SAP’s partner ecosystem is the technology channel with the highest level of M&A activity. Between 2015 and 2025, it accounted for 369 of the 1,364 verified acquisitions of partner firms – 27 per cent of the total –and its transactions are closed at a median of 11.1 times EBITDA, the highest of all the ecosystems analysed. This executive summary, prepared by Baker Tilly’s team of technology M&A advisers using data updated to September 2026, covers companies, acquisitions, funding rounds and multiples within the channel. Its aim is to explain what these figures mean for two specific profiles: the founder considering selling an SAP consultancy and the investor seeking a platform within the ecosystem.
Key figures on the SAP partner market (September 2026)
- 369 acquisitions of SAP partners between 2015 and 2025, accounting for 27 per cent of all transactions by partner firms.
- Around 24,000 partners are registered with the SAP programme.
- Average multiples of 11.1x EBITDA and 1.10x revenue.
- Venture capital accounts for more than 27 per cent of transactions and pays 11.5x EBITDA, compared with 9.8x for strategic buyers.
- North America has the highest average operation size, ranging from 73 to 85 million dollars.
What is considered an SAP partner in this analysis?
The unit of analysis is the partner firm, not SAP or the end customer. This includes legal entities with a verified relationship with the manufacturer that generate revenue from resale, implementation, migration, managed services or software built on the SAP platform. It excludes licence and cloud revenue generated by SAP itself.
The main problem with the figures in this ecosystem is the denominator. The programme’s approximately 24,000 partners include free registrants with no actual delivery activity. Consequently, the apparent ratio of transactions to partners – around 1.5 per cent – underestimates the degree of consolidation within the actual population of firms that implement and maintain SAP for clients.
Six trends that are transforming the SAP partner market
The migration path to S/4HANA
Demand within the SAP channel is dominated by a pool of high-value but finite services. SAP will end standard maintenance for SAP ERP 6.0 (ECC) at the end of 2027, with optional, paid extended maintenance available until 2030. This deadline explains why SAP has generated more transactions from partner firms than any other ecosystem: buyers are acquiring certified capacity to handle a wave of migrations whose end is already in sight. A business portfolio consisting solely of implementation hours is, by definition, a depleting asset.
The highest median EBITDA amongst partner ecosystems
SAP partner firms trade at a median of 11.1x EBITDA compared with 1.10x revenue. This is the highest median EBITDA multiple of any identified ecosystem, exceeding the 10.4x multiple for IT services in general and the 8.63x multiple for Microsoft Dynamics partnersWhen measured against revenue, the picture is reversed: Salesforce partners achieve a multiple of 1.97x. In practice, SAP firms are valued as profitable service businesses , whilst Salesforce firms are valued as growth assets.
| Ecosystem or reference | Median multiple | A guide for buyers |
|---|---|---|
| SAP Partners | 11.1x EBITDA / 1.10x revenue | Profitability and recurring revenue |
| IT services (general overview) | 10.4x EBITDA | Industry benchmark |
| Microsoft Dynamics Partners | 8,63x EBITDA | A more fragmented market |
| Salesforce Partners | 1.97 times revenue | Growth over margin |
Two separate businesses under a single licence
Among SAP’s 24,000 partners, there are two business models which the manufacturer’s programme does not distinguish between:
- Licence resellers, which compete on the basis of scale and compliance. They are valued at between 0.5x and 1.1x revenue and between 7.8x and 10.7x EBITDA.
- Value-added implementation specialists, which compete on the basis of certification density, in-house accelerators and vertical depth. They are valued at over 2.2 times revenue and between 16 and 25 times EBITDA.
Distinguishing between these two profiles is at the heart of the due diligence process in a sale and purchase transaction involving technology companies in the SAP channel. The same partner designation can conceal a valuation difference of more than double.
Structural shortage of certified S/4HANA talent
S/4HANA certification is in-depth, time-consuming to obtain and is concentrated in a very tight labour market. The recruitment of junior staff in India fell from around 380,000 to around 120,000, whilst skills in artificial intelligence are driving salaries above the rate of inflation. For a client, hiring a certified team is quicker than training one. This dynamic underpins the premium paid for firms with a high proportion of certified consultants.
AI-driven cost reduction on work billed by the hour
The median multiple for private IT services transactions fell to 8.8x EBITDA by the end of 2025, from 13.6x in 2023, as buyers scrutinised models based on billable hours. Over the same period, value-based firms grew by 8.7 per cent, compared with 2.1 per cent for those billing by the hour. The implementation of S/4HANA is both the channel’s largest source of revenue and the part of the business most exposed to this squeeze.
Regulation as a barrier to entry
On 18 November 2025, the European Supervisory Authorities (EBA, EIOPA and ESMA) designated SAP SE as one of the 19 critical third-party ICT service providers under the DORA Regulation. Alongside SOC 2, ISO 27001, FedRAMP and the European Artificial Intelligence Regulation, these frameworks determine who is permitted to operate in regulated sectors. A partner that fails to document these controls is excluded from the banking, insurance and public sectors, and this is directly reflected in its valuation.
