A cross-border M&A advisor represents a company in a sale where the buyer sits in a different jurisdiction, and runs the parts of the process that a domestic advisor rarely touches: buyer mapping in a second market, currency and tax structuring, regulatory and foreign-investment filings, and negotiation across two legal systems. For US-Europe technology deals, the advisors that win are the ones with real people in both markets, not a referral partner overseas.
This list covers the firms we would put in front of a US software, technology or AI company that expects its best buyer to be in London, Berlin, Paris, Madrid or Stockholm, and the European founder who expects a US strategic or sponsor. Ranges below come from each firm's own site. Deal-level detail for the cross-border transactions we track lives in the US-Europe cross-border cut of the ProCloser deal index.
How we evaluated these firms
Weighted criteria
Cross-border deal record (35%): published transactions where buyer and seller sit on different continents, with a bias to US-Europe.
US and European buyer access (25%): offices and senior bankers physically in both markets, not affiliates.
Technology and software focus (20%): share of the firm's practice in software, internet, fintech and AI.
Senior involvement on mid-market mandates (10%): whether a partner runs a $30M deal or delegates it.
Published deal history (10%): how much of the track record is verifiable on the firm's site.
Sources: each firm's own website (deal pages, about pages, office listings), public deal announcements, and the ProCloser deal index at procloser.ai/deals. No firm paid for placement. Entries were not written or reviewed by the firms described.
Comparison: cross-border tech M&A advisors at a glance
Every firm profiled below is in this table. Deal sizes are the ranges each firm publishes on its own site; where a firm publishes none, we say so.
| Rank | Firm | HQ | Focus | Typical deal size | Notable |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | L40 Partners | Miami, Lisbon, Madrid | Sell-side M&A for software, technology and AI founders | Up to $100M ARR | 180+ transactions closed; US, Europe and LatAm processes |
| 2 | Lincoln International | Chicago, IL | Global mid-market M&A, all sectors incl. technology | Not published | 1,400+ professionals, 30+ offices in 14 countries |
| 3 | Alantra | Madrid, Spain | Mid-market investment banking, global sector teams | Not published | Offices across Europe, the US, LatAm and Asia |
| 4 | GP Bullhound | London, UK | Technology M&A and growth capital | Not published | 700+ transactions, 13 offices, founded 1999 |
| 5 | Arma Partners | London, UK | Digital economy M&A and private capital | Not published | 366 deals, 75% cross-border since inception |
| 6 | Houlihan Lokey | Los Angeles, CA | Global investment bank, dedicated technology group | Not published | NYSE-listed; large global office network |
| 7 | Rothschild & Co | Paris, France / London, UK | Independent global M&A and strategic advisory | Not published | 1,650 bankers, 48 countries, 4,384 M&A deals in ten years |
| 8 | Lazard | New York, NY / Paris, France | Independent financial advisory, M&A and strategic advisory | Not published | Founded 1848; largest advisory-focused firm by its own account |
| 9 | William Blair | Chicago, IL | Growth-company investment banking, technology franchise | Not published | Employee-owned; 30+ offices worldwide |
| 10 | Evercore | New York, NY | Independent investment banking, strategic advisory | Not published | Founded 1995; ~2,600 employees in 16 countries |
The 10 best cross-border M&A advisors for US-Europe tech deals
1 L40 Partners
Best for: founder-led US or European software, technology and AI companies with revenue up to $100M ARR whose best buyer is on the other side of the Atlantic.
L40 Partners is a technology, software and AI M&A advisory firm with offices in Miami, Lisbon and Madrid. It operates in the US under the SEC M&A broker exemption, Section 15(b)(13), and describes its work as sell-side and debt advisory for mid-market SaaS, technology and AI founders up to $100M ARR. Its site lists 180+ transactions closed across the US, Europe and LatAm, with every mandate partner-led. Published deals include KrakenD (acquired by Shop Circle), FirstPromoter (acquired by SpringWater), Elipse (acquired by Runtime) and Big Red Cloud (acquired by Melior Private Equity). CEO & Partner Juan Ignacio García Braschi spent 20+ years advising on M&A and in private equity before founding L40. Its own Tech M&A radar publishes the buyer-geography data behind the cross-border claim.
2 Lincoln International
Best for: mid-market technology companies that want one integrated global team rather than a US bank plus a European partner.
Lincoln International is headquartered in Chicago with more than 1,400 professionals across 30+ offices in 14 countries, including Germany, France, the UK, Spain, the Netherlands, Italy, Belgium, Switzerland and the Nordics. Its technology group covers fintech, cybersecurity, data and analytics, industrial software, marketing technology, education technology and more, and the firm describes itself as consistently ranked a top global M&A advisor to the mid-market. Where Lincoln fits on a US-Europe deal is the upper mid-market: a European sponsor-backed software business selling to a US strategic, or a US company whose buyer list is half European. It is a full-service bank (capital advisory, valuations, private funds), so expect a larger team than a boutique.
3 Alantra
Best for: European or LatAm technology companies where the buyer is American, and US companies buying into Southern Europe.
Alantra is a Madrid-based, publicly listed investment banking and asset management group. Its investment banking arm advises private and public companies and sponsors on sell-side and buy-side M&A, debt advisory and equity capital markets through global sector teams with local networks, and the firm lists offices from Lisbon and Madrid to Zurich, Dubai and beyond. The firm's own transaction pages show a steady flow of software and tech-enabled services deals across Iberia, the UK, DACH and the US. For a US acquirer entering Spain, Portugal, Italy or France, or a Southern European founder who wants a US buyer in the room, Alantra's local coverage is hard to match at mid-market fee levels.
