By April TaylorPublished On: October 31, 2025

Professional Services Q3 2025 Report

During the first nine months of 2025, 466 professional services M&A transactions were announced in the U.S. This was roughly equivalent to the number of 2024 announcements for the same time period, though considerable quarter to quarter volatility existed with stronger Q2 2025 deal volume followed by weaker Q3 2025.

The Consulting and Accounting segments continued to represent more than 50% of professional services deal volume, followed by Staffing and Recruiting and HCM Services. Together these four segments represented more than 80% of announced M&A deals in the professional services sector.

Through the first nine months of 2025, 43 buyers announced two or more deals and 15 of the most active buyers announced three or more. The majority (12 of 15) of the most active buyers have a private equity investor and another two are publicly traded.

Professional Services M&A Deal Count by Segment

Professional Services Total M&A Deal Count

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April Taylor, a FOCUS Managing Director, has more than 20 years of consulting, management, and M&A advisory experience. Since joining FOCUS in 2010, Ms. Taylor has worked on numerous transactions involving businesses in the business services, human capital management, and technology and software fields.

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.