West & North Texas · Texas
Hereford business brokers and M&A advisors
For an owner who wants to sell a company in Hereford, MDR & Associates is a Texas sell-side M&A advisor that represents the seller and comes to the Panhandle to meet you. The town calls itself the Beef Capital of the World because of the cattle feedlots around it, and many of its private companies feed, haul, repair or supply that industry.
Feedlots, dairies and ethanol on the Llano Estacado
Hereford started in 1899 as Blue Water, after the Pecos and Northern Texas Railway linked Amarillo with Farwell. Ranchers renamed it for their Hereford cattle. It was once called the Windmill City for the many windmills that drew water from the Ogallala Aquifer, and during World War II it held a camp for Italian prisoners of war that was taken down in 1947.
Today it is the county seat of Deaf Smith County, with 14,972 people at the 2020 census. U.S. 60 runs 48 miles northeast to Amarillo and 57 miles southwest to Clovis, New