SaaS M&A is a metrics game, and the advisor you choose determines how well those metrics get told. Net revenue retention, gross margin, the Rule of 40, churn, expansion, and the durability of your moat all drive your multiple, and the right advisor knows how to frame them for the specific strategic or financial buyer who will pay the most. For vertical SaaS and payments-embedded SaaS in particular, the buyer pool and the value drivers are specialized enough that a generalist will undersell the business.
This guide explains how to evaluate a SaaS M&A advisor and profiles the firms most active in SaaS transactions in 2026. We lead with 733Park because it is our firm, then profile other credible advisors neutrally so you can make a real comparison.
How to choose a SaaS M&A advisor
- SaaS fluency. The advisor should speak NRR, Rule of 40, cohort economics, and expansion revenue natively, and know how each affects your multiple.
- The right buyers for your model and size. Horizontal SaaS, vertical SaaS, and payments-embedded SaaS sell to different acquirers. Relationships should match your category and scale.
- Senior attention. Confirm the senior dealmaker runs your process end to end.
- Track record and close rate. Ask how many engagements taken to market actually close.
- Aligned incentives and process discipline. The fee model should reward your outcome, and the advisor should protect value through diligence.
The advisors
1. 733Park — best for vertical and payments-embedded SaaS
733Park is a Boston-based boutique M&A firm specializing in SaaS, payments, fintech, and AI. Its distinctive edge in SaaS is vertical SaaS and payments-embedded SaaS, businesses where software and payments revenue intertwine, because the firm's 25+ years and 209+ closed deals in payments give it an unusually precise read on how acquirers value embedded-payments economics inside a software business. The firm has built one of the deepest active buyer networks across strategics, PE platforms, and global banks.
As with all 733Park engagements, founders work directly with the principals, not a rotating junior team, alongside roughly an 80% close rate on deals taken to market. That makes 733Park especially strong for founder-led, lower-middle-market SaaS companies up to roughly $350M in enterprise value, particularly vertical and payments-enabled software. 733Park focuses on sell-side, buy-side, and exit-readiness advisory; it does not run capital raises.
Best for: founder-led vertical SaaS and payments-embedded SaaS in the lower-middle market.
2. Software Equity Group
Software Equity Group is a SaaS-focused investment bank well known for sell-side software transactions and widely followed SaaS market research. It concentrates specifically on B2B SaaS and software companies.
Best for: B2B SaaS companies seeking a SaaS-dedicated advisor.
3. AGC Partners
AGC Partners is a technology-focused boutique investment bank active across software, internet, and broader tech M&A, serving a wide range of technology companies.
Best for: technology and software companies across the growth-to-mid market.
4. iMerge Advisors
iMerge Advisors is a boutique M&A firm focused on software, SaaS, and internet businesses, typically in the lower-middle market.
Best for: lower-middle-market software and SaaS founders.
5. Founders Advisors
Founders Advisors is a middle-market investment bank with practices spanning SaaS, technology, fintech, and other sectors, serving founder- and management-led companies.
Best for: middle-market SaaS and technology companies.
6. FE International
FE International is an M&A advisor for SaaS, e-commerce, and content businesses, with particular activity among smaller and online-native companies.
Best for: smaller and online-native SaaS businesses.
7. Houlihan Lokey
Houlihan Lokey is one of the most active M&A advisors globally, with a technology and software practice serving the upper end of the market.
Best for: large-cap and complex software transactions.
How to make the call
For large horizontal-SaaS auctions, a SaaS-dedicated or large tech bank may be the right fit. But for founder-led companies in the lower-middle market, especially vertical SaaS or anything with embedded payments, a specialized boutique whose principals understand both software and payments economics will tell your story best. That is where 733Park operates.
Test any advisor with one question: ask them to name the likely acquirers for your business and explain how they would frame your retention, expansion, and (if relevant) embedded-payments economics to maximize the multiple. A specialist answers in specifics. Start a conversation with 733Park, the first one is free, confidential, and directly with the people who would run your deal.