Software development and digital engineering is the largest IT services line by deal volume. Between 2015 and 2025 we recorded 2,482 acquisitions of custom-software, product-engineering, and digital-build firms worldwide, using proprietary counts from the Aventis Advisors deal database of more than 125,000 transactions. This is services M&A, the buying of development talent and delivery capability, distinct from the acquisition of software products, which we cover in our companion ranking of the top strategic buyers of software companies. This article ranks the most active buyers of development firms and is part of our ranking of the top strategic acquirers of IT services companies.
If you run a custom-development, nearshore, or digital-engineering shop, your likely buyers are the digitally-native engineering firms scaling delivery talent across geographies, plus the global majors and a deep bench of private equity.
Who’s buying software development firms: 2015-2025 in numbers
Development-services M&A grew across the decade, set an activity record around 2021-2022 on digital-transformation demand, and remains active as buyers chase nearshore and offshore talent. Deal sizes are mostly small to mid, with disclosure concentrated on the larger platform deals.
The most active buyers of software development firms at a glance
Deal counts cover announced acquisitions of software development and digital engineering firms from 2015 to 2025, families consolidated. “Type” marks strategic/operating buyers versus private equity funds. Software product vendors that buy the occasional dev shop (for example Constellation and Visma) are excluded and belong in the software-buyers ranking. Lines in this series overlap: a transaction can appear in more than one of them, so counts are per line and not additive. This article counts a wider universe than our digital engineering article, and it includes digital engineering.
| # | Buyer | Type | 2015-2019 | 2020-2022 | 2023-2025 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Accenture |
Strategic | 8 | 7 | 7 | 22 |
| 2 |  Globant |
Strategic | 6 | 1 | 2 | 9 |
| 3 |  Improving |
Strategic | 3 | 3 | 2 | 8 |
| 4 |  Valtech |
Strategic | 4 | 3 | 1 | 8 |
| 5 |  Sesa (incl. VAR Group) |
Strategic | 0 | 4 | 3 | 7 |
| 6 |  Endava |
Strategic | 4 | 2 | 1 | 7 |
| 7 |  EPAM |
Strategic | 3 | 2 | 2 | 7 |
| 8 |  Perficient |
Strategic | 1 | 6 | 0 | 7 |
| 9 |  Cognizant |
Strategic | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
| 10 |  iO Group |
Strategic | 2 | 4 | 0 | 6 |
1) Accenture
Overview: The world’s largest technology consulting and IT services firm, domiciled in Ireland (Dublin), buying custom-development, digital-engineering, and design shops to add delivery talent and industry capability worldwide. Accenture folded its previous service lines, including Technology and Song, into a single reinvention services structure in September 2025, so a seller today is talking to one organization rather than to a named unit.
Acquisition pace: 22 development deals, the most in our data, spread evenly across the period, 8 in 2015-2019, 7 in 2020-2022, and 7 in 2023-2025.
Typical target: custom-software and digital-engineering firms worldwide, from Europe and the US to Japan and Latin America.
Select transactions: Octo Technology (France, ~$121m, 2016), SinnerSchrader (Germany, ~$66m, 2017), and Work & Co (US, 2024).
2) Globant
Overview: A digitally-native engineering firm, originally Argentine and now US-listed, acquiring product-engineering and digital-build shops to add talent and geography.
Acquisition pace: 9 development deals, front-loaded into 2015-2019.
Typical target: Latin American, European, and US software-engineering firms.
Select transactions: Belatrix Global (~$70m, 2019), Globant Bel (~$16m, 2017), and Small Footprint (~$10m, 2018).
3) Improving
Overview: A US-based software development and consulting group, headquartered in Dallas, Texas, that has expanded through a steady acquisition program.
Acquisition pace: 8 development deals, evenly spread, 3 in 2015-2019, 3 in 2020-2022, and 2 in 2023-2025.
Typical target: North American custom-software and digital-delivery firms, mostly US with occasional Canadian and Mexican targets.
Select transactions: values undisclosed, but targets include iTexico (US/Mexico, 2020), YoppWorks (Canada, 2022), and MangoChango (US, 2025).
4) Valtech
Overview: A global digital experience and engineering agency consolidating creative and technology-build shops across Europe and North America.
Acquisition pace: 8 development deals from 2015 to 2024, 4 in 2015-2019, 3 in 2020-2022, and 1 in 2023-2025. The most recent is also by far the largest, so this is an active buyer rather than one that stopped after 2022.
Typical target: European and US digital-experience and engineering firms, from small build shops up to the take-private of a listed group.
Select transactions: Kin + Carta (UK, ~GBP 270m, 2024), Appsolutely (Netherlands, 2022), and Berndt Group (US, 2022).
Kin + Carta was a listed UK digital-transformation firm, and Valtech’s roughly GBP 270m acquisition of it in 2024 is the largest disclosed deal by any of the specialist acquirers in this ranking. It shows the size of business Valtech can now absorb.
5) Sesa (incl. VAR Group)
Overview: An Italian technology group, headquartered near Florence, that consolidates domestic software and digital firms largely through its VAR Group arm.
