You built the lines, the reorder base, and the relationships over decades. See what it's worth, privately, before you talk to a single buyer. We run a confidential, competitive process, so your employees, your customers, and your suppliers never know unless you decide to move forward.
For most owners this is the biggest and most personal decision of their lives. We treat it that way.
Tell us about your company and a senior distribution advisor will reach out personally to discuss what your business is worth.
What a distribution business sells for comes down to its size, the quality of its reorder revenue, and its supplier relationships. We've closed 29 distribution transactions as part of more than $1B in deals; these are the ranges we see.
Your reorder base and your exclusive lines are the biggest levers. Revenue that reorders on its own and authorizations your competitors cannot get are exactly what buyers pay premiums for, worth turns of difference against a me-too catalog anyone can source. Positioning that value is part of how BizDepot lifts your price.
For smaller, owner-run businesses, buyers price on SDE (Seller's Discretionary Earnings), which is your profit plus your owner salary, benefits, and one-time costs added back. Once a distributor earns more than about $1M and runs on a management team, buyers switch to EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization). Same idea, larger company. The multiple is applied to that earnings number.
An example. Take an industrial distributor with $20M in revenue and about $2M in adjusted earnings. A commodity broad-line business with one customer over 30% of revenue and the owner holding the key accounts might sell around 5x, roughly $10M. The same earnings from a specialty distributor with exclusive authorizations, a diversified customer base, and a strong reorder book can command 8x or more in a competitive process, roughly $16M and up. Same earnings, a difference of millions, driven entirely by revenue quality and transferability.
What you keep. How the deal is structured (asset versus stock sale, earnout, rollover equity), your tax basis, and the working-capital peg all change your net. In distribution the peg matters especially: buyers set a normal level of inventory and receivables the business must deliver at close, and aged or dead stock gets reserved against it, so clean inventory is money in your pocket. Negotiating that structure is a core part of what we do. Talk to a tax professional for your situation.
See the exact number your multiple gets applied to.
For most distribution owners the hardest part of selling is not the money. It's the people. You want your team to keep their jobs, your customers supplied without a hiccup, and the name you built to still mean something. So we make that part of the deal, not an afterthought.
In most distribution sales the team is retained, because a buyer is buying a business that runs. Your inside sales desk, warehouse crew, and route reps carry the relationships a buyer is paying for. How your people are treated is something we negotiate for you.
Continuity is the whole game in distribution. We run the process so customers never sense instability and suppliers are brought in at the right moment, with consents managed as part of the deal, not a surprise at closing.
Many buyers, including PE platforms, keep your name and brand and run the company as a platform in your market. We help you pick one whose plans fit what you built.
You decide how involved you want to be after the sale. Some owners hand off at close, others stay through a short transition. It's negotiable, and we build it around your goals.
Not all private equity is what you fear. Many of today's buyers keep the team and brand, invest in systems and inventory, and offer a second payout when the larger company sells again. Part of our job is steering you to the right kind of buyer.
Successful distributors get unsolicited calls, from strategic consolidators, private-equity platforms, and family offices building in your niche. One buyer, negotiating alone, has every reason to pay as little as possible. A competitive process changes the math.
The buyer who called you is welcome to bid. In our process, they just have to bid against everyone else.
Know your number before any buyer names theirs.
BizDepot is a national M&A advisory that sells profitable distribution businesses. We've closed 29 distribution transactions as part of more than $1B in total deal volume. Here's what that gets you.
We bring your business to a national universe of vetted, financially qualified buyers, the consolidators, platforms, and family offices actively acquiring distributors, not just whoever happened to call you.
We market a blind profile. Your employees, customers, and suppliers don't learn the business is for sale until a vetted buyer signs an NDA.
We know how distributors are valued, how buyers underwrite exclusive lines, reorder revenue, concentration, and the working-capital peg, and where value is won or lost, because we've done it 29 times.
Our fee is success-based. You pay nothing up front, and we're paid only when your business sells. If it doesn't sell, you owe us nothing.
You don't have to be ready to sell to find out what your business is worth. Get a free, confidential valuation, keep the number, and decide in your own time. No pressure, no obligation.
Distributors are valued on a multiple of recast earnings, but the size of that multiple is set by a handful of factors buyers underwrite closely.
Authorizations and territories your competitors cannot get are a distributor's moat. Exclusive lines that survive a change of ownership, documented and consented, are valued far above a me-too catalog.
Revenue that replenishes on its own: consumables customers who reorder on cycle, VMI programs, integrated supply. High reorder rates make future revenue predictable, and buyers pay for predictability.
Concentration is the most punitive variable in distribution deals. A diversified account base, or key customers under contract, protects both your multiple and your terms.