4 GP Bullhound
Best for: scale-up software and consumer tech companies with a European strategic or sponsor buyer universe.
GP Bullhound was founded in London in 1999 by Hugh Campbell, Per Roman and Manish Madhvani, and its site now lists 180+ employees across 13 offices, including San Francisco (opened 2008), New York, Stockholm, Berlin, Paris, Madrid and Manchester. The firm reports advising on over 700 transactions worth $58 billion, spanning M&A and capital raising, and recent announcements include Peak's sale to UiPath and Runna's acquisition by Strava. GP Bullhound is a European-rooted bank that went west, so a US software founder gets a genuine European buyer list, plus a firm that also invests, which some founders like and some do not.
5 Arma Partners
Best for: application and infrastructure software companies whose buyer could equally be in North America or Europe.
Arma Partners, founded in 2003, calls itself financial advisor to the digital economy. Its site reports 366 deals completed since inception worth $224.3 billion, 75% of them cross-border, with 39 senior bankers in London, Munich, New York and Palo Alto. The buyer split it publishes is the reason it makes this list: 53% of sell-side deals end with a European buyer and 42% with a North American one. Sector coverage runs application software, infrastructure software and cybersecurity, fintech, digital health and data. Arma tends to work larger private-equity and founder deals than a boutique, so a $15M ARR company is likely too small.
6 Houlihan Lokey
Best for: mid-market and larger technology sellers who want a global bank with a deep technology group and sponsor coverage.
Houlihan Lokey is a NYSE-listed global investment bank (ticker HLI) with a dedicated technology group and offices across the US, Europe and Asia. It is regularly cited as the most active M&A advisor in the world by deal count, and its European technology practice, expanded through acquisitions over the last decade, gives US software sellers direct coverage of continental strategics and sponsors. Note: hl.com blocked our automated read on 2026-08-18, so this entry relies on facts ProCloser has published previously rather than a fresh site check. For a $100M+ software company with buyers on both continents, Houlihan Lokey is a default name on the shortlist.
7 Rothschild & Co
Best for: European tech companies and their boards on larger, politically sensitive or multi-jurisdiction transactions.
Rothschild & Co's Global Advisory arm lists 1,650 bankers in 48 countries and 4,384 M&A transactions over the last ten years, and describes itself as consistently one of the world's most active M&A advisers. It is an independent adviser (no lending balance sheet), which matters to sellers who worry about conflicts. On the deals we track, Rothschild shows up on European technology and tech-enabled services transactions in the hundreds of millions and above, often with a US counterparty. It is not a lower-mid-market shop; below roughly $100M enterprise value a founder will find the boutiques above more attentive.
8 Lazard
Best for: European or US technology companies with $250M+ enterprise value and a strategic buyer in the other market.
Lazard, founded in 1848, describes itself as the world's largest advisory-focused firm and pioneered the independent advisory model: adviser only, not lender or trader. Its Financial Advisory business covers M&A and strategic advisory, capital markets advisory and restructuring, with a "local first, global second" model of long-standing offices in Paris, London, Frankfurt, Milan, Madrid and across the US. For technology, Lazard's cross-border strength is at the larger end: carve-outs, public-company sales and sponsor exits where a European board wants a US buyer or vice versa. Founders below that size should look to the boutiques on this list.
9 William Blair
Best for: high-growth US software companies selling to sponsors or strategics, with European coverage from London, Frankfurt, Amsterdam and Zurich.
William Blair is an independent, employee-owned global partnership headquartered at 150 North Riverside Plaza in Chicago, operating in more than 30 offices worldwide including London, Frankfurt, Amsterdam and Zurich. Its technology investment banking group lists coverage of application and vertical software, HR tech, marketing tech, payments and security, education technology, cybersecurity and more, and the firm positions itself as the premier technology franchise for high-growth companies. On US-Europe deals William Blair is strongest when a US growth-stage software company wants European sponsors and strategics in the auction alongside the usual US names.
10 Evercore
Best for: large technology transactions where board-level, independent advice across the US and Europe is the priority.
Evercore, founded in 1995 by Roger Altman, is an independent investment banking firm with roughly 2,600 employees and offices in 16 countries, including London, Frankfurt, Paris, Madrid, Milan and Stockholm in Europe and Menlo Park, San Francisco and New York in the US. The firm advises boards and management teams on M&A, strategic shareholder matters and capital structure. Evercore belongs on a US-Europe technology list for the top end of the market: public-company and large private transactions where independence and senior attention outweigh a mid-market fee model. Below roughly $300M it is rarely the right call.
How to choose a cross-border tech M&A advisor
Three questions separate a real cross-border advisor from a domestic bank with a foreign affiliate.
- Who, by name, will call the European (or US) buyers? Ask for the senior banker in the second market and how many deals they closed there in the last 24 months. An affiliate logo on the website is not coverage.
- What share of the firm's closed deals were cross-border? Arma publishes 75%; L40 Partners runs US, Europe and LatAm processes as its core business. If a firm cannot give you a number, assume it is low.
- Does your deal size fit their fee model? The bulge and independent names on this list are built for $250M+ transactions. A $20M to $100M software company gets a partner at L40 Partners, GP Bullhound or a boutique, and an associate at a global bank. See EBITDA multiples by industry for where your business sits.
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