Education: 2025 M&A Deal Roundup and Trends To Watch Out for in 2026 (L.E.K. Consulting)

Summary

• North American education M&A transaction volume reached 423 deals in 2025, with disclosed deal value total of $5.8B.p.7
• Professional upskilling represented the largest share of M&A volume at 30% in 2025, followed by K-12 at 22%.p.10
• US K-12 private school enrollment reached ~5M students in 2024, growing at a 1.3% CAGR since 2019.p.17
• Total recipients of school choice subsidies reached 1,038 thousand in 2024, expanding accessibility to private education.p.19

Key insights

1. North American education transaction volume grew to 423 deals in 2025 despite a -16.6% CAGR over the 2020-25 period.p.7
2. Disclosed deal value under $1B reached its highest level since 2021 in 2025, even as mega deals were absent.p.8
3. Cybersecurity incidents affected 60% of K-12 schools during the 2023-24 or 2024-25 academic year.p.25
4. Nondegree programs account for 67% of total U.S. trade school enrollment as of 2024.p.30
5. Education sector companies reported 21% AI utilization in December 2025, exceeding the cross-industry average of 17%.p.43