of Illinois businesses that sell are acquired by out-of-state buyers.
94.8% of disclosed deal value. 3,827 tracked acquisitions with disclosed buyers over 16 years.
Where Illinois's businesses go.
Every dot is an out-of-state acquirer of an Illinois company. The money runs to New York, California, and Texas.
- 01New York373
- 02California321
- 03Texas237
- 04Florida160
- 05Massachusetts135
- 06Pennsylvania122
- 07Ohio120
- 08North Carolina89
- 09Wisconsin88
- 10Minnesota87
394 Illinois businesses were acquired by foreign buyers.
- Canada
- 103
- United Kingdom
- 79
- France
- 21
- Ireland
- 20
- Switzerland
- 16
- India
- 16
This isn't a trend. It's tightening.
Out-of-state acquisition has held near four in five for sixteen years. The last four full years averaged 82.7% against a long-run average of 79.3%. 2024 was the highest on record.
2026 IS PARTIAL: JANUARY THROUGH JULY 1.
BARS: TRACKED DEAL VOLUME. LINE: % ACQUIRED BY OUT-OF-STATE BUYER. BAND: 75–83% REFERENCE RANGE. DASHED LINE: 16-YEAR AVERAGE (79.3%).
Which Illinois industries leave.
Consumer products, distribution, chemicals, and software lead the drain. The only sectors that hold are the ones Illinois consolidators are rolling up themselves.
- Consumer Products89%n=96
- Distribution86%n=146
- Chemicals86%n=64
- Software85%n=229
- Information Technology83%n=296
- Internet Software and Services83%n=229
- Manufacturing82%n=194
- Healthcare Services81%n=176
- Business Services79%n=406
- Food74%n=124
- Financial Services64%n=132
- Insurance58%n=204
There is no bubble.
Harbor's Virginia analysis found a Beltway buffer: Northern Virginia keeps a quarter of its deals in-state. Illinois has no equivalent. Chicagoland hosts one of the largest private-equity communities in America and still exports four of every five deals, the same as everywhere else.
REGIONS ARE ASSIGNED BY TARGET ZIP CODE; MAP ZONES ARE APPROXIMATE COUNTY GROUPINGS (SUBURBAN COOK COUNTY IS SHOWN WITH CHICAGO ON THE MAP ONLY). 116 OF 3,827 TRANSACTIONS COULD NOT BE ASSIGNED A REGION. COLOR REFLECTS RATE, NOT DEAL VOLUME.
In the city of Chicago itself, 79.8% of 1,350 tracked acquisitions left the state.
How it happens. The roll-up.
68.9% of all deals are add-on acquisitions: Illinois companies absorbed into someone else's platform.
Who's buying Illinois.
The most acquisitive buyers are homegrown. It hasn't stemmed the flow. The eleven busiest buyers combined account for 3.9% of tracked deals. The rest is a scattered field of one-off acquirers, and it is overwhelmingly out-of-state.
8 OF THE 11 MOST ACQUISITIVE BUYERS ARE HEADQUARTERED IN ILLINOIS. COMBINED SHARE OF ALL TRACKED DEALS: 3.9%.
Harbor holds operating businesses in-state and permanently. No fund clock. No exit timeline. No out-of-state extraction.
Harbor built this model in Virginia, where the drain runs at 77.6% of 2,757 tracked acquisitions. Illinois runs deeper: 79.4% of 3,827 tracked acquisitions since 2010 went to out-of-state buyers, along with 94.8% of the disclosed deal value. The playbook that keeps ownership local is proven.
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