What Epsilon Research does

Epsilon Research is a Paris-headquartered financial data and software provider founded in 2007 by Grégoire Buisson, focused exclusively on private-market M&A valuation in Europe. Its core asset is the EMAT (Epsilon Multiple Analysis Tool) database — a proprietary, human-curated library of more than 10,000 detailed European private M&A transaction analyses since 2004, covering equity values from €1m to €500m across 22 industry sectors and 23 European countries, with standardized financial restatements. The company complements EMAT with the EMAT-PME submodule for SME deals (€1m–€50m), a specialized M&A CRM Suite and integrated virtual dataroom for advisory deal management, an E-Portfolio Index service for PE portfolio fair-value reporting, and curated research publications including the Argos Mid-Market Index (quarterly since 2006 with Argos Wityu) and the CNCFA and CNCC SME observatories.

The business is monetized primarily through annual subscription contracts for EMAT and the M&A CRM Suite, supplemented by pay-per-report access, custom sector reports, partner-distributed data products (CorpfinDeals from Experian, IDMidCaps and Fairness Finance equity risk premium data), and co-published index/observatory products. Go-to-market combines enterprise field sales to M&A advisors, private equity firms, auditors, and corporate development teams with self-serve web registration and a one-week test-access trial on app.epsilon-research.com. The customer base spans 1,014 clients — of which 923 are EMAT subscribers and 119 are CRM Suite subscribers — and the team comprises 8–10 staff based in Paris and London. No external funding rounds have been disclosed; the company operates as a privately held, founder-led boutique with no subsidiaries beyond a UK subsidiary (Epsilon Corporate Finance Limited).

Name

Epsilon Research

Legal name

Epsilon Research

Website

https://epsilon-research.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Epsilon Research is a Paris-based financial data and software firm founded in 2007 that operates the EMAT database of European private M&A transaction multiples, serving M&A advisors, private equity firms, auditors, and corporate development teams across Europe.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

M&A Data and Analytics

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Equity Research (FSACAGAA)

Keywords

• Private M&A transaction multiples
• European M&A database
• M&A deal management software
• Private company valuation data
• Private equity portfolio benchmarking

Headquarters

HQ city

Paris

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. EMAT Database Subscription: Annual subscription to the EMAT transaction multiples database. Multiple tiers available: full EMAT subscription, EMAT-PME (deals €1m-€50m), and pay-per-report options. Revenue recognized over subscription period.
2. Epsilon M&A CRM Suite: Annual SaaS subscription for the CRM and deal management suite, targeting M&A advisors and PE firms for client management and mandate tracking.
3. Individual EMAT Deal Reports: One-time purchase of specific transaction analysis reports for non-subscribers. Enables ad-hoc access to detailed deal multiples and financial analysis.
4. IDMidCaps Equity Risk Premium (PDR): Annual subscription (€600/year standard, €500/year for EMAT subscribers) for monthly equity risk premium data on French mid-cap market, distributed in partnership with IDMidCaps.
5. Epsilon Portfolio Index Service: Subscription-based quarterly/semi-annual portfolio valuation service for private equity funds, including comparable transaction samples and index construction per portfolio company.
6. Ad Hoc Sector Reports: Custom sector-specific multiple analysis reports prepared on request, leveraging EMAT data for targeted industry valuation insights.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Epsilon Research operates a SaaS platform (app.epsilon-research.com) delivering proprietary European private M&A transaction multiples, valuation analytics, and M&A deal management tools. Its core product is the EMAT (Epsilon Multiple Analysis Tool) database of 10,000+ detailed European private M&A transaction analyses since 2004, complemented by an M&A CRM Suite, virtual dataroom, portfolio valuation index, and sector-specific research publications.

