Blue River

07/20/2026

Welcome to the 📢 inaugural edition of the Blue River Brief — our monthly intelligence on middle-market M&A. This month, we examine Q2 private equity deal activity, the growing influence of AI on investment strategy, the shift toward heavy-asset industries, and the liquidity challenges shaping today's deal environment.

🔍 In this month's edition 🔍:

💡Q2 2026 private equity deal activity and transaction trends
💡Why AI is now a top macro consideration for investors
💡The continued movement toward "HALO" sectors (Heavy Assets, Low Obsolescence)
💡Liquidity challenges and exit dynamics impacting sponsors

Check out our June M&A Monthly Brief!

Welcome to the inaugural edition of the Blue River Brief — our monthly intelligence on middle-market M&A. Q2 2026 was, in PitchBook’s own words, “another false start” for private equity: while headline M&A value held up amid large corporate megamergers, US PE deal value collapsed 37.5% quart...

06/24/2026

Blue River Financial Group today📢announced that Sara Clevenger has been named Chief Executive Officer and Rich Phillips has been named Chief Operating Officer, effective immediately. Co-founders William Loftis and Bryan Berent have transitioned to non-operating roles on the firm’s board of directors. Read the full press release.

Founders William Loftis and Bryan Berent transition to the board of directors as the firm advances its decision-intelligence platform.

05/20/2026

If you are a business owner, advisor, or acquirer, join us💻on June 16th @ 12pm EST for a webinar that will provide a thoughtful, structured perspective on how outstanding outcomes are engineered—not improvised.

We will introduce💡The M&A Decision System - a disciplined, seven stage blueprint designed to help owners navigate complex markets intentionally rather than reactively.

Our panelists📢include William Loftis, Managing Partner & Founder, Bryan Berent, Managing Partner & Founder, and Sara Clevenger, Partner & Buy-side Practice Leader at Blue River.

Click to register today!

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05/13/2026

Blue River celebrated 🤝 three closed deals, 45 active engagements, and one new hire in Q1 of 2026‼️Our team is building, executing, and delivering for clients every day. Catch the full Q1 recap in our video roundup!

05/12/2026

Blue River Financial Group recently served as the exclusive sell-side advisor to a leading ERP and Manufacturing Ex*****on Systems (MES) implementation and integration consulting company in its sale to a PE-backed strategic acquirer operating in the industry. Read the full press release.

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05/08/2026

Mergers and acquisitions activity in the software sector has remained strong over recent years, and deal activity in Q4 2025 showed continued strong performance in the market. The number of deals for software-as-a-service (SaaS) companies fell sequentially in Q1 2026 to 350 deals, retreating from a Q4 2025 high that was the strongest quarter since Q4 2021.📊Download our Software Q1 2026 Report to learn more.

💡This market update features insight from Kyle Rutz, Director & Software Industry Leader at Blue River.

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05/01/2026

Industrial automation M&A cooled off further in Q1 2026, following a broader M&A trend of slower deal count growth but larger deals driving higher capital flows. Still, we see bright spots in the industry that can drive a re-acceleration of M&A in the sector in 2026, driven by strong fundamental trends, still near-record dry powder by financial buyers, and continued acquisitive demand by strategics. 📊Download our Industrial Automation Q1 2026 Report to learn more.

💡This market update features insight from Thomas Hagan, Managing Director & Industrial Automation Industry Leader at Blue River.

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