What Business Services Companies Are Worth in Today’s M&A Market Business services is one of the broadest categories in the lower middle market, and it is also one of the most active from a buyer perspective. IT managed services, staffing and HR outsourcing, commercial cleaning and facilities management, landscaping and outdoor services, and professional services…
What Construction and Trades Companies Are Worth to Buyers Right Now Construction and trades businesses, including HVAC, plumbing, electrical, roofing, and specialty contractors, have become a consistent target for private equity and strategic buyers over the past several years. If you own a contracting business in this space and have been curious about what it…
The bank underwrites cash, not add-back stories. Officer pay on the return, 1.25 coverage as lender practice, a three-year view, and leftover after the note.
Selling a Healthcare Services Business: What Buyers Want and What Your Practice Is Actually Worth Healthcare services is one of the most active buyer markets in the lower middle market right now. Staffing agencies, home health companies, behavioral health practices, dental and specialty medical practices, and outsourced healthcare support businesses are all drawing significant attention…
The factors that compress multiples in lower middle-market transactions, and the specific actions that protect value when you need it most.
What you gather before the process starts determines how clean the output is. The complete document checklist for a lower middle-market business valuation.
Where your sector trades and what moves you above or below the midpoint. Data from lower middle-market transactions covering 10 industry sectors.
Five valuation approaches, each serving a different purpose. Understanding which one a buyer will use changes everything about how you position your business.
The real answer requires a professional process, not a formula. Here’s what actually drives value in a lower middle-market business transaction.
There is a meaningful difference between what your business is worth on paper and what a buyer will pay for it in a transaction. An accountant will tell you your book value. An appraiser will tell you a range based on financial formulas and comparable transactions. A buyer will tell you what they are willing…
A sell-side Quality of Earnings report typically costs $25,000-$50,000 and takes 4-6 weeks — but it routinely adds $500K-$2M+ to your final sale price by bulletproofing your EBITDA before buyers ever see the numbers. Here’s what the report covers, what it costs, and why only about half of lower middle market sellers commission one (and why those sellers get better deals).
SDE (Seller’s Discretionary Earnings) and EBITDA are the two metrics that determine what buyers will pay for your business. SDE applies to owner-operated businesses typically under $5M revenue; EBITDA applies to professionally managed businesses above $5M. Understanding which applies to you — and how to transition from SDE to EBITDA — can mean hundreds of thousands of dollars in additional sale price.