Acquisition pace: 7 development deals, all since 2020, 4 in 2020-2022 and 3 in 2023-2025.
Typical target: Italian custom-development and digital-services companies, with occasional expansion into Spain.
Select transactions: values undisclosed; targets include Palitalsoft (Italy, 2021), Aldebra (Italy, 2022), and Delta Tecnologias de Informacion (Spain, 2025).
6) Endava
Overview: A UK-listed digital engineering firm delivering from Central and Eastern Europe and Latin America, growing through nearshore-focused acquisitions.
Acquisition pace: 7 development deals, weighted to 2015-2019.
Typical target: European and Latin American software-engineering firms.
Select transactions: Comtrade Digital Services (Serbia/Ireland, ~$71m, 2020), Eq Tek (Poland, 2024), and Pet Minuta (Croatia, 2021).
7) EPAM Systems
Overview: A US-listed global engineering firm with deep Eastern European delivery roots, using acquisitions to add capability and reach.
Acquisition pace: 7 development deals spread across the period.
Typical target: US and European software-engineering and digital-experience firms.
Select transactions: Alliance Global Services (US, ~$51m, 2015), NavigationArts (US, ~$31m, 2015), and Dextrys (US, ~$3m, 2016).
8) Perficient
Overview: A US digital consultancy that built a nearshore Latin American delivery base through a concentrated run of acquisitions. EQT took it private in 2024.
Acquisition pace: 7 development deals, heavily weighted to 2020-2022, most with disclosed values. The count is back-weighted rather than lapsed. EQT’s 2024 take-private put fresh leverage behind the business, which makes acquisitions more likely rather than less, so treat Perficient as a live buyer with a quiet stretch behind it.
Typical target: Latin American software-engineering firms feeding a US client base.
Select transactions: Izmul (Uruguay, ~$110m, 2021), Productora de Software (Colombia, ~$93m, 2020), and Inflection Point Systems (US/Mexico, ~$54m, 2022).
9) Cognizant
Overview: A global IT services major, headquartered in Teaneck, New Jersey, that acquires development and platform-engineering firms to strengthen its digital delivery.
Acquisition pace: 6 development deals, evenly spread, 2 in each period across 2015-2025.
Typical target: specialist engineering and platform-development practices in the US and Europe.
Select transactions: Thirdera (US, ~$430m, 2023), Mobica (UK, ~$310m, 2023), and DevBridge (US, ~$268m, 2021).
10) iO Group
Overview: A Dutch full-service digital agency spanning strategy, creative, and technology build, grown through acquisition to deepen its offering in the Netherlands and wider Europe.
Acquisition pace: 6 development deals, weighted to 2020-2022, 2 in 2015-2019 and 4 in 2020-2022, with none since.
Typical target: Dutch and Belgian digital-engineering and design firms.
Select transactions: values undisclosed; targets include Frontmen (Netherlands, 2019), ISAAC (Netherlands, 2020), and Triggerfish (Sweden, 2022).
Active private equity investors in software development
This line has the deepest PE bench in IT services. Sponsors with repeat development buyouts include Elvaston Capital (5), Renovus Capital (5), Apax (4), Bain Capital (3), Cloud Equity Group (3), and Egeria (3). See our ranking of the top private equity investors in IT services.
What this means if you’re selling a software development firm
Buyers value delivery talent, nearshore/offshore geography, and specialist engineering capability more than assets. The digitally-native firms (Globant, Endava, EPAM, Perficient, Valtech) buy to add capacity and skills, the global majors buy for scale, and private equity is unusually active here. If your business looks like a software product company rather than a services firm, a different buyer pool applies, see our software buyers ranking. If you specialize in product engineering and embedded or platform build work, the same acquirers show up in our companion ranking of who is buying digital engineering firms. Competition across these buyers, and the strategic versus financial choice, drives the outcome.
Thinking about selling your development or engineering firm?
Aventis Advisors advises IT services and technology founders on M&A. We help you identify the realistic buyers, position the business, and run a competitive process. Talk to our team.
Frequently asked questions
Who is the most active buyer of software development companies?
Accenture, with 22 acquisitions of development and digital-engineering firms between 2015 and 2025 in our database, ahead of Globant (9), then Improving and Valtech (8 each), and a cluster at 7 (Sesa, Endava, EPAM, Perficient).
Is my dev shop a “software” or an “IT services” business?
If you sell custom development, outsourcing, or engineering as a service, you are an IT services business and the buyers on this page apply. If you own and sell a software product, see our software buyers ranking. The two attract different acquirers and multiples.
Does private equity buy software development firms?
Yes, more than any other IT services line. Repeat sponsors include Elvaston Capital, Renovus, Apax, and Bain Capital. See our ranking of the top private equity investors in IT services.
About Aventis Advisors
Aventis Advisors is an M&A advisory firm focused on technology and IT services companies. We advise founders and owners on company sales, growth capital, and strategic transactions, combining sector focus with proprietary deal data such as the database behind this article. To discuss your options, get in touch.
