Gulf Coast · Texas
Cleveland business brokers and M&A advisors
Cleveland sits where Interstate 69 meets State Highway 105 and two railroads cross, with the Sam Houston National Forest along its northern boundary. For an owner there who wants to sell, MDR & Associates is the M&A advisor to call, acting for the seller alone, and an advisor comes over from Frisco to see you in Liberty County.
Timber, tank cars and two railroads
Cleveland has been a shipping point for timber, lumber and lumber byproducts since the 1870s. In 1878 a local judge, Charles Lander Cleveland, donated 63.6 acres to the Houston East and West Texas Railway, and since 1900 the town has been the junction of that line and the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe. Today Union Pacific runs north and south through town and BNSF east and west, and Union Tank Car Company has a facility on the BNSF line.
The rest of the economy is a mix of oil and gas, cattle ranching, farm products, sand and gravel, and a large medical community, all in a town of 7,471 residents at the 2020 census. Liberty County joined the Houston metropolitan area in 1965. U.S. 59, now also Interstate 69, carries traffic southwest to Houston and northeast through Livingston, Lufkin and Nacogdoches, and State Highway 105 puts Cleveland roughly halfway between Beaumont and Navasota.
Cleveland at a glance
- CountyLiberty County
- Metro areaGreater Houston
- Companies we sell$3M–$100M
- Typical transaction3–9 months
- Fee if we do not closeNone
Selling a Cleveland company to buyers from Houston and beyond
Rail service, interstate access and local raw materials are hard to replicate, and they make a Cleveland distributor, yard or industrial supplier interesting to buyers who already operate around Houston and want room north of the city. Buyers will want to see equipment lists, the terms of any rail or land leases, and how revenue is spread across customers. The more of that is organized before marketing begins, the fewer reasons a buyer has to lower an offer later.
Our distribution and wholesale page covers what buyers check in a company that moves goods. We begin with a free, confidential review of your last three years and a range of value. If we take the engagement, we prepare the recast, the marketing package and the video, and bring the company first to qualified buyers we already know. The Houston page describes the metro market, and neighboring towns appear on the Gulf Coast region page.
What we sell in and around Cleveland
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 Cleveland owners ask before they sell
Answered in full by the advisors who run the sales. Every Houston answer.
The process
How a Cleveland 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 Cleveland
Questions owners in Cleveland ask
My Cleveland company leases land next to the rail line. Does the lease go with the sale?
It can, but that depends on the lease. Some require the landlord's consent to transfer, others need renegotiation, and a rail siding may carry its own agreement. Your attorney reviews them early, and we tell buyers exactly what comes with the business so a lease question does not stall closing.
Does a sand and gravel or ranch-supply business fit what you sell?
Our clients are profitable companies in manufacturing, distribution, home services and business services, usually with annual revenue somewhere between $3 million and $100 million. An aggregates hauler, a supplier to ranchers or an equipment dealer may fit those categories. The quickest way to find out is a free, confidential conversation about your numbers.
Talk to an advisor about your Cleveland company
Four fields, a reply the same business day, and nothing shared with anyone. If you would rather talk, call (855) 637-2776.