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.
As of Q4 2025, non-financial S&P 500 companies held aggregate total cash of nearly $1.9 trillion on their 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 the second half of 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 and drive shareholder value. This should create an exciting and robust M&A outlook over the next several years.
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.
The Cleveland M&A market experienced a ~14 percent increase in activity in December 2025, as compared to the same period in 2025. While total annual deal volume increased nearly 6 percent in 2025, as compared to 2024. Moreover, notable Cleveland-based companies, such as MAI Capital Management, Sequoia Financial Group, Majestic Steel USA, and National Safety Apparel each completed strategic acquisitions, with the private equity firm Weinberg Capital Group also completing a platform acquisition.
Deal of the Month
In December of 2025, Cleveland-based private equity firm Blue Point Capital Partners exited its investment in Akron-based Country Pure Foods. Country Pure Foods is one of the nation’s largest suppliers of portioned and multi-serve juices, plant-based beverages and frozen novelties. Originally founded in 1995 as the result of a merger between two regional portion juice companies, and acquired by Blue Point in December of 2019, Country Pure Foods was sold to Peterson Brands.
“Partnering with Blue Point has been instrumental to our growth journey as a company,” said CPF CEO Tony Muscato. “Over the last six years, we’ve built meaningful value across the business while empowering our team and delivering innovative and high-quality products for our customers. With Blue Point’s support, we’re well-positioned for long-term success, and I’m incredibly proud of the culture of continuous improvement we’ve fostered together.” ●
Sources: S&P Capital IQ, MelCap proprietary database, company websites, JPMorgan Global M&A Annual 2026 Outlook, Deloitte, UBS Global Wealth Report 2025, and public company filings.
Anthony A. Melchiorre is a managing director and principal at MelCap Partners LLC, a middle-market investment banking advisory firm.
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