Acquisitions and investment in SAP partners
SAP accounts for 369 of the 1,364 verified acquisitions of partner firms between 2015 and 2025, representing 27 per cent of the total. It surpasses any other ecosystem, including Microsoft’s two sub-channels combined. It is the channel where partner consolidation first emerged and, as such, the one that offers the most comparable data for evaluating a transaction.
| Ecosystem | Partner acquisitions 2015–2025 |
|---|---|
| SAP | 369 |
| Microsoft Dynamics | 210 |
| Salesforce | 197 |
| Oracle | 115 |
| Microsoft Azure | 106 |
| ServiceNow | 97 |
Venture capital versus strategic buyers
Financial sponsors drove more than 27 per cent of SAP partner acquisitions and paid a median of 11.5x EBITDA, compared with 9.8x for strategic buyers. The SAP channel is where private equity firms developed their playbook for partner consolidation: an initial platform, complementary acquisitions by geography or sector, and an exit to a global integrator or a larger fund.
Across the M&A landscape for ecosystem consultancies, transactions at public market prices represent the upper limit of valuations. Notable examples include KKR’s delisting of Fuji Softat an estimated 24.4x EBITDA;EQT’s acquisition of Perficientat around 18.5x; and TCS’s acquisition of Salesforce partner Coastal Cloud for $700 million, the highest published price for an ecosystem consultancy.
Assessment of SAP partners by region
Geography determines the starting point for the valuation. North America combines a high multiple with the largest median business size, ranging from 73 to 85 million dollars.
| Region | Median EV/EBITDA multiple |
|---|---|
| Asia | 11,2x |
| North America | 10,9x |
| Europe | 10,0x |
| Rest of the world | 8,3x |
How the SAP partner market is set to grow
The SAP ecosystem does not grow through the addition of new firms, but rather through revenue per firm. Consolidation is driving independent partners out of the market faster than a closed programme can admit new entrants. Consequently, the key projections for an investor or salesperson are not market size, but valuation and revenue mix. These are the four business lines within the channel, ranked from lowest to highest potential multiple:
| Business line | Baseline assessment | Risk and potential |
|---|---|---|
| Resale of licences and provision | ~0.5x revenue / 7.8x EBITDA | At the lower end of the range; most vulnerable to disintermediation by marketplaces and AI |
| Implementation of S/4HANA | ~1.1x revenue / 10.7x EBITDA | Higher revenue, but with a limited time frame |
| Management of recurring applications and services (AMS) | ~10.7x EBITDA, rising to 11.2x above $500 million | The book that survives the end of the wave of migration |
| Data integration and engineering | 16,3x EBITDA | Range ceiling; the quickest way to double the output multiple |
Data integration and engineering are the complementary services that every ERP migration requires. For an SAP partner whose business focuses on implementation, developing this capability prior to the sale is the value driver with the greatest impact on the final price.
What does this mean for the founder of an SAP consultancy firm?
The market outlook favours the seller. Three factors are at play: a mature ecosystem, the most experienced pool of buyers in the technology sector, and a finite migration pool that is still sustaining valuations. As the end of standard ECC support draws nearer, the book value based solely on migration projects will tend to be discounted.
The ideal time to sell is when the portfolio still shows orders for S/4HANA, but the buyer can already see recurring revenue, data capabilities and regulatory certifications that will weather the storm. Preparing that case takes between 12 and 24 months. This is the work we undertake using the Ready4Exit method , and it should be accompanied by an independent business valuation before entering into discussions with buyers.
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Market Research on SAP’s Partner Sector in 2026
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Frequently Asked Questions about M&A amongst SAP partners
An SAP partner consultancy firm trades at an average of 11.1 times EBITDA and 1.10 times revenue, according to transaction data from 2015 to 2025 compiled in the Baker Tilly report. The range is wide: licence resellers are valued at between 7.8x and 10.7x EBITDA, whilst implementation specialists with a high density of certifications command multiples of between 16x and 25x. The mix of recurring revenue and data capabilities are the factors that most influence the multiple.
SAP partners are acquired by two main types of buyer: strategic buyers, such as system integrators and technology consultancies, and private equity funds. Financial investors were involved in over 27 per cent of the 369 acquisitions recorded between 2015 and 2025 and paid a median of 11.5x EBITDA, compared with 9.8x for strategic buyers. Funds typically build platforms through successive acquisitions of regional or vertical partners.
SAP has made more partner acquisitions than any other ecosystem (369 between 2015 and 2025, accounting for 27 per cent of the total) due to the mandatory migration to S/4HANA. Standard support for SAP ECC ends in late 2027, creating a concentrated demand for certified consultants. As talent is in short supply, buyers prefer to acquire ready-trained teams rather than build them from scratch.
For most owners, yes. The market combines maturity, experienced buyers and multiples underpinned by the wave of migration to S/4HANA. This support is temporary: the closer we get to the end of the migration wave, the more buyers will discount revenue derived solely from implementation projects. Selling with an active S/4HANA portfolio and established recurring services maximises the price.
There are three main factors that drive up an SAP partner’s valuation multiple. Firstly, recurring revenue from application management, valued at around 10.7x EBITDA. Secondly, capabilities in integration and data engineering, which reach 16.3x. Thirdly, regulatory certifications (DORA, ISO 27001, SOC 2) which provide access to the banking, insurance and public sectors. Relying solely on implementation hours reduces the value.
