Australian sale multiples against other countries
Countries' overall figures differ mostly because their deals differ in size. Larger deals sell at higher multiples, and some countries' sets hold more of them. So this page compares countries only within the same size band.
Deals updated October 2026
Most of these deals had a listed buyer or appear in an independent expert's report. They span more than one market cycle. Treat them as a rough guide to what buyers paid, and expect your own figure to differ.
Where each country's figures come from
- Australia. Company announcements and independent experts' reports on Australian takeovers. Built from a database of 1,100+ Australian deals.
- United States. Bankers' fairness opinions in SEC merger filings. Each lists the earlier deals it compares with. Built from a database of 2,300+ US deals.
- United Kingdom. Offer documents and announcements under the Takeover Code. Press and blog sources are left out. Built from a database of 600+ UK deals.
- Canada. Management information circulars and their fairness opinions and formal valuations. Built from a database of 400+ Canadian deals.
- New Zealand. Independent advisers' reports and offer documents under the Takeovers Code, and experts' reports. Built from a database of 200+ New Zealand deals.
Multiples carry no currency. Deal sizes are converted to Australian dollars at fixed rates (US$ 1.50, £ 1.90, C$ 1.10, NZ$ 0.92) only to place deals in a size view.
Sector by sector
Each row gives the median multiple of EBITDA in each country for deals of one size, with the number of deals behind it. Read across a row. Where a country has too few deals of that size, the row says so.
Deals of A$10 million to A$500 million
Each country's median multiple of EBITDA for deals of this size, by sector.
Each dot is a country's median, in times EBITDA, for deals of one size with a published value.
Source: deals in our database with a published value and an EBITDA multiple, from company filings, experts' reports and press reports. Medians by onestepright.
Each cell gives the median, in times EBITDA. Under it is the number of deals.
| Sector | Australia | United States | United Kingdom | Canada | New Zealand |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Accommodation and food services | 9.0 times EBITDA, 20+ deals | 10.0 times EBITDA, 30+ deals | Not enough deals | Not enough deals | Not enough deals |
| Administrative and support services | 7.0 times EBITDA, 10+ deals | 8.0 times EBITDA, 10+ deals | 8.5 times EBITDA, 10+ deals | Not enough deals | Not enough deals |
| Arts and recreation | 9.0 times EBITDA, 10+ deals | 8.5 times EBITDA, 10+ deals | Not enough deals | 6.0 times EBITDA, 5+ deals | Not enough deals |
| Construction | 6.0 times EBITDA, 10+ deals | 5.5 times EBITDA, 10+ deals | 9.0 times EBITDA, 5+ deals | 4.5 times EBITDA, 5+ deals | Not enough deals |
| Financial and insurance services | 8.5 times EBITDA, 10+ deals | 9.0 times EBITDA, 10+ deals | 12.0 times EBITDA, 10+ deals | 14.5 times EBITDA, 5+ deals | Not enough deals |
| Health care and social assistance | 8.5 times EBITDA, 50+ deals | 9.0 times EBITDA, 20+ deals | 10.5 times EBITDA, 5+ deals | Not enough deals | 8.5 times EBITDA, 10+ deals |
| Manufacturing | 8.5 times EBITDA, 50+ deals | 8.5 times EBITDA, 100+ deals | 8.0 times EBITDA, 50+ deals | 8.0 times EBITDA, 30+ deals | 7.5 times EBITDA, 30+ deals |
| Mining | 5.0 times EBITDA, 20+ deals | 7.5 times EBITDA, 20+ deals | 7.5 times EBITDA, 5+ deals | 4.0 times EBITDA, 20+ deals | Not enough deals |
| Professional, scientific and technical services | 6.5 times EBITDA, 20+ deals | 9.0 times EBITDA, 20+ deals | 7.5 times EBITDA, 20+ deals | Not enough deals | Not enough deals |
| Retail trade | 7.0 times EBITDA, 30+ deals | 7.5 times EBITDA, 10+ deals | Not enough deals | Not enough deals | 7.5 times EBITDA, 5+ deals |
| Technology, software, media and telecommunications | 8.0 times EBITDA, 100+ deals | 8.0 times EBITDA, 50+ deals | 11.5 times EBITDA, 30+ deals | 8.0 times EBITDA, 20+ deals | 7.0 times EBITDA, 10+ deals |
| Transport, postal and warehousing | 6.5 times EBITDA, 10+ deals | 6.5 times EBITDA, 30+ deals | Not enough deals | 7.0 times EBITDA, 5+ deals | 7.5 times EBITDA, 5+ deals |
| Wholesale trade | 6.5 times EBITDA, 30+ deals | Not enough deals | Not enough deals | 4.0 times EBITDA, 5+ deals | 7.0 times EBITDA, 10+ deals |
Deals of A$500 million to A$2 billion
The same for larger deals. Fewer countries have enough of them to show.