Product overview

Epsilon Research operates as a unified platform combining proprietary data products and professional services for private market valuation. The core offering is the EMAT Database (Epsilon Multiple Analysis Tool), a proprietary database of transaction multiples covering over 10,000 European private M&A deals since 2004, supplemented by the specialized EMAT-PME subset for deals under €50m. This is complemented by the M&A CRM Suite, a dedicated deal management and relationship management application with integrated document management (Virtual Dataroom) and external integrations (Outlook, Dropbox, Microsoft365, LinkedIn). Additional value-added services include the E-Portfolio Index for quarterly portfolio valuation, custom Sector Reports, and the IDMidCaps Equity Risk Premium for French mid-caps. Epsilon also publishes research indices including the Argos Mid Market Index, the Observatory on SME Transmission, and regional French M&A analyses. Data products from partners CorpfinWorldwide (CorpfinDeals) are distributed through Epsilon's platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• EMAT (Epsilon Multiple Analysis Tool): Proprietary database of M&A transaction multiples for private company valuations in Europe, covering over 10,000 deals since 2004
• Argos Mid-Market Index
• Observatory on SME Transmission (CNCFA)
• Observatory on SME Prices in France (CNCC)
• Panorama du M&A régional français
• Epsilon M&A CRM Suite
• E-Portfolio Index
• EMAT Database - PME
• CorpfinDeals
• IDMidCaps Equity Risk Premium

Products and services

• EMAT Database (Epsilon Multiple Analysis Tool) Proprietary database of transaction multiples and detailed analysis reports on European private M&A deals, covering €1–500m equity value transactions across all sectors since 2004. Used by M&A advisors, PE firms, auditors, and corporate development teams for deal valuation and benchmarking.
• EMAT-PME Database Specialized subset of the EMAT database covering small-mid market transactions with equity values between €1m and €50m for European private companies, containing 7,000+ deal analyses for SME valuation work.
• M&A CRM Suite Client relationship management and project management software designed specifically for M&A advisors, including contact management, deal pipeline tracking, mandate management, document generation, marketing automation, and knowledge management for mandates.
• Virtual Dataroom Secure virtual dataroom for small and mid-size deal management integrated within the Epsilon platform, providing secure document sharing and management for M&A transactions.
• E-Portfolio Index Portfolio valuation index service for private equity funds, providing quarterly/semi-annual comparable transaction samples and transaction multiple indices for unlisted portfolio holdings, using methodology recommended by France Invest, BVCA, and Invest Europe.
• Sector Reports (Rapports Sectoriels) Custom ad hoc research reports on transaction multiples for specific industries, prepared on client request using EMAT data, enabling targeted industry valuation insights.
• CorpfinDeals M&A transactions database from CorpfinWorldwide (Experian) covering over 300,000 deals since 1993, distributed exclusively by Epsilon in France and continental Europe.
• IDMidCaps Equity Risk Premium (Prime de Risque) Monthly equity risk premium calculation for French mid-cap market from independent research firm IDMidCaps, covering 245 French SME/ETI companies with market cap below €1.5bn; distributed by Epsilon at €600/year (€500/year for EMAT subscribers).
• Argos Mid Market Index Quarterly index measuring evolution of valuations for unlisted mid-market companies in the Eurozone, published jointly with Argos Wityu since 2006 and recognized as a key valuation reference by Invest Europe.
• Observatory on SME Prices in France (Observatoire CNCC Epsilon) Semi-annual observatory on French SME valuations, published in partnership with CNCC, tracking French mid-size enterprise valuations and M&A/LBO activity for companies with equity values between €15m and €50m.

Quantifiable outcome

• Argos Index Q1 2026: Eurozone unlisted SME acquisition price at 8.6x EBITDA, up 3.6% from Q4 2025
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.

