Best Time to Sell Your Business in 2026: Key Takeaways for Middle-Market Owners
Buyer activity is improving and confidence is building as we enter 2026, even as long-term uncertainty around technology, labor, and policy remains. For many middle-market owners, the decision is no longer if they will sell, but when. You may be weighing whether to take advantage of the current momentum or wait for an even better opportunity.
A sale process takes time, and market conditions can change between launch and close. If you are considering a sale in the foreseeable future, recognizing market signals early can allow you to sell during a period of rising confidence rather than react when it might be too late.
A pre-sale due diligence checklist reduces avoidable friction during buyer review.
Positioning early for a 2026 exit may offer one of the most attractive risk-reward setups in years. Below are five market signals that help explain why - and what you should be thinking about next.
Deal values can rise even when deal counts stay disciplined because buyers prioritize fewer, higher-quality assets and pay more for predictability and reduced execution risk.
After a slower period driven largely by higher interest rates and uncertainty around tariffs, M&A activity has rebounded meaningfully. Recent M&A activity shows a clear pattern, deal values have increased even as deal counts remain disciplined, signaling that buyers are prioritizing quality businesses over volume.
This trend is reinforced by broader market data. According to EY’s U.S. M&A outlook, U.S. deal values are expected to continue growing through 2026, supported by improved financing conditions and renewed CEO confidence.
Major market outlooks note that while overall deal counts have remained disciplined, total deal values have increased, reflecting a focus on quality platforms rather than volume. This favors established, profitable middle-market companies with defensible positions.
From a seller’s perspective, this matters because:
Clarity on how buyers value a business supports a predictable narrative around quality and risk.
In this type of market, buyers are seeking out long-term value and paying for confidence. If your business is performing well today, this is where preparation matters most. Understanding how buyers would view and value your business now is often the first step toward a successful outcome. A preliminary M&A valuation clarifies how buyers may frame value before outreach begins.
“In markets like this, buyers aren’t paying for perfection, they’re paying for predictability. Businesses that reduce execution risk for buyers tend to separate themselves quickly.” – Mike Rosendahl
Strong sale outcomes often occur while market confidence is improving, when competition is healthier and sellers maintain more control before deal flow becomes crowded.
A strong economy can significantly boost your sale prospects. When the overall economic climate is positive, buyers have greater confidence in making acquisitions.
Multiple outlooks project that U.S. M&A activity will broaden in 2026 as confidence improves, driven by improving buyer confidence, greater clarity around interest rates, and renewed willingness to pursue growth through acquisitions. This confidence is particularly evident in the middle market, where deal sentiment has reached multi-year highs as buyers look ahead rather than react to short-term noise.
For sellers, this distinction matters. The strongest outcomes typically occur as confidence is building, not after deal volume peaks. Buyers are more engaged, competitive tension is healthier, and sellers maintain greater control over timing and process.
This environment favors owners who are willing to prepare early and position thoughtfully rather than waiting for “perfect” conditions that may never arrive.
What to consider next:
If you are considering a sale in 2026, beginning preparation now allows you to enter the market while buyer confidence is strengthening and before competition among sellers increases.
Undeployed capital and fund timelines increase sponsor urgency, and overlap between financial and strategic buyer interest can improve pricing, structure, and flexibility.
Private equity remains one of the most important drivers of middle-market M&A, and that pressure is intensifying.
Recent surveys indicate that private equity firms expect to materially increase deal activity as they work through undeployed capital and fund-level timelines. Sponsors are actively seeking platform investments and add-on opportunities, often competing aggressively for businesses with stable cash flow and operational leverage.
Strategic buyers are also re-engaging. Corporate buyers are increasingly using acquisitions to drive growth, add capabilities, and respond to competitive pressures. The combination of financial buyer urgency and strategic buyer rationale is a favorable setup for sellers.
This environment benefits sellers because:
Importantly, private equity demand is not limited to “perfect” businesses. Firms are actively seeking platforms they can grow through add-ons, operational improvements, or technology investment.
What to consider next:
If your business could appeal to both financial and strategic buyers, positioning early allows you to shape the narrative rather than react to inbound interest.
AI is no longer a future consideration. It is influencing how buyers evaluate risk, scalability, and long-term competitiveness.
Dealmakers increasingly cite technology and AI as drivers of both acquisition strategy and diligence intensity. Many buyers are turning to M&A as the fastest way to acquire capabilities rather than building internally.