Each dot is a country's median, in times EBITDA, for deals of one size with a published value.
Source: deals in our database with a published value and an EBITDA multiple, from company filings, experts' reports and press reports. Medians by onestepright.
Each cell gives the median, in times EBITDA. Under it is the number of deals.
| Sector | Australia | United States | United Kingdom | Canada | New Zealand |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electricity, gas, water and waste | 10.5 times EBITDA, 10+ deals | 8.5 times EBITDA, 10+ deals | Not enough deals | Not enough deals | Not enough deals |
| Manufacturing | 10.0 times EBITDA, 30+ deals | 10.5 times EBITDA, 200+ deals | 11.0 times EBITDA, 20+ deals | 9.0 times EBITDA, 20+ deals | Not enough deals |
| Mining | 6.0 times EBITDA, 5+ deals | 8.5 times EBITDA, 10+ deals | Not enough deals | Not enough deals | Not enough deals |
| Technology, software, media and telecommunications | 12.5 times EBITDA, 20+ deals | 11.0 times EBITDA, 100+ deals | 16.0 times EBITDA, 10+ deals | 12.0 times EBITDA, 10+ deals | 16.0 times EBITDA, 10+ deals |
Other markets, all sectors only
These markets have too few deals to show sector by sector. Each line covers all their sectors, for deals with a published value.
| Market | Median (times EBITDA) | Deals |
|---|---|---|
| Germany | 9.0 | 30+ |
| France | 10.0 | 100+ |
| Continental Europe excluding Germany and France | 7.5 | 20+ |
Much of the data for these markets comes from press reports, and their multiples are taken as reported. Read these lines with more care than the rest.
For the multiple at each deal size, Australia against all markets, see what size does to the price.
Deals with a published value only. Sizes are converted to Australian dollars at fixed rates, only to place each deal in a band.
Why the figures differ
Three things move a country's figure. The first is the size of the deals in its set, because larger deals sell at higher multiples. The second is who bought. The third is what listed companies were trading at.
The lines below show the third, what listed companies in each region traded at.
- Listed companies in Australia, New Zealand and Canada traded at 12.0 times their combined EBITDA in January 2026. Source: Aswath Damodaran, NYU Stern, data as of January 2026.
- Listed companies in Europe traded at 10.8 times their combined EBITDA in January 2026. Source: Aswath Damodaran, NYU Stern, data as of January 2026.
- Listed companies in the United States traded at 17.0 times their combined EBITDA in January 2026. Source: Aswath Damodaran, NYU Stern, data as of January 2026.
None of this says an overseas buyer would pay an Australian business its own market's multiple. A buyer prices the business in front of it.
Where would yours sit?
The figures show where deals landed in each market. Where would yours sit?
- Put your own figures through the exit value bridge. It splits value at exit into EBITDA growth, the change in multiple and lower net debt, on multiples you choose.
- Take the seller check. About twenty-five questions on what a buyer's team will ask, before they ask it.
- Take the Strategy check. A buyer prices the plan it believes. The check shows where your strategy practices stand.
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For advisers and brokers
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Questions
Do Australian businesses sell for less than businesses overseas? Not in a way these figures can show. Larger deals sell at higher multiples, and some countries' sets hold more of them. Read across a row of the table, which keeps the deal size the same.
Why compare by sector? Sectors sell at different multiples. A country whose deals lean to a high-multiple sector would look dearer overall for that reason alone. Comparing sector by sector takes that out.
Where do the overseas figures come from? From the same kinds of public record as the Australian ones: company announcements and independent experts' reports. Each country's note above says where its set differs.