San Antonio · Valuation
Which San Antonio M&A advisor handles businesses worth $5 million to $25 million?
Who handles San Antonio companies worth $5M to $25M, what that value implies about earnings, and who the likely buyers are.
By Michael D. Rubin, CEO & Founder · September 2026 · 804 words
MDR & Associates handles San Antonio companies in the $5 million to $25 million value range: we represent companies with $3 million to $100 million in annual revenue, and our advisors travel to meet San Antonio owners, since our corporate office is in Frisco. Before hiring anyone, it helps to know what a $5 million to $25 million value implies about your earnings, your buyers and how the deal will likely be structured.
What $5 million to $25 million means in earnings
Companies in this band are usually priced as a multiple of adjusted EBITDA: earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, recast to remove owner-specific and one-time costs. Most often the multiple is three to seven times adjusted EBITDA for a business in the $3 million to $100 million revenue range. Working backward from value to earnings, as an illustration only:
| Company value | At 3x adjusted EBITDA | At 7x adjusted EBITDA |
|---|---|---|
| $5 million | About $1.7 million of EBITDA | About $0.7 million of EBITDA |
| $10 million | About $3.3 million | About $1.4 million |
| $25 million | About $8.3 million | About $3.6 million |
Read the table as a range, not a quote
The same $10 million value can come from a riskier company earning $3.3 million or a very strong one earning $1.4 million. That is why the multiple, not just the earnings, is where owners and advisors should spend their attention. This arithmetic is an illustration, not a promise; your own range comes from your recast financials and from what buyers actually offer when they compete.
- Recurring or repeat revenue versus one-time sales
- Customer concentration, meaning how much depends on a few accounts
- A management team that runs the company without the owner
- Steady or growing earnings over three years, with records that reconcile
- How much strategic and private equity buyers want companies in your industry
- Clean books, current contracts and no surprises in due diligence
Who buys companies in this band
Toward the lower end, many buyers are well-financed individuals and smaller companies, often using bank or SBA loans. The SBA is the U.S. Small Business Administration, which guarantees loans that banks make to buyers. Toward the upper end, private equity groups and larger strategic buyers, meaning companies in your industry or a related one, become more common.
Deal structure changes with the buyer. Seller financing, where you lend part of the price and are repaid over time, and earnouts, where part of the price is paid later if the business hits agreed targets, appear more often when a buyer is stretching to meet your number. That is why the headline price and the money you keep are different things. Our guide to comparing offers shows how to weigh cash at closing, terms and risk.
Value is also not the same as what reaches your bank account. From the price, any company debt is usually paid off at closing, the working capital left in the business is adjusted against an agreed target, and transaction costs and taxes come out. How the sale is structured, for example as a sale of assets or of shares, changes the tax result, and that is a decision to make with your CPA and transaction attorney before you sign a letter of intent.
Questions to ask a San Antonio advisor about this size
Ask how many companies in your value band they have closed and in which industries. Ask which buyer groups they would call first and why. Ask how they arrive at a value range, and what would move yours up or down. Ask how they would run the process to produce more than one offer, whether a senior person negotiates, and what the fee is, in writing. An advisor who works mainly with much smaller businesses may not reach the private equity groups that matter at the top of this band; one used to much larger deals may not give a $5 million company its full attention.
Our San Antonio page explains how we work with owners there. Meetings take place at your office or somewhere discreet, arranged through the San Antonio contact page.
How we approach a $5 million to $25 million sale
We begin with a free, confidential discovery meeting and an opinion of value, a low-to-high range given after reviewing three years of financials. If you need a formal third-party valuation for partners, estate planning or a lender, that is a separate, optional business valuation service with its own price.
When we take a company to market, we go to our own database of qualified individual buyers, capital groups and private equity groups first, and negotiate multiple letters of intent at the same time so buyers compete. A principal of the firm is in every negotiation, and the fee is paid only if the company sells. For a quick first range, use the valuation snapshot.
Where this fitsSan Antonio business brokers and M&A advisors →