West & North Texas · Texas
Abilene business brokers and M&A advisors
When an Abilene owner decides to sell, MDR & Associates serves as the company's M&A advisors, bringing qualified buyers to the table quietly and getting them to compete. Abilene grew from a cattle-shipping stop on the Texas and Pacific Railway into a city built on government, education, healthcare and manufacturing, and we meet owners there at their own business or somewhere private.
From stock pens to an air base, hospitals and three universities
Cattlemen founded Abilene in 1881 as a stock shipping point on the Texas and Pacific Railway. Its economy now rests on government, education, healthcare and manufacturing, and the petroleum industry is active in the surrounding area. Dyess Air Force Base is the largest employer by a wide margin, with 8,864 people, followed by Hendrick Health System, the Abilene school district, the Abilene State Supported Living Center, the city, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Abilene Christian University and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas. Abilene Christian, McMurry and Hardin-Simmons universities are all based here.
The city spans Taylor and Jones counties, some 150 miles west of Fort Worth, and Interstate 20 runs through it along with U.S. 83, 84 and 277. It had 125,182 residents in 2020, and the metro area 176,579.
Abilene at a glance
- CountyTaylor County and Jones County
- Metro areaAbilene metropolitan area (176,579 in 2020)
- Companies we sell$3M–$100M
- Typical transaction3–9 months
- Fee if we do not closeNone
Which Abilene companies buyers study first
Large institutions buy a great deal locally, and many of the companies that sell to them are exactly what acquirers want: machine and fabrication shops, medical supply and service firms, facility maintenance, and the HVAC, electrical and plumbing contractors who keep campuses and hospitals running. Expect a buyer to probe what share of sales traces back to the base, the health system or the universities, how contracts are awarded and renewed, and whether your team holds the certifications the work requires. Producers and fabricators fit our manufacturing practice.
Oilfield-related companies around Abilene face a different question: how earnings held up when drilling slowed. Several years of results, with one-time jobs separated from recurring work, give a buyer a fair picture of the cycle.
Pricing, fees and the first conversation
Before a sale, many owners want a number they can rely on. A formal business valuation recasts your earnings and sets out a defensible range, and a free opinion of value comes with our first discovery meeting. Our advisors drive out from Frisco, where the firm is headquartered, to meet in Abilene, and our fee is a success fee owed only at closing; the fees page explains how it is set. The wider West and North Texas region is covered on its own page.
What we sell in and around Abilene
Industry decides the buyer, the multiple and the diligence. These are the four sectors we work in most.
Manufacturing
Equipment, real estate, backlog and customer concentration decide what a manufacturer is worth.
How buyers value itHome Services
Plumbing, HVAC, roofing, landscaping and other home service companies — where repeat customers, crews and technicians decide the price.
How buyers value itDistribution & Wholesale
Inventory, working capital and supplier agreements decide what a distributor is worth.
How buyers value itBusiness Services
Recurring revenue and owner dependence separate a two-times business from a six-times business.
How buyers value itStraight answers
Questions Abilene owners ask before they sell
Answered in full by the advisors who run the sales. Every Texas-wide answer.
The process
How an Abilene sale runs
Ten steps in four stages, typically three to nine months. Click any step to see it in full.
- Prepare
- Go to market
- Negotiate
- Close
We also work with owners near Abilene
Questions owners in Abilene ask
My Abilene company does a lot of work for Dyess Air Force Base. Is that a problem for buyers?
Not if it is documented. Buyers want to see contract terms, how the work was awarded, when it comes up for renewal and whether it can transfer to a new owner. Revenue from other customers matters too. Ask your transaction attorney to look at the assignment clauses early, and we present the relationship clearly in the marketing package.
Would buyers from Dallas–Fort Worth look at a company in Abilene?
Often, yes. Abilene lies about 150 miles west of Fort Worth, and a profitable company there can give a Metroplex acquirer or private equity group a foothold in West Texas. The buyers we approach first are ones already vetted in our database, so interest from across the state and beyond competes for your company.
Talk to an advisor about your Abilene company
Four fields, a reply the same business day, and nothing shared with anyone. If you would rather talk, call (855) 637-2776.