Serava is free, and covers targets before they reach any network.
Axial
Axial is a private deal network where buy-side firms subscribe to receive deal flow from M&A advisors and investment bankers. It aggregates intermediary-sourced opportunities in one place.
Serava
Serava provides off-market acquisition intelligence, businesses that have never engaged an M&A advisor, scored by exit readiness, before any network or process exists.
Feature
Serava
Axial
Deal stage
Annual cost for buy-side
Target EBITDA range
Proprietary vs. shared deals
Industries covered
Target universe size
AI fit scoring
Owner tenure signal
Revenue estimates
Geographic coverage
Contract commitment
Suitable for search funds
Bottom line
Axial is designed for deal teams at PE firms with capital for $5M+ EBITDA transactions and budget for a subscription. Serava is for buyers at any stage, search fund principals, independent sponsors, and PE firms, who want off-market deal flow at no cost before a process begins.
Serava is free for buyers with no subscription, no seat fees, and no cost at any stage of the process. We earn a success fee on the sell side when a transaction closes. This structure is different from Axial, which charges an annual buy-side subscription.
For lower-middle-market deal flow ($2M to $30M revenue), Serava provides broader off-market coverage than Axial at no cost. For transactions above $30M revenue or $5M EBITDA, Axial's intermediary network may have more deal flow in that range. The two tools address different parts of the market.
Axial aggregates deal flow from advisors who use it to run controlled auction processes. The buy-side subscription funds the platform and creates a barrier that filters out less serious buyers. The cost is justified for firms doing multiple transactions per year at large deal sizes. For earlier-stage buyers or those focused on the LMM, the cost-benefit rarely works.
Off-market means the business owner has not engaged a sell-side advisor and has not listed their company for sale anywhere. Serava surfaces these companies from public data sources, government registries, business licenses, map data, not from broker submissions. The businesses in Serava have not opted into any deal process.
Free for buyers. No subscription. Full access from day one.