Total disclosed deal value reached $2.1 billion in the first six months of 2025. Buyers preferred to keep their M&A strategies private as only 8% of deals announced their transaction values.

Let’s start by looking at dealmaking activity in the Blue-Collar Software sector during the first half of 2025, which was robust with 159 deals seen, up 73% compared to the same period in 2024. At that pace, transaction volumes would exceed the 10-year high achieved in 2024. Dealmaking volumes have been on a powerful upward trend since 2022 as toolbelt industries continue to digitize. Financial and strategic buyers were eager to pursue acquisitions in this space as PE firms were the buyers in 32% of these transactions.

Looking at the top acquirers of Blue-Collar Software firms during the first half of 2025, buy-and-hold company Banyan Software made three deals, taking first place. Rounding out the list, financial buyer Hawk Infinity Software made two deals.

After peaking in 2021, VC funding for Blue-Collar Software firms has declined considerably in recent years and remains highly volatile, as have deal volumes. The median VC investment was $4.1 million, well below the median disclosed M&A transaction value of $34 million. Companies have instead been encouraged to pursue M&A strategies for growth and liquidity.