirbusinessinthecomingyears.Arelatedarea—data/analytics—wasaclosesecondinpriority.AlmostallSaaSCEOsinthesurvey(95%)saidtheyhaveinvestedinAIorplantoinvestinAIfortheircoreproduct.About40%remainconcernedaboutAIthreatsandopportunitiesoverthenexttwotothreeyears.

SEG

softwareEquityGroup

18

CEOs

OpportunitiesforBusinessin2025

74%

AI/MLdevelopmentandtransformation

63%

Increasedimportanceofdataanalytics&BIincoreSaaSplatforms

46%

DevelopmentofintegrationandAPImarketplaces

84%

ofbuyerssaysellersneedtoinvestorhaveaplan

toinvestinAI/ML

45%

18%

15%

15%

12%

GlobaladoptionofmodernSaaStechnologyEmbeddedpaymentsinverticalsoftware Lowcode/nocodedevelopment CybersecurityadvancementsandriskInternetofThings(IoT)

12%

Competitionfortalentandoperationalexpertise

19

Wemaybeenteringabull

M&Amarketin2025.Bereadytopickyourspots.

ALookAhead:

2025andBeyond

DiamondInnabi

Principal

20

Lowerinterestrates,improvementsininflationandasofteconomiclanding

—comparedwithfearsofarecessionin2023—willboostM&Amarketsin2025.

58%ofCEOsexpect2025tobeabettermarketto

seekexternalinvestmentthan2024

We’recloselywatchingtheFedasitevaluatesinflationandjobgrowthfollowingtheSeptemberratecut.Whileinflationremains

arisk,theU.S.economyappearsstrong,andfallinginterestratescouldboostpublicandM&Amarketsin2025.TrendslikeAI,embeddedpayments,andverticalmarketconsolidationareexpectedtodrivedealvolumesandvaluationshigher.With58%of

SaaSCEOsoptimisticaboutmarketconditionsimproving,2025maypresentaprimeopportunityforliquidityevents.

CEOs

Expectedchangeinmarket2025vs.2024

Expectedvaluationsin2025vs.2024

Buyers

Upsignificantly(20%+)

Bettermarkettoseekexternalinvestment

58%

2%

Similarmarket

Upsomewhat(3%to19%)

39%

39%

Worsemarkettoseekexternalinvestment

Aboutthesame(-2%to+2%)

49%

3%

Downsomewhat(-3%to-19%)

10%

Downsignificantly(-20%+)

SEG

softwareEquityGroup

21

NEXTSTEPSFORSaaSCEOS

Withthemarketshowingsignsofstability,nowisthetimeforCEOstostartpositioningtheircompaniesforan

acquisition.BuyersareshowingstronginterestinSaaScompanieswithhighARRgrowth,predictablerevenueandstrongprofitability,creatingthepotentialforcompetitivebiddingtodrivevaluationsup.

1

Emphasizeretention,profitabilityandAIreadinessifaliquidityeventisinyourshort-orlong-termfuture.

Themarketisgraduallybecomingmoregrowthorientedagain,butbuyersstillhaveastrongpreferenceforbalancedRuleof40profiles.

CompletetheInteractiveSEGSaaSScorecard™

forinsightsonyourcompany’spotentialandnextstepstoenhanceyourcompany’svaluation.

4

Ifconsideringsellinginthenext12-18months,companiesshouldbebreakevenorbettertoappealtobuyers.

2

5

Ifyou’reburningcashorhavelowergrossretention