Dallas–Fort Worth · Texas
Arlington business brokers and M&A advisors
MDR & Associates, a Dallas–Fort Worth business brokerage and M&A advisory firm, serves Arlington owners ready to sell a profitable company for maximum value. Arlington sits between Dallas and Fort Worth in Tarrant County, and since 1954 its economy has been anchored by the General Motors assembly plant, now its largest employer. We are based in the Metroplex, with our corporate office in Frisco.
Assembly lines, a university and a stadium district
Arlington was founded in 1876 as a cotton and farming center. Large-scale industry arrived in 1954 with the General Motors assembly plant, and automotive and aerospace development gave the city one of the nation's highest population growth rates between 1950 and 1990, from 7,692 people to 261,721. The 2020 census counted 394,266.
The top employers today are General Motors, with 8,919 people, Arlington ISD, the University of Texas at Arlington, Texas Health Resources and Six Flags Over Texas. UT Arlington is a major urban research university. The entertainment district holds Six Flags, Hurricane Harbor, AT&T Stadium and Globe Life Field. D.R. Horton and Mensa International have their headquarters here.
The city lies about 12 miles east of downtown Fort Worth and 20 miles west of downtown Dallas, borders Grand Prairie, Mansfield and Kennedale, and has the Trinity River and Johnson Creek running through it. It is counted among the Mid-Cities, the band of suburbs between the two downtowns.
Arlington at a glance
- CountyTarrant County
- Metro areaDallas–Fort Worth–Arlington
- Companies we sell$3M–$100M
- Typical transaction3–9 months
- Fee if we do not closeNone
Selling a company in Arlington's supply chain
If you own a machine shop, fabricator, parts maker or logistics firm that works for larger manufacturers, a buyer's first questions will be about customers and capacity. How much of your revenue comes from your top three customers? Are those relationships under contract? What shape is the equipment in, and how much would a buyer have to spend to keep it running?
Our manufacturing practice prepares those answers before the company goes to market. A clean equipment list, documented processes and a trained team can be worth as much to a buyer as the income statement, because they show the plant will keep producing after the owner leaves.
Service companies in Arlington have their own buyers. Businesses that serve the stadiums, the university, hospitals and a city of nearly 400,000 residents, from facility maintenance to HVAC to staffing, sell on recurring revenue and how well the team runs without the owner.
Some owners are not ready to sell yet but know they will be within two years. Pre-exit consulting covers the 12 to 24 months before a sale, when fixing customer concentration, documenting processes and cleaning up the books can move the eventual price. It is a separate, optional service with its own price, and the advice is specific to your company.
Confidential marketing and a fee tied to results
The starting point is a free discovery meeting, held in confidence, followed by an opinion of value built on three years of your financials. Your company then goes to market with a confidential marketing package, a financial recast and an HD video. Nobody learns the company's identity from our marketing; buyers must sign a confidentiality agreement and show proof of funds first, and our initial outreach goes to the qualified individuals, capital groups and private equity firms we already know.
When several buyers are interested, we negotiate their letters of intent at the same time, and every offer is brought to you in person; you decide whether to accept, reject or counter. Most sales close three to nine months after engagement, though the firm has closed in eight days and taken as long as eighteen months. Our fee is performance based, and the fees page explains how it works: you owe nothing if the company does not sell. An Arlington meeting is a short trip for us. You can also see our work in Dallas and across the wider Dallas–Fort Worth area.
What we sell in and around Arlington
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 Arlington owners ask before they sell
Answered in full by the advisors who run the sales. Every Dallas–Fort Worth answer.
The process
How an Arlington 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 Arlington
Questions owners in Arlington ask
My shop gets a large share of its work from one big manufacturer. Can I still sell it?
Yes, but the price hinges on how durable that work looks. A buyer will want to see contracts, order history and how you would replace the volume if it shrank. We go through your customer list when we first meet and say honestly whether to sell now or diversify first.
Will a buyer want me to stay after selling my Arlington company?
Most buyers ask for a transition period, often several months, to learn customers and processes. Some want longer if the owner holds key relationships. We negotiate the length and your pay during that time as part of the letter of intent.
Does being near the stadiums and entertainment district affect my company's value?
It can matter for businesses that depend on event traffic, since buyers will look at how revenue moves with the event calendar. For most companies, value comes from steady earnings, customers and people, and we present all three clearly.
Talk to an advisor about your Arlington company
Four fields, a reply the same business day, and nothing shared with anyone. If you would rather talk, call (855) 637-2776.