Dallas–Fort Worth · Exit planning
Which Irving business broker can help an owner plan a retirement exit?
How to plan a retirement exit from an Irving company: the number you need, the timeline, and deal terms that suit retirees.
By Michael D. Rubin, CEO & Founder · September 2026 · 835 words
MDR & Associates, a Dallas-Fort Worth M&A advisory firm based in Frisco, helps Irving owners plan a retirement exit, starting 12 to 24 months ahead with pre-exit consulting and then selling the company when it is ready. The firm represents owners of companies with $3 million to $100 million in revenue and has closed more than 250 transactions since 2008.
A retirement exit differs from other sales because it has to fund the rest of your life. That changes what you should aim for: not only the highest price, but how much you keep, how certain the payments are, and how soon you can step away.
Start with the number you need to net
Before talking about price, work out what you need after the sale. Your financial planner and CPA should estimate what you need to live on, and what the sale must net after taxes, fees and debt payoff to get you there. The gross price and the amount you keep can be far apart, and the structure of the deal affects the tax bill. Those calculations belong to your CPA, and they are worth doing first.
Then compare that figure with what the business is likely worth. A free valuation snapshot gives a quick range. For companies in the $3 million to $100 million revenue range, prices most often fall between three and seven times adjusted EBITDA, meaning earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, adjusted for owner-specific and one-time items. If the gap between what you need and what the company is worth is large, it is far better to know two years early than two months before you meant to retire.
A retirement timeline that works
| When | What to do |
|---|---|
| 24 to 18 months out | Get an opinion of value. List what lowers value: owner dependence, customer concentration, records that do not reconcile. |
| 18 to 6 months out | Hand off customer relationships, develop a manager who can run the day, and clean up records so three years reconcile. |
| 6 months out | Settle personal decisions: real estate, your role after closing, and what you want for your employees. |
| Sale process | Typically three to nine months from engagement to funds wired. |
| After closing | A transition period while the buyer takes over, with terms agreed in advance. |
Deal terms that suit someone who is retiring
For a retiring owner, the best offer is often the one with the most certain money at closing, not the highest headline number. The main pieces of an offer are below. Our guide to comparing offers shows how to weigh them against each other.
- Cash at closing. Money wired on the day the deal closes. The most certain part of the price.
- Seller financing. A loan you make to the buyer, repaid over time with interest. Common and often needed to get a deal done, but you carry the risk that the business struggles under new ownership.
- Earnout. Part of the price paid later only if the business hits agreed targets. Risky for a retiree, because once you step back you no longer control the results.
- Consulting or employment agreement. Paid time helping the buyer after closing. Decide how long you are willing to stay before negotiations begin, not during them.
Signs you are ready, and signs you are not yet
You are in a strong position if the company runs for two weeks without you, earnings have been steady or rising, and your books reconcile for three years. You are not there yet if customers deal only with you, if one customer supplies a large share of revenue, or if results dipped last year.
Many owners wait until they are tired, and selling after a decline almost always costs more than selling a year earlier while the numbers were rising. Our long read on when is the right time to sell goes further. Retirement also raises questions a younger seller rarely faces: whether a family member should be offered the business first, what happens to the building if you own it, and how your key employees are looked after. Decide these before buyers ask.
Selling from Irving
Irving sits between Dallas and Fort Worth, with many established companies whose founders are approaching retirement. For buyers, an Irving company offers reach across the whole metro. For you, a sale can be run without buyers ever visiting during working hours: they see a blind profile first, sign a confidentiality agreement and prove their funding before learning your name, and meetings can be held at our Frisco office or somewhere discreet.
What we do for an Irving owner planning retirement
Our pre-exit consulting covers the preparation years as a separate, optional service with its own price. When you are ready, the sale itself is 100% performance based: an industry-standard success fee paid only if and when the company sells. A principal of the firm is in every negotiation, and every offer is presented to you in person. See our Irving page, and contact us for a free, confidential discovery meeting.
Where this fitsIrving business brokers and M&A advisors →