Research the M&A landscape in {{sector / vertical}} over the past 24 months.
Inputs:
- Sector definition: {{specific enough that two analysts would draw the same boundary}}
- Geography: {{global / US / EU / etc.}}
- Deal size range we care about: {{paste}}
- The specific question driving the research: {{paste — e.g. "should we acquire" / "are we an attractive target" / "is consolidation a thesis"}}
Output:
## Notable deals (10 max)
| Date | Acquirer | Target | Deal size | Multiple (if known) | Strategic rationale | Outcome so far |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
## What's driving the consolidation (or the lack of it)
2–3 patterns: who's buying (PE / strategics / sector leaders), what they're paying for (revenue / tech / talent / customer base), what's getting passed over.
## Outcomes worth noting
The 1–2 deals that went well (specifically) and the 1–2 that went badly (specifically). What's the integration-success pattern.
## Typical deal terms
- Revenue multiples for this sector at our scale
- Earnouts vs. all-cash typical mix
- Lockup / retention terms for founders/key talent
## Who's acquisitive right now
The 5 buyers most likely to be in market in next 12 months, ranked by signal strength (recent dry-powder raise, public M&A targets, executive comments).
## What this means for our question
Tie back to the inputs. If we're a potential acquirer: what does this scan suggest about timing and price. If a potential target: what we'd need to look like to maximize value.
## Sources
Numbered, with URLs and dates.
Hard rules:
- Distinguish announced from closed
- Distinguish public deal terms from leaked / rumored
- Skip deals where the "AI" framing was the marketing but not the substance
- Flag the deals where the buyer was clearly overpaying — those don't transfer as compsmamarket-researchstrategy