1st Half 2026 Education Industry Trends

1ST HALF 2026 KEY HIGHLIGHTS

The largest transaction in 1st Half 2026 was KKR’s announced acquisition of XCL Education, a leading education network in Southeast Asia, for $1.3 billion. XCL Education operates 19 K-12 schools and 45 preschools in 4 countries. Their schools equip students with the academic and lifelong learning skills they need to find their path and shape their future.

The segments with the largest transaction volume for 1st Half 2026 were Professional Training Services and Childcare Services with 40 transactions each.

1ST HALF 2026 KEY TRENDS

Total transaction volume in 1st Half 2026 increased by 39 percent over 2nd Half 2025, from 176 to 244.

In terms of acquirer type, strategic volume increased 41 percent on a half year basis, from 128 to 181. Private equity volume rose 31 percent, from 48 to 63.

Total transaction value in 1st Half 2026 remained the same over 2nd Half 2025, at $6.5 billion.

The median revenue multiple from 2nd Half 2025 to 1st Half 2026 decreased from 2.3x to 1.3x.

M&A MARKET OVERVIEW

Berkery Noyes tracked 999 Education transactions between 2024 and 1st Half 2026, of which 136 disclosed financial terms, and calculated the aggregate transaction value to be $43.3 billion. Based on known transaction values, we project the values of 863 undisclosed transactions to be $7.4 billion, totaling $50.7 billion worth of transactions tracked over the past two and a half years.

Transactions from 1st Half 2024 to 1st Half 2026 with enterprise values in the $10-$160 million range had a median revenue multiple of 1.7x, whereas those above $160 million had a median revenue multiple of 5.9x.

Disclosed median enterprise value multiples for all segments combined in this report during the last 30 months were 1.8x revenue and 17.7x EBITDA.