You built the shop, the crew, and the customer 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 competitors 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 manufacturing advisor will reach out personally to discuss what your business is worth.
What a manufacturer sells for comes down to customer concentration, how much runs through you personally, and the quality of your revenue. We've closed 36 manufacturing transactions as part of more than $1B in deals; these are the ranges we see.
Contracted, repeating revenue is the biggest lever. Aftermarket parts and service, blanket purchase orders, long-term supply agreements, and sole-source programs where you are designed into the customer's product all read as recurring revenue to a buyer, and a book built on them can be worth a full turn or more over a comparable job-shop. Positioning that revenue 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 manufacturer runs on a management team and its earnings pass roughly $1M to $2M, 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 a precision manufacturer with $12M in revenue and about $2M in adjusted earnings. A shop with one customer over 40% of revenue, commodity work, and the owner holding the key relationships might sell around 4x, roughly $8M. The same earnings from a diversified company with contracted programs, documented processes, and a real management team can command 7x in a competitive process, roughly $14M. Same earnings, a difference of millions, driven entirely by the quality and transferability of those earnings.
What you keep. How the deal is structured (asset versus stock sale, earnout, rollover equity), your tax basis, and depreciation recapture on your machinery all change your net. In manufacturing, buyers also normalize for maintenance capex, so two shops with identical earnings are not worth the same if one must reinvest twice as much in equipment. Structuring the sale to maximize what you keep 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 manufacturing owners the hardest part of selling isn't the number, it's the people and the place. You want your machinists and floor leaders to keep their jobs, the plant in its community, and the name to mean something. So we make it part of the deal, not an afterthought.
In most manufacturing sales the workforce is retained. Skilled trades are scarce, so your cross-trained machinists and floor leaders are much of what a buyer pays for. How they're treated we negotiate for you, and when it counts, make it a condition.
Many buyers keep the plant, the brand, and the community presence and grow the operation rather than move it. If keeping production where it is matters, we find a buyer whose plans fit.
You decide how involved you stay after closing. Because a shop's know-how lives with the owner, buyers usually want a defined transition, from a short handover to a longer consulting arrangement. It's negotiable and built around your goals.
Not all private equity is what you fear. Many PE-backed buyers keep the team and plant, invest in equipment, and give owners a second payout when the larger company sells again. We steer you toward the one whose plans match yours.
Successful manufacturers get unsolicited calls, from strategic acquirers, private-equity platforms building in your niche, and family offices. 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 manufacturing businesses. We've closed 36 manufacturing transactions inside more than $1B in total deal volume. Here's what that gets you.
We bring your business to vetted, qualified buyers nationwide, the strategic acquirers, platforms, and family offices actively acquiring manufacturers, not just whoever called you.
Your business is marketed as a blind profile. Your employees, customers, and competitors don't learn it's for sale until a vetted buyer signs an NDA.
We know how manufacturers are valued, how buyers underwrite customer concentration, contracted revenue, certifications, and equipment, and where value is won or lost, because we've done it 36 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.
Manufacturers are valued on a multiple of recast earnings, but the multiple itself is set by a handful of factors buyers underwrite closely.
How much of your revenue rides on any single account, because concentration is the most predictable discount in manufacturing. A diversified book, or key accounts under multi-year agreements, protects your multiple.
Blanket purchase orders, long-term supply agreements, sole-source programs, and aftermarket parts and service. Revenue that repeats by contract or design-in is valued well above one-off job-shop work.
Whether the shop runs without you. A second layer of leadership and documented processes, not know-how in your head, are the difference between an SDE and an EBITDA price.
Quality certifications and regulated end markets (aerospace, medical, defense) raise the ceiling: they're hard to earn and a buyer inherits the qualification.
Clean books, credible add-backs, and a multi-year earnings record let a buyer underwrite through the cycle rather than discount your best year. Documented margins protect your ask.
Owner dependence is the most common discount in this sector, but it's fixable. We show a buyer the business runs on its people, systems, and contracts, then structure a transition that protects your value.
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.
Reduce customer concentration, or lock your key accounts under 2-to-3-year agreements a buyer can underwrite.
Add blanket purchase orders, supply agreements, and aftermarket parts and service that repeat by contract.
Build a second layer of leadership and document your processes, so the shop demonstrably runs without you.
Keep certifications current with a clean audit history, and maintain the equipment records buyers will inspect.
Separate your books and keep a multi-year earnings history that supports a mid-cycle story.
Lock in your key machinists and floor leaders with the right agreements, so the team that creates the value stays.
Not sure which of these matters most for your business?
Get a free valuationFour kinds of buyers are acquiring manufacturers today. Many of them keep the team and the plant and grow the business. We help you find one whose plans fit yours.
Larger manufacturers expanding capabilities, capacity, or end markets. Strategics often pay the strongest prices because your business is worth more inside theirs. Demand for well-run manufacturers is strong, driven by reshoring, scarce skilled labor, and a wave of owners nearing retirement. Many are choosing to explore a sale now rather than wait.
PE-backed platforms consolidating specialized niches and buying add-ons at this size.
Patient, long-hold buyers acquiring niche manufacturers from retiring owners, with less debt than a typical buyout.
