In lower to upper mid-market mergers and acquisitions, specifically within the €25M to €250M enterprise value (EV) corridor, the headline purchase price is frequently a vanity metric. While boardrooms, press releases, and founder networks celebrate the headline valuation, the actual net economic proceeds delivered to selling shareholders at closing (and across post-closing settlement periods) are governed by a complex matrix of legal risk allocation, working capital mechanics

The European healthcare technology and medical device ecosystem has entered an era of disciplined maturity. The speculative valuation inflation of the early 2020s has given way to a metrics-driven environment where strategic value is defined by clinical utility, regulatory resilience and technological defensibility. Within this landscape, European founders face a structural reality: domestic exit options are frequently constrained by fragmented national healthcare systems, lo

Of the 113 global digital health exits recorded in the first half of 2025, 107 were executed through M&A transactions, whereas a mere 6 were achieved via public listings. This profound shift marks a permanent structural transition from a phase of speculative, venture-backed exuberance to one of pragmatic, highly disciplined growth.