After a couple years of heavy merger and acquisition traffic coming out of the pandemic, the volume of deals curtailed slightly in 2023 and 2024, by our estimates. It’s easy to say that pent-up demand from the 2020 debacle opened the door to a spike in activity. Still, 2024 wasn’t a terrible year—certainly not as bad as 2023—and thus far 2025 has witnessed a slow but steady stream of M&A announcements.
As we close the book on our April State of the Industry report on M&A, a strong sampling of the who’s who of high rollers may help add perspective to what we can see for the balance of this year and 2026. Quite simply, we inquired about geography, volume of deals and other variables that will factor into their game plan moving forward.
One of the industry’s M&A heavyweights—UBEO Business Services of Austin, Texas—plans to continue growing strategically in the near term. Travis Sheffield, vice president of acquisitions, notes the dealership isn’t focused on any set geographic or manufacturer line parameters.
“Rather than targeting a specific number, we focus on partnering with strong companies that have the potential for growth through the sharing of best practices and the effective use of our combined resources,” Sheffield said.
Following an extremely active six-month period that saw WiZiX Technology Group close on two deals and have another under contract, it’s not surprising that the Roseville, California-based dealership plans to spend the next 12-24 months integrating the latest acquisitions. Still, notes Eric McIntosh, senior vice president, WiZiX is always willing to listen and act upon prime opportunities.
“You never know when the next great deal might cross your path,” McIntosh said. “So we are always ready to explore new opportunities to partner with great businesses. We’ve put ourselves in a great position to be selective, prioritizing deals that align with our existing operations, strategic goals and allow us to leverage the advantages WiZiX Technology Group brings to the market.”
Having made an M&A splash in recent years courtesy of a slew of additions, York, Pennsylvania-based Doceo has no intention of letting its foot off the gas pedal. According to Chief Marketing Officer Jim Haney, the dealer anticipates completing a jaw-dropping 8 to 10 deals that will bring an additional 3,000 to 4,000 new customers into the fold.
Doceo is casting a wide net to all geographies, and it has a persona in mind. “We are particularly interested in dealerships that meet our trifecta criteria: Toshiba and Lexmark product lines and e-automate integration,” Haney said.
Another dealer eyeing 8 to 10 completed transactions is DEX Imaging of Tampa, Florida. With a couple of completed deals under his belt, CEO Dan Doyle Jr. points out his M&A machine is maintaining that pace.
“From a geography standpoint, we are open to just about everywhere in the United States,” Doyle said.
With a broad goal of closing one or two deals per years, Atlantic Tomorrow’s Office is particularly interested in targeting geographies from the entire Eastern seaboard (including Florida and the southeast), the San Antonio and Austin markets in Texas, as well as western New York. However, Jason Weiss—executive vice president, COO and legal officer for the Big Apple dealer—points out that well-run businesses strategic to the dealer and its customer base trump geographic considerations.
“In terms of product, we are focused on acquiring MSPs—both pure play and office technology integrated—and strategic consulting businesses with focuses on digital transformation, workflow automation, data consolidation, BI/AI, etc.,” he said.
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