Professional Services Q4 2025 Report
For full year 2025, 639 professional services M&A transactions were announced in the U.S, a 5% increase from 2024. The increase was driven by strong deal volume in the Accounting, Tax & Advisory and Legal Services sectors. Deal volume in the consulting sector was flat relative to 2024 while the Staffing & Recruiting and HCM Services sectors both had fewer deal announcements in 2025 than in 2024.
Private equity backed platforms continued to be a major driver of deal volume particularly in the Accounting, Tax & Advisory sector where firms such as Baker Tilly, Aprio, Citrin Cooperman, and Doeren Mayhew announced five or more acquisitions during the calendar year.
In the Legal Services sector, Odyssey Investment Partners backed Magna Legal Services continued to consolidate the litigation support services market with acquisitions of private investigations, court reporting, and record retrieval services. At the same time, law firm to law firm combinations continue apace as firms seek to develop the scale necessary to respond to client demands for expanded breadth and depth of geographic and practice area coverage.
Professional Services M&A Deal Count by Segment
Professional Services Total M&A Deal Count
Prior to joining FOCUS, Ms. Taylor worked in product marketing and business analytics roles at AOL. In her role as Director of Business Operations and Analysis at AOL, she led a team responsible for providing analysis, reporting, and strategic recommendations for products generating more than $150 million in annual revenue. She also managed 20+ cross-company initiatives which doubled the retention rate of canceling AOL subscription members as users of AOL’s free, advertising supported products.
Before that, Ms. Taylor was a management consultant and case team leader at Bain & Company, where she worked closely with client management teams, including C-level executives, to deliver measurable financial and operational improvements to businesses in a wide range of industries. Her engagements at Bain included identifying growth and cost savings opportunities, developing implementation plans, and performing investment due diligence.
Ms. Taylor received an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, and a B.A. in economics from Wellesley College. She is also a CFA charter holder and holds FINRA Series 7, 63, and 79 licenses.
