Central Texas · Texas
De Leon business brokers and M&A advisors
For De Leon owners of profitable companies, MDR & Associates works as the M&A advisor on the seller's side, finding buyers and closing on good terms. De Leon is a Comanche County town on the Leon River, rooted in peanut farming and known for its Peach and Melon Festival, and our advisors come to you.
Peanut country on the Leon River
The Texas Central Railway laid out De Leon in April 1881 and auctioned the first city lots that July. Cotton was the main crop early on, but peanuts took over, and Comanche County became the leading peanut-producing county in the United States. The De Leon Peanut Company was organized in 1913, and peanuts from the area went into candy such as Baby Ruth and Butterfinger bars.
An oil discovery nearby in 1918 briefly drew as many as 5,000 people. The Peach and Melon Festival has been held since 1914 during the first full week of August, and the 2020 census counted 2,258 residents.
De Leon at a glance
- CountyComanche County
- RegionCentral Texas
- Companies we sell$3M–$100M
- Typical transaction3–9 months
- Fee if we do not closeNone
How buyers read a peanut, produce or processing business
Agricultural businesses carry risks buyers want explained: weather, crop prices, seasonal cash needs and a small number of large customers or suppliers. None of these kills a sale. They do need to be laid out honestly, with several years of results that show how the company handles a bad season as well as a good one. A simple table of yields, prices and margins by year often does more to reassure a buyer than any narrative.
Processing, storage, equipment and supply companies are often bought by strategic acquirers already in the trade, while service companies may draw individual buyers or private equity groups. The firm has sold distribution and manufacturing businesses across Texas and knows how each type of buyer prices inventory, equipment and customer contracts.
Our process for a De Leon owner
It starts with a free, confidential meeting at your business or wherever you prefer, where we look through three years of financial statements and put a value range in front of you. If you hire us, we film an HD video and write a confidential marketing package, share your company only with screened buyers who have signed a confidentiality agreement, and negotiate competing letters of intent. A sale usually takes three to nine months. Our ten steps explain each stage, and nothing is owed unless the company sells. De Leon is one of many small towns across our Central Texas territory.
What we sell in and around De Leon
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 De Leon owners ask before they sell
Answered in full by the advisors who run the sales. Every Austin answer.
The process
How a De Leon 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 De Leon
Questions owners in De Leon ask
Does a bad crop year in Comanche County hurt the value of my company?
One bad year in a record of several good ones rarely decides the price if it is explained. Buyers usually look at three years or more and adjust for unusual events. What hurts is an unexplained drop. We recast the numbers and document the cause so a buyer sees the normal earning power of the business.
Who would buy a peanut or produce business in De Leon?
Likely buyers include companies already in processing, storage or distribution that want more supply or more customers, and investors who want an established agricultural operation. We identify the buyers who gain the most from owning your company, because they can usually pay the most, and invite them to compete.
Talk to an advisor about your De Leon company
Four fields, a reply the same business day, and nothing shared with anyone. If you would rather talk, call (855) 637-2776.