2025 AEC M&A Outlook Report
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Strategic acquirers and private-equity platforms will remain well positioned to absorb this turnover, emphasizing continuity-focused acquisitions that preserve leadership, client relationships, and culture. ESOP-structured firms are also expected to play a larger role in the long-term M&A cycle, as maturing plans create liquidity needs that eventually push some toward partial or full external transactions. Meanwhile, today’s private-equity consolidators are likely to evolve into global multi-brand platforms, dominating regional and sector niches. The result will be a smaller number of larger, sophisticated players operating alongside a diverse ecosystem of specialized mid-sized firms that remain independent but collaborative. THE LONG ARC OF SECTOR & TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT Over the next decade, sector leadership and technological integration will increasingly define valuation and competitiveness. Environmental, infrastructure, and energy-transition markets will continue to attract capital, but technology adoption will reshape what constitutes a “premium” firm. Firms investing now in AI-enabled design, digital twins, data integration, and collaborative project delivery are expected to command higher valuations and strategic interest by the early 2030s. More than one-third of firms surveyed cited technological adoption as a key factor influencing their long-term M&A strategy, with larger firms disproportionately planning acquisitions to accelerate digital capability building. In effect, digital maturity will become the next differentiator, joining profitability and leadership readiness as a top valuation driver. OVERALL By 2030, M&A in the AEC sector is expected to be less about size and more about sophistication: a marketplace where value is defined not only by what a firm builds, but by how intelligently, sustainably, and seamlessly it delivers.
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