North American M&A activity reached a new quarterly deal value record in the third quarter of 2025, with deal count climbing to its highest level since early 2022, a pattern that historically has preceded periods of heightened sale leaseback activity, even though the timing of that follow through tends to lag broader M&A trends. Middle market deal volume softened in a typical seasonal summer slowdown, but average purchase price multiples rebounded meaningfully from the prior quarter's decline, helping sustain an attractive arbitrage between business and real estate multiples. Given the historical relationship between surging M&A activity and subsequent sale leaseback demand, conditions appeared to be setting the stage for a potential pickup in activity over the coming quarters.