Fast inventory turns and clean stock are money at closing. Aged and dead inventory gets reserved against the working-capital peg, so inventory discipline flows straight into what you keep.
Whether the key accounts are held by a sales team or by you personally. Relationships that transfer are valued; those that leave with you are discounted and earned out.
Owner dependence is a common discount in this sector, and it is fixable. A business that visibly runs on its team, systems, and supplier contracts, with a planned transition, removes the key-person risk that discounts the price.
These are the levers that move your multiple. You do not need them all in place before you talk to us. If you have 12 to 24 months, working on them can add a full turn or more to your multiple. If you're ready to sell now, we position the strengths you already have.
Review your supplier agreements so line continuity is provable and consents are a plan, not a surprise at closing.
Track reorder rates, retention, and your VMI and integrated-supply programs. Recurring revenue gives buyers confidence in future cash flow.
Diversify your account base, or get key customers under multi-year agreements a buyer can underwrite.
Move or reserve dead stock now, so the working-capital peg does not do it for you at closing.
Develop a sales team that owns key accounts, so the relationships demonstrably transfer to a buyer.
Separate personal expenses and keep margin and rebate records a buyer can quickly verify.
Not sure which of these matters most for your business?
Get a free valuationFour kinds of buyers are acquiring distributors today. Many of them keep the team and the brand and grow the business. We help you find one whose plans fit yours.
National and public distributors expanding their lines, territories, and end markets. Strategics dominate distribution M&A and often pay the strongest prices for clean tuck-ins. Buyer demand for quality distributors is strong right now and the premium goes to clean assets, which is why many owners explore a sale now rather than wait.
PE-backed platforms are rolling up specialty and industrial distribution niches, buying add-on companies at exactly this size range.
Patient, permanent-capital buyers who acquire quality distributors from retiring owners and hold for the long term.
Experienced operators and funded buyers looking for one great distribution business to run themselves.
We work with established distributors, from owner-led companies with real earnings to larger specialty operators. If you're above $2M in revenue and thinking about an exit in the next few years, you're worth a conversation.
BizDepot's job is to bring that buyer universe to your door, confidentially, and make them compete for your business.
Your sale is run end to end by a senior advisor, confidentially, from the first valuation to the wire at closing.
4–7 months
first call to wired funds
We do everything else
You do three things
Straight answers to the questions distribution owners ask us most. Pick a topic.
Most distribution businesses sell for about 2.5x to 4x SDE at the smaller, owner-operated end, and about 4x to 9x EBITDA once earnings pass roughly $1M. Exclusive lines, a strong reorder base, and specialty end markets push a company toward the top of those ranges. Your exact number depends most on your supplier relationships, customer concentration, and sales depth beyond you, and a free, confidential BizDepot valuation gives you a specific range.
Established distributors generally sell for about 4x to 6x EBITDA, companies with exclusive authorizations and a real reorder base reach 6x to 9x, and scaled specialty distributors go higher. Larger, cleaner companies command more because consolidators pay up for assets they can grow. BizDepot gives you the specific multiple for your business in a free valuation.
SDE (Seller's Discretionary Earnings) adds the owner's salary and perks back to profit and is used for smaller, owner-run businesses. EBITDA is used for larger companies with a management team. Distributors shift from SDE-based to EBITDA-based pricing as earnings pass roughly $1M.
Inventory is generally handled through the working-capital peg rather than added on top of the price: the deal assumes the business comes with a normal level of inventory and receivables, and diligence reserves against aged or dead stock. That means clean, current inventory is money in your pocket, and a sloppy stockroom quietly reduces the price. Preparing your inventory story is part of how BizDepot protects your number.
Revenue that reorders on its own is the most valuable revenue a distributor has. Buyers underwrite reorder rates, customer retention, and share of wallet on your consumables base, and value-added programs like VMI and integrated supply make it stickier. Documenting that base properly is part of how BizDepot lifts your price.
Heavily. A single customer above roughly a fifth of revenue draws a discount and usually an earnout tied to retention, and concentration beyond that compresses the price further or narrows your buyer pool. It is fixable: diversification, or key accounts under contract, protects your multiple, and we position concentration honestly so it never surprises a buyer in diligence.
Document your exclusive lines and supplier agreements, grow and document your reorder base, reduce customer concentration, clean up your inventory before the peg does it for you, and build sales depth beyond yourself. Starting 12 to 24 months out has the biggest impact, but even a few months of cleanup helps, and a free BizDepot valuation shows you which levers matter most for your business.
Owner dependence lowers the price, because a buyer weighs the risk of the relationships walking out the door with you. The discount is steepest when you are personally the top salesperson holding the key accounts, and buyers respond with mandatory earnouts and longer transitions. It is normal and fixable. We help show a buyer the business runs on its team and systems, and we structure a transition that protects your value.
