The 2026 Deal Market: A Transaction Advisory Perspective
After a slower-than-anticipated 2025, the private equity deal market in 2026 is showing a noticeable shift toward preparation. Rather than waiting for ideal conditions, investors are focusing on getting assets ready, refining value stories, and positioning themselves to act as opportunities arise. Here are the 5 themes we are seeing in the current environment.
1. Optimism for 2026 Exit Planning Back on the Table
Investors are planning to sell multiple assets in their portfolios in 2026. Firms appear more ready to bring assets to market, with a focus on maximizing value through more thorough sell-side preparation.
The emphasis is less on timing the market and more on ensuring assets are defensible and clearly understood.
Investors are asking tougher questions:
- Is the value creation story clear and defensible?
- Are operations and systems able to withstand third-party scrutiny and support growth plans?
- Can management clearly articulate margin expansion and growth drivers with data?
2. Sell-Side Assessments Are Increasing
One of the clearest indicators of this preparation is the increase in operational sell-side assessments.
Sellers are focused on strengthening the exit by validating scalability, current value creation initiatives, and quantifying future upside. In a market where buyers remain disciplined, this preparation can meaningfully influence valuation and speed to close.
Sell Side preparation typically includes:
- Preparing for separation, including carve-out considerations, entanglements, and TSA requirements
- Identifying and framing operational improvement opportunities for a buyer
- Validating historical, planned, or in-flight value creation initiatives
- Assessing scalability and capacity across operations and systems
3. Tariffs and Country of Origin Remain Central Questions
Tariffs and trade dynamics continue to factor into transaction discussions. Buyers are focused on understanding the supply chain, including countries of origin, potential risks, and available alternatives.
Three areas consistently surface:
- Does the operating company have clear visibility into its supply chain exposure, including country of origin?
- Does the operating company understand the potential cost impact of any tariff policy?
- Are there supply chain contingencies in place (e.g., qualified backup suppliers)?
Buyers continue to push for deeper visibility into sourcing strategy, often extending beyond tier-1 suppliers to include tier-2 and tier-3.
Buyers are increasingly asking for:
- Understanding of category dynamics including key sources, regions, and knowledge
- Clear mapping of the country of origin across critical components
- Scenario modeling for tariff impact
- Margin sensitivity analyses
- Evidence of identified/qualified alternate suppliers
- Insourcing analysis
4. Late-Stage Bolt-Ons to Maximize Value
We are observing an increase in bolt-on activity later in the hold period. TriVista has observed this most often in:
- Field services roll-ups
- Technician-based platforms
- Niche industrial manufacturing
- Fragmented distribution models
The stated objective is to maximize value ahead of sale. These late-stage additions can change the profile of an operating company and bring greater focus to integration.
Buyers are paying close attention to:
- A clearly articulated integration strategy and end-state operating model
- The operating company’s ability to integrate acquisitions effectively
- The maturity of the people, processes, and systems
- Quantified synergies, identified risks, and detailed integration roadmaps
As operating companies evolve through multiple acquisitions, clarity around how the pieces fit together becomes central to the exit narrative.
5. Footprint Consolidation & Optimization
Footprint strategy is receiving increased attention as a function of consolidating facilities and optimizing costs, particularly in operating companies that have grown through acquisition.
Investors are evaluating opportunities to extract value through consolidation and network optimization.
In some cases, this also includes evaluating near-shoring or relocation options, including Mexico, driven by cost structure, tariff exposure, and service considerations.
We are seeing a focus on:
- Consolidating facilities to drive fixed cost leverage
- Optimizing network design to reduce freight and lead times
- Relocating or expanding operations in Mexico where relevant
- Aligning capacity planning with realistic demand forecasts
When firms link footprint changes to clear goals like margin growth, better working capital, and improved service, it becomes a strong part of their equity story.
Positioning for What’s Next
Across these themes, the common thread is preparation. Investors are focused on reducing uncertainty and ensuring assets are clearly understood and well-positioned before entering a process.
A few questions worth considering:
- Are you seeing the same level of sell-side preparation across your portfolio?
- How central are supply chain visibility and contingency planning in your current processes?
If you are evaluating a platform or add-on, preparing an asset for sale, or reassessing portfolio risk exposure, our Transaction Advisory Services team can help you move forward with clarity.
Our practitioner-led teams bring operational and IT expertise to identify value, assess risk, and develop practical roadmaps that support execution post-close.
Talk to our experts about:
- Quality of Operations™ assessments that uncover both risk and upside
- Integrated Ops and IT due diligence that connects systems to strategy
- Sell-side assessments that support a clear value story and reduce retrade risk
- Cost synergy validation and 100-day planning
- Supply chain and footprint optimization tied to tariff exposure and resiliency