As we turnover into a new year, and look to hit the ground running in 2026, financial service providers, M&A advisers, strategic and financial acquirers, privately-held business owners, and their next-of-kin, will be “front and center” as the massive intergenerational transfer of wealth known as “The Great Wealth Transfer” continues to unfold in the United States and globally. Baby Boomers continue to age out of the workforce and the substantial wealth that the generation has accumulated, including privately-held businesses, will need to transition to new ownership. This paradigm is expected to have a significant impact on M&A activity, as well as exit planning in general, over the next several years, if not decades.
According to data from the UBS Global Wealth Report 2025, Baby Boomers are estimated to hold more than half of America’s $163.1 trillion wealth while making up only one fifth of the country’s current population. Furthermore, the Baby Boomers are expected to be almost entirely phased out of the nation’s labor force by the year 2035. As a result, an increased emphasis is being placed on exit planning by business owners and their financial advisers, which should fuel deal activity, as business owners look to retire and transition their businesses.
Most business owners participating in the middle-market typically have a large portion of their wealth tied up in the business. Therefore, as they continue to focus on preparing for retirement, most owners will look towards monetizing the business through an outright sale, particularly if they have no family in the business. On the other side of the coin, both strategic and financial acquirers continue to look to acquisitions as a powerful way to drive shareholder value — and have the wherewithal to make meaningful acquisitions. As of Q4 2025, non-financial S&P 500 companies held aggregate total cash of nearly $1.9 trillion on its balance sheets, which will be used for continued investment and M&A. Conversely, U.S. private equity groups have an estimated $2.2 trillion of purchasing power, which includes $1 trillion of dry powder and $1.2 trillion of estimated available leverage.
For the first time since being tracked by MelCap, potential acquirers have an estimated combined total purchasing power of more than $4 trillion. Financial and strategic acquirers’ ability to support a transformational acquisition has led to increased competition for high-quality businesses, which in turn has driven lofty valuations. As a testament to this increase in valuations, in 2H 2025, the average disclosed deal value in the United States surpassed $500 million — a key indicator that privately-held businesses are commanding higher valuations than ever before — yielding more substantial proceeds to ownership.
The majority of U.S. middle market businesses are owned by the aging Baby Boomers who are looking to either transition business ownership to the next generation or fully monetize the business via an outright sale, and C-suite executives are continuing to pursue scale & drive shareholder value. This should create an exciting and robust M&A outlook over the next several years. Only time will tell.
M&A Market Activity
U.S. deal volume in December 2025 reached its highest monthly total in December since 2021 — as its total of nearly ~1,300 closed M&A transactions increased by 15.8 percent as compared to November 2025, and 14.1 percent as compared to December of 2024.
In terms of total annual deal volume, 2025 eclipsed 13,400 closed M&A transactions, which represents an annual increase of more than 6.5 percent as compared to 2024, and is the highest annual total since 2022. Furthermore, total closed M&A transaction volume over both 2H 2025, and Q4 2025, reached its highest point since 2021 — a very encouraging indicator of a strong deal landscape heading into 2026.
The Pittsburgh M&A market experienced a meaningful uptick (~150 percent increase) in deal activity in December 2025, as compared to the prior month. Total annual deal volume increased nearly 4 percent in 2025, as compared to 2024. Moreover, notable Pittsburgh-based companies, such as Sentact, Alleghany Health Network, PGT Trucking, Stratus Team, and SupplyCo Holdings, each completed strategic acquisitions, while private equity firms Continuim Equity Management and Red Knot Capital also completed platform acquisitions.
Deal of the Month
On December 16, 2025, PGT Trucking, an asset-based trucking carrier, acquired the family-owned and Kansas-based Debrick Truck Line Co. According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, as of April 2, 2025, Debrick maintained 30 power units and drivers, and features flatbed, dry van, step deck, and conestoga options — as well as other transportation services.
PGT is a Western Pennsylvania-based carrier that offers flatbed, dedicated, international, project cargo, and specialized solutions for the steel, building materials, machinery, oil & gas, raw materials, aluminum, and automotive industries. The acquisition of Debrick brings PGT’s terminal network to 35 locations across the U.S. and Mexico, with a strategic location in the Midwest.
Debrick’s Kansas City area focus, as well as its flatbed, dry van, and step deck offering complements PGT’s mix of transportation services, which also includes dedicated, project cargo, specialized, and tanker operations. Furthermore, the Debrick family will continue to stay connected to the business, with Kevin Debrick, PGT Trucking’s new Paola terminal manager, saying: “We are a close-knit organization, and it is important for us to work with a partner who understands our emphasis on family, loyalty, and safety”.
Sources: S&P Capital IQ, MelCap proprietary database, company websites, JPMorgan Global M&A Annual 2026 Outlook, Deloitte, UBS Global Wealth Report 2025, & public company filings.
Anthony A. Melchiorre is a Managing Director & Principal at MelCap Partners, LLC, a middle-market investment banking advisory firm. For more information on MelCap Partners, please visit www.melcap.com or email [email protected].