Steve Germundson, a partner at OPTIS, frames it as a structural handoff rather than a market simply cooling off: the biggest, most active buyers of the last several years have sharply cut back, he said, while smaller and emerging PE firms, plus owners eyeing a near-term recapitalization, have picked up the pace instead. The likely drivers, according to MarshBerry’s own 2026 M&A analysis, are higher financing costs, integration fatigue after years of aggressive buying, and an industry-wide pivot toward organic growth and operational quality over sheer deal count. For a newer PE platform or a strategic buyer with fresh capital, that combination has opened a window: this is close to the least competition from the biggest checkbooks in the business has faced in years.
Agency acquisitions hit seven-year low as M&A market keeps contracting
