An equipment distributor in Minnesota
Four locations, an authorized OEM dealer, about $26 million of EBITDA
The deal
The situation, the approach, and the outcome
Four locations, an authorized OEM dealer, about $26 million of EBITDA
- The situation
- A four-location authorized distributor for a leading farm-equipment maker across the Upper Midwest, with about $26 million of EBITDA at the time of the sale, protected dealer territories, deep parts and service revenue, and four shareholders with a succession plan already in place.
- The approach
- The work put numbers on what institutional buyers pay for in equipment distribution: territory exclusivity, how much parts and service each sale brings with it, and customer retention by account cohort. The process focused on private equity funds building distribution platforms in industrials, with a few strategic consolidators in the room to keep pricing honest.
- The outcome
- An industrials-focused private equity firm bought the company as its distribution platform. Two shareholders exited in full at close. The two who stayed rolled a combined 30 percent into the new company and lead its next phase under the succession plan already in place. The balance was cash at close.
How it was done
Four levers, in every sale
The details differ from deal to deal. The work underneath them does not.
The four levers behind every one
- Answer every question firstWeeks of quantitative and qualitative analysis before anything goes to market, so the materials answer every question a buyer or investor will ask. Leverage at the letter of intent starts here: a factual, compelling story that leaves a buyer no risk to price.
- Tell the right storyOperational maturity, technology that sets the business apart, and the quality of its revenue, put in the terms a buyer underwrites.
- Run a competitive processA disciplined process with several qualified buyers at the table at once, so the tension between them sets the price.
- Structure to close the gapWhere buyer and seller see different numbers, the structure bridges them, so the total value to the shareholders is the number that counts, not the headline.
Where it fits
Read the rest of the story
What this kind of deal means for an owner, and the pages that go deeper.
- Equity rolledHow this structure works, what it trades, and what to ask about it.Open
- Private equity platformHow this structure works, what it trades, and what to ask about it.Open
- Who buysThe kinds of buyer that come to the table, and what each one wants.Open
- Selling a business in MinnesotaTaxes, rules, and how a sale runs in the state.Open
- What buyers pay for in agricultureThe sector's range, what moves a business within it, and the buyers who look.Open
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Read the deal
Questions
What a careful founder asks about a deal page
Members of the FNDRS M&A team advised on this sale. The team's record includes work at prior firms, and no company, buyer, or advisory firm is named. FNDRS is a young firm; deals like this one are the experience its people bring to it.
Because the owners have not agreed to be named. The sector, the place, and the shape of the deal can be shown without them; the name stays with the founders.
No two sales are alike. This deal shows what the work can look like, not what any other sale will bring. The price, the structure, and the timing of a sale depend on the business, the buyers, and the market at the time, and no one can promise them.
A confidential conversation about your objectives, your timing, and your options. No pitch and no obligation. If the honest answer is not yet, we will tell you, and tell you what to work on.
Bring us your numbers
A confidential conversation with the deal team about where your business stands, what buyers would look at first, and what a sale could look like.