why do multiple deals for an industry suddenly all appear around same time?

searcher profile

March 24, 2025

by a searcher from University of Mumbai in Dallas, TX, USA

has anyone else noticed this happening? I see one underground utility deal, then 4-5 others pop up around the same time ; noticed same with electrical, rental equipment, architecture firms etc: not sure if others see this and why??; or its me just imagining and having some pattern confirmation bias

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commentor profile
Reply by an intermediary
from Arizona State University in Long Beach, CA, USA
1. Seasonality - Industry specific, or in general many Sellers/Intermediaries choose to go to market in Q1 after year end financials are prepared.
2. Baader-Meinhof phenomenon - where once you are aware of something that is new to you, you tend to notice it everywhere. You may never have paid attention to that niche before, and the deals may have always been there.
3. Demographic trend - Many baby boomers in your niche deciding to retire this year.
4 Industry specific trends - Changes in government spending, recession risk, large competitor entering this geography, etc. that prompts folks in a particular niche/geography to consider retiring sooner rather than later. This is worth researching, but the simplest explanation is usually the correct answer, so I would guess #1, 2, or 3 are more likely.
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Reply by an investor
from University of Southampton in Los Angeles, CA, USA
Most of those you list are probably coincidental but the paranoid investor in me would make me question if theres something industry related i don't know about thats changing. I don't know the specifics that you're looking at but underground utility companies are probably heavily exposed to municipalities and local govt, local government budgets at high risk of being slashed with the current administration...could be a big enough catalyst to force some seller into selling
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