PE Acquisitions of Classic SaaS at 6-10x Multiples Have Disappeared
Jason Lemkin · The State of AI + Software: Where It’s Going - Fast · Oct 22, 2025 · at 40:50
Jason Lemkin, founder of SaaStr, explains that private equity firms have ceased acquiring moderate-growth, cash-flow-neutral classic SaaS companies at historical valuation multiples.
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“Private equity firms aren't interested either. And there used to be from 2012, 2013 until 2023. So there was a decade where if your growth was decent, but not great in SAS, but your burn rate was low and your NRR was high, maybe VCs wouldn't touch you, but a private equity firm would come in and buy you for six to sometimes 10 times revenue. You get to the twenty million revenue growing, say, 50%, 60%, and cash flow neutral Look, no VC was gonna fund you there, but a private equity firm might buy you for 150 or even two hundred million dollars sometimes. I don't see any of those deals. They've disappeared”
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