Experienced operators and funded buyers looking for one great shop to run themselves.
We work with established manufacturers, from owner-led shops to larger specialty operators. Above $2M in revenue and thinking about an exit, 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 manufacturing owners ask us most. Pick a topic.
Most manufacturing businesses sell for about 3x to 4x SDE at the smaller, owner-operated end, and about 4x to 8x EBITDA once earnings pass roughly $1M and the shop runs on a management team. Certified specialty manufacturers serving aerospace, medical, or defense markets reach 8x and up. Your exact number depends most on customer concentration, contracted revenue, and how much runs through you personally, and a free, confidential BizDepot valuation gives you a specific range.
Established manufacturers generally sell for about 4x to 6x EBITDA, diversified operators with contracted or aftermarket revenue reach 5x to 8x, and certified specialty shops go higher. Larger companies command more because scale, management depth, and predictable revenue reduce a buyer's risk. 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. Manufacturers shift from SDE-based to EBITDA-based pricing as earnings pass roughly $1M to $2M and the shop demonstrably runs without the owner.
The machinery your shop needs to generate its earnings is generally included in the price, not added on top, because the multiple is being paid for the earnings the equipment produces. What buyers do adjust for is reinvestment: they normalize earnings for the maintenance capex your equipment actually requires, and well-maintained equipment with clean records supports your number. Presenting your equipment and capex story correctly is part of how BizDepot defends your price.
Revenue that repeats by contract or by design is the most valuable revenue a manufacturer has. Blanket purchase orders, long-term supply agreements, sole-source programs, and aftermarket parts and service are underwritten well above one-off job work, because they make future earnings predictable. Documenting that book properly is part of how BizDepot lifts your price.
Buyers underwrite through the cycle, not just your best year: they look at a multi-year earnings history and normalize toward a sustainable mid-cycle figure. That is why a clean five-year record and a credible story about your current year protect your price, and why selling from a position of strength beats selling out of a trough. We build that normalization case for you in every manufacturing deal.
Reduce customer concentration or lock key accounts under multi-year agreements, grow contracted and aftermarket revenue, build a second layer of leadership with documented processes, keep certifications and equipment records clean, and maintain a multi-year earnings history. 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 business walking out the door with you. The discount is steepest when you personally hold the customer relationships and the shop's know-how lives in your head instead of in documented processes. It is normal and fixable. We help show a buyer the business runs on its people 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, 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, customer diligence, and buyer type. 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, normalized for the equipment reinvestment the shop actually needs. 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.
Manufacturers are bought by strategic acquirers expanding capabilities or capacity, private-equity platforms steadily buying add-on companies in specialized niches, family offices and search funds acquiring from retiring owners, and experienced individual operators. Strategics are often the strongest payers at scale, PE buys most of its companies at exactly this size, and BizDepot brings that whole buyer universe to you.
The best time is when your earnings are strong and your story is clean, because buyers pay through-cycle prices on well-documented earnings. Demand for quality manufacturers is strong and selective right now, driven by reshoring, scarce skilled labor, and a wave of retiring owners. 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 employees, your customers, and your competitors never know unless and until a deal closes, and confidentiality is the number one guarantee of how BizDepot works. In manufacturing, where a leak can spook a top account or cost you a machinist you cannot replace, we treat secrecy as the deal's first asset.
In most manufacturing sales the workforce is retained, because buyers are buying a running operation, and skilled machinists and floor leaders are among the hardest people in the economy to hire. How your people are treated is something we negotiate for you and weigh when choosing a buyer.
Most buyers of healthy manufacturers keep the plant and the crew, because the operation and its workforce are what they are paying for. Where it matters to you, we ask every buyer about their plans directly, weigh the answer in choosing who you sell to, and negotiate commitments where possible.
Not necessarily. Some owners leave after a short handover, others stay for a defined transition or consulting period, especially where the shop's know-how is concentrated with them. The length and terms are negotiable, and we work them around your goals.
Many deals let you roll over a portion of equity and take a second payout when the larger company sells again. We structure the deal around your goals.
Certifications generally stay with the company, but buyers treat them as diligence items, not guarantees: they verify the certificate is current and review your audit history, and a change of ownership typically triggers a re-audit rather than an automatic lapse. Clean, current certification records protect both your price and your timeline, and BizDepot manages that review in every manufacturing deal.
Almost always, and it is negotiable. Buyers need assurance you will not rebuild the shop next door, so a non-compete with a defined scope, geography, and length is standard in manufacturing sales. The terms are part of the negotiation, not a formality, and shaping them so they protect the deal without shackling your future is part of what BizDepot negotiates for you.
The fee for selling a manufacturing 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, how the price is allocated across equipment and goodwill, depreciation recapture on your machinery, 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; in a stock sale they buy the company entity, which can be the cleaner path for keeping contracts and certifications in place. 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 36 manufacturing 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 manufacturers across the United States, from CNC machine shops and fabricators to plastics and injection molders, food producers, and contract manufacturers. Wherever your plant is, you get the same confidential, competitive process and the same national buyer network.
Buyer demand for well-run manufacturers is strong and selective. See your number before you decide anything. No one finds out you're exploring a sale.
ConfidentialNo upfront feesNo obligation
