A roofing company in Texas
A technology-enabled operator with about $6 million of EBITDA
The deal
The situation, the approach, and the outcome
A technology-enabled operator with about $6 million of EBITDA
- The situation
- A residential roofer serving major Texas metros, with about $6 million of EBITDA going to market, strong crew retention, and steady referrals. The founder was not done building, but wanted to take risk off the table and add institutional firepower. After testing third-party CRMs, the company had built its own platform, which automated estimating, supplier ordering, and delivery of materials to the job site.
- The approach
- Ahead of launch, that software cut overhead and the reliance on admin and production specialists, and gross margins improved. The company went to market as a scalable, technology-enabled roofing platform, not as a contractor, in a focused process among private equity firms with a thesis in exterior services.
- The outcome
- Three offers came in above 9.0x EBITDA and several more above 8.0x. The company became the founding platform of a new investment at 9.5x, roughly 2.5x above the top of the industry's multiple range at the time. The founder rolled 40 percent into the new company and continues as CEO with a board seat; the rest was cash at close, with capital committed for add-on acquisitions across the Sun Belt.
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 TexasTaxes, rules, and how a sale runs in the state.Open
- What buyers pay for in constructionThe sector's range, what moves a business within it, and the buyers who look.Open
More deals
Deals like this one
Other sales the team has advised on, shaped the same way.
Advised by members of the FNDRS M&A team, including at prior firms
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20%equity rolled into the acquiring platform, with cash at close for the balance
Advised by members of the FNDRS M&A team, including at prior firms
Read the dealFarm equipment distribution
An equipment distributor in Minnesota
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30%equity rolled by the two continuing shareholders; the other two exited in full at close
Advised by members of the FNDRS M&A team, including at prior firms
Read the dealRoofing
A roofing company in Minnesota
About $4.0M in EBITDA, after storm years of $5.5M to $6.5M
Sold at6.5xEBITDA
Advised by members of the FNDRS M&A team, including at prior firms
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.