• Corpfin Worldwide (Experian)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 January 2002Epsilon has been a partner of Corpfin Worldwide (CWW) since 2002 and serves as the exclusive distributor of CorpfinDeals (M&A transactions database with 300,000+ deals since 1993) in France and other continental European countries. Also distributes CompanyQuery (UK private company accounts) through this partnership.
• Argos WityuflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-publishers of the Argos Mid-Market Index, a quarterly benchmark measuring EV/EBITDA multiples for unlisted Eurozone SMEs. This flagship index has been published since 2006 and is recognized as a key valuation reference by Invest Europe. Argos Wityu is an independent European PE fund.
• IDMidCapscoreTechnology or IntegrationEpsilon distributes IDMidCaps' Equity Risk Premium (ERP) data for the French mid-cap market through its platform. IDMidCaps is an independent French financial research firm specializing in mid-cap listed companies since 2000, founded by Bruno Husson (HEC professor). The ERP is calculated monthly and used in DCF valuations of private companies.
• CNCFA (Compagnie Nationale des Conseils en Fusions et Acquisitions)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEpsilon Research and CNCFA co-created the 'Observatory CNCFA Epsilon de la Transmission de PME' in 2010, tracking SME transfer market trends in France. The annual barometer provides national statistics on SME transmission (internal and external) and is distributed to CNCFA members and the broader professional community.
• CNCC (Compagnie Nationale des Commissaires aux Comptes)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEpsilon Research partnered with CNCC in October 2014 to launch the 'Observatory CNCC Epsilon de la valeur des Moyennes Entreprises en France' (SME Prices Observatory). This bi-annual report tracks French mid-size enterprise valuations and M&A/LBO activity, serving CNCC members (auditors) who need private company valuation benchmarks.
• In Extenso Finance (Epsilon-Inextenso Partnership)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-publishers of the annual 'Panorama du M&A régional français' (Regional French M&A Panorama) analyzing M&A activity across 12 French regions. In Extenso is a member of the Deloitte network.
• IEFT (Institut des Experts de la Transmission)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with IEFT for the annual Regional French M&A Panorama publication, providing regional analysis of SME M&A transactions across 12 French regions.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Dealogic: Leading M&A and capital markets transaction database used by investment banks and advisors for league tables, deal analysis, and valuation benchmarking. Comparable data product serving the same M&A professional audience.
• Mergermarket (Acuris): Premier subscription-based M&A intelligence and deal database provider, offering deal tracking, multiples, and market intelligence to M&A advisors and PE firms globally. Most direct functional competitor to Epsilon's EMAT database.
• Preqin: Alternative assets data provider covering PE, VC, private debt, and infrastructure with portfolio valuations and deal benchmarking. Comparable subscription model and target audience of PE professionals.
• PitchBook (Morningstar): PE/VC and M&A data platform with deal multiples, comparable transaction analysis, and private market valuation benchmarks. Comparable SaaS subscription product serving M&A and PE professionals.
• Zephyr (Bureau van Dijk / Moody's): M&A deals database covering European and global transactions, owned by Moody's. Competes directly with EMAT for mid-market European M&A deal intelligence subscriptions.

Broad incumbents

• FactSet: Enterprise financial data platform offering M&A deal data, valuation comparables, and portfolio analytics. Broad incumbent competing for the same M&A and PE professional data budgets.
• Bloomberg Terminal: Industry-standard financial data terminal used by M&A advisors and PE firms for transaction data, valuation multiples, and comparable analysis. Massive incumbent competing for the same enterprise data budget.
• S&P Capital IQ Pro: Global financial data platform with M&A transaction databases, multiples, and comparable analysis tools. Broader incumbent with significant European M&A data overlap serving similar enterprise customers.
• Bureau van Dijk (Moody's): Provider of private company information databases (Orbis, Amadeus, Fame) with extensive European coverage. Indirect competitor through Orbis's private company financials that complement or substitute for transaction multiples.

Emerging players

• CB Insights: Market intelligence platform for corporate strategy and PE deal sourcing with proprietary private company data and analytics. Comparable B2B data SaaS serving investors with valuation and market signals.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/researchepsilon
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/epsilon-research2

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Epsilon Research