South Texas · Texas
Brownsville business brokers and M&A advisors
When the time comes to sell a company in Brownsville, MDR & Associates works for the owner, whether the business is a contract manufacturer, a freight firm or a service company that grew with the border economy. Brownsville faces Matamoros, Tamaulipas, across the Rio Grande, and its port sits two miles from the city, which is the kind of detail a serious buyer asks about first.
Port, border trade and a launch site east of town
Brownsville is the Cameron County city at the southern tip of Texas, one of the southernmost cities in the contiguous United States, with 186,738 residents at the 2020 census. Farming boomed here in the early 1900s, and the subtropical climate made the city a commercial hub for citrus. Today activity comes from service and manufacturing industries, with government and the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley as major contributors, and much of the economy rests on international trade with Mexico. The maquiladora boom in Matamoros grew the air cargo business in the late 1980s.
The Port of Brownsville links the road networks of Mexico with the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, and it is a center of ship recycling, home to five of the country's eight ship-recycling companies. Keppel AmFELS, Walmart, H-E-B and two home health providers are among the largest employers. In 2014 SpaceX announced its South Texas launch site, Starbase, east of the city, and aerospace and space transportation are now prominent industries.
Brownsville at a glance
- CountyCameron County
- Metro areaMatamoros–Brownsville; Brownsville–Harlingen–Raymondville combined statistical area
- Companies we sell$3M–$100M
- Typical transaction3–9 months
- Fee if we do not closeNone
What acquirers look for in a border-economy company
A buyer from Houston, the Midwest or a private equity fund will want to know how much of your revenue depends on cross-border volume, how many customers you would lose if one maquiladora program moved, and whether your certifications, permits and customs relationships belong to the business itself or to you personally. For a machine shop, fabricator or assembler, equipment condition and quality systems matter as much as the income statement; our manufacturing page covers what those buyers check.
The first calls go to buyers already known to the firm: private equity funds, capital groups and individual acquirers who have been screened before. Anonymous ads on the large for-sale marketplaces are a fallback, used only when that list falls short. Every company goes out with a professionally produced HD video, which helps a buyer a thousand miles away understand a plant before booking a flight.
Starting with a number
If you want a first read before talking to anyone, the free valuation snapshot returns a rough range online. When you are ready, an advisor comes to Brownsville and meets you at the plant or somewhere private. The South Texas region page describes the wider market.
What we sell in and around Brownsville
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 Brownsville owners ask before they sell
Answered in full by the advisors who run the sales. Every San Antonio answer.
The process
How a Brownsville 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 Brownsville
Questions owners in Brownsville ask
Does Starbase make my Brownsville company worth more?
Only to the extent your revenue already reflects it. Buyers pay for booked earnings, not for activity down the road. If the launch site brought you contracts, we document them, their length and their margins. If it did not, we build the case on your own customers and track record instead.
Half my customers are in Matamoros. Will a buyer be comfortable with that?
Many will, if the relationships are documented and the payment history is clean. Expect questions about currency, contracts, customs brokers and how long each customer has stayed. We prepare those answers in advance so they support the price rather than lower it in due diligence, when the buyer combs through your files.
Talk to an advisor about your Brownsville company
Four fields, a reply the same business day, and nothing shared with anyone. If you would rather talk, call (855) 637-2776.