From a sell-side perspective, this creates two realities:
Selling while buyers are paying for future improvement often produces better outcomes.
What to consider next:
You do not need to be a technology company. You do need a credible story around how your business scales and adapts under new ownership.
External market signals only matter if your business is positioned to take advantage of them. Even in strong markets, timing within the cycle can materially affect outcomes.
In our experience, the best sell-side results typically occur when a business goes to market while performance is strong and the broader market is still building momentum. Waiting until conditions peak, or until performance begins to normalize, introduces risk that is often outside the owner’s control.
A building materials distributor experienced a significant sales boom following pent-up demand immediately after COVID. After recording a record year, the owners made the decision to begin a sale process, and we were out to market shortly thereafter.
For a period of time, profitability remained strong and largely in line with the prior year’s performance. However, as the process progressed and negotiations around the purchase agreement began, market conditions shifted. Demand slowed, performance declined toward pre-COVID norms, and buyer sentiment became more conservative.
Despite these changes, the owners benefited from having entered the market early. Buyer interest was already established, diligence was well underway, and the transaction continued to move forward in a more challenging environment. Had the process started later, the outcome could have been very different.
The lesson is straightforward: cycles eventually turn, and a sell-side process takes time to complete. Starting early in a favorable cycle provides flexibility and protection if conditions change mid-process. Waiting can leave owners exposed to shifts in demand, margins, or buyer sentiment that are difficult to reverse.
Closing the valuation gap often comes down to reducing execution risk and improving visibility into earnings.
PCE Insight:
“Most owners underestimate how long a sale process actually takes. Market conditions rarely stay static from launch to close. Positioning early, while performance is strong, gives you margin for error if demand softens or buyer underwriting tightens along the way.” – Nicole Kiriakopoulos
What to consider next:
If your business is performing well today, that strength is often your best reason to begin preparing for a sale. You cannot control when a cycle turns, but you can control whether you are already positioned when it does.
For middle-market business owners, the question is rarely whether the market will change, but when. Buyer confidence is building into 2026, capital is available, and both private equity and strategic buyers are actively looking for quality platforms. At the same time, cycles turn, markets normalize, and performance can shift faster than expected.
The owners who tend to achieve the best outcomes are not those who try to predict the exact peak, but those who position early, while conditions are improving and buyers are underwriting future value rather than reacting to risk. Preparation creates flexibility, timing creates leverage, and an experienced M&A advisor helps you run a disciplined process that protects value from first outreach through closing.
Q1: What are the five market signals that suggest it may be a good time to sell?
A: Rising deal values, improving middle-market confidence, private equity pressure to deploy capital, strategic urgency tied to technology and AI, and strong internal performance each point toward favorable conditions. When these signals align, buyer competition and underwriting appetite tend to improve.
Q2: Why can deal values rise even when deal counts remain disciplined?
A: Buyers often concentrate resources on fewer, higher-quality businesses when uncertainty remains. That dynamic supports higher values for assets viewed as predictable, scalable, and lower risk to execute.
Q3: Why does selling while confidence is building often matter more than waiting for peak volume?
A: Competitive tension is typically healthier when buyer engagement is rising and seller competition is still limited. Once volume peaks, processes can become crowded and buyer selectivity can increase.
Q4: How does private equity influence outcomes for middle-market sellers?
A: Pressure to deploy capital and meet fund timelines can increase sponsor urgency. That urgency, combined with strategic buyer re-engagement, can improve pricing, structure, and flexibility on terms.
Q5: Why does timing within the sale process matter from launch to close?
A: A sale process takes time, and market conditions can shift during diligence and negotiations. Entering the market while performance is strong and sentiment is improving can provide protection if conditions soften mid-process.
If you’re a middle-market business owner wondering when to make your move, now is likely an excellent time to seriously evaluate a sale. The five signals above won’t stay perfectly aligned forever. By taking action while they are, you stand to maximize your company’s value and set yourself (and your business’s next chapter) up for success. Don’t let the moment pass without at least exploring your options – the best opportunities tend to emerge when preparation meets timing.
Jim Fray
Jim Fray is an Associate at PCE, supporting the firm’s investment banking practice. He works on buy-side and sell-side engagements, recapitalizations, and strategic advisory, providing in-depth research and financial analysis to support client success.