Start with a valuation and exit strategy, then a financial recast and CIM, confidential introductions to vetted buyers, a private buyer auction, diligence with supplier consents managed in sequence, and a funded close. BizDepot runs all of it for you, confidentially.
A well-prepared sale typically runs about 4 to 7 months from first call to wired funds, depending on your financials, supplier consents, and buyer diligence. BizDepot manages every stage so it stays on track.
A recast rebuilds your profit-and-loss to show a buyer the true earnings power of the business by adding back owner-specific and one-time expenses. It is what your valuation multiple is applied to.
A Confidential Information Memorandum is the blind marketing document that presents your business to qualified buyers without revealing its identity until they sign an NDA.
An Indication of Interest is a non-binding early signal of a buyer's price range. A Letter of Intent is a more detailed offer that sets price and terms and moves the deal into diligence.
For a business with meaningful earnings and multiple potential buyer types, an M&A advisor that runs a competitive process usually nets a higher price and better terms than a single-buyer sale. BizDepot is a national M&A advisory built for exactly this.
Distributors are bought by strategic consolidators expanding lines and territories, private-equity platforms rolling up specialty niches, family offices and permanent-capital holdcos, and experienced individual operators. Strategic buyers dominate distribution M&A today, and BizDepot brings that whole buyer universe to you.
Yes, steadily. Private-equity platforms are consolidating industrial and specialty distribution, and most of their deals are add-on acquisitions of companies exactly this size, prized for reorder revenue and exclusive lines. Many keep the team and brand in place, and BizDepot helps you find the buyer whose plans fit what you want.
The best time is when your book is clean and buyer appetite is high. Right now the market is a flight to quality: consolidators and platforms are bidding up distributors with exclusive lines, reorder revenue, and diversified customers, while average assets get screened out. A free BizDepot valuation tells you what your business would attract in this market.
No. We market your business as a blind profile and reveal its identity only to vetted buyers who have signed an NDA. Your team, your customers, and your suppliers never know unless and until a deal closes. Confidentiality is the number one guarantee of how BizDepot works. In distribution, where a leak can make customers question supply continuity, we treat secrecy as the deal's first asset.
In most distribution sales the team is retained, because buyers are buying the relationships and service level your people deliver every day. How your people are treated is something we negotiate for you and weigh when choosing a buyer.
This is the question that decides many distribution deals, and it is manageable with the right process. Supplier and distribution agreements often contain change-of-control or assignment clauses that require the supplier's consent, so consents have to be sequenced deliberately, at the right moment, with the right buyer story. BizDepot manages supplier continuity as a first-order part of every distribution deal, and with 29 distribution transactions closed we know how to land it without spooking anyone.
Not necessarily. Some owners leave after a short handover, others stay through a defined transition, especially where the key accounts ride on their relationships. The length and terms are negotiable, and we work them around your goals.
Often, yes. Many buyers keep your name, brand, and local presence and run the company as a platform in your market. We help you find a buyer whose plans fit what matters to you.
Many deals let you roll over a portion of equity and take a second payout when the larger company sells again. Rollover has become common in distribution platform deals, and we structure the deal around your goals.
The fee for selling a distribution business through an M&A advisor is typically success-based, a percentage of the final sale price paid only at closing, with no upfront costs. Your BizDepot advisor confirms the exact terms before you engage.
How much you keep depends mostly on how the deal is structured, not on the headline price, and it is what you actually retire on. The biggest savings come from planning before you sell: asset versus stock sale, the working-capital peg, how the price is allocated, your tax basis, state taxes, and whether you roll over equity all change what you owe. Structuring the deal to maximize your net proceeds is a core part of what BizDepot does, and starting 12 to 24 months out gives you the most room. Talk to a tax professional for your situation.
In an asset sale the buyer purchases the assets of the business, and in a stock sale they buy the company entity. In distribution the structure matters for keeping supplier agreements and licenses in place, though change-of-control clauses can require consent either way. The choice affects taxes and liability for both sides, and it is a key negotiation point we manage.
BizDepot is a national M&A advisory that has sold businesses since 2003, with more than $1B in transactions, 530+ successful exits firm-wide, and 29 distribution businesses among them. We work sell-side only, on success fees only, so we're paid when you are. Meet the advisory team that runs these deals.
Yes. BizDepot is a national M&A advisory and represents distribution owners across the United States. Wherever your business is, you get the same confidential, competitive process and the same national buyer network.
Consolidators and platforms are bidding up quality distributors. See your number before you decide anything. No one finds out you're exploring a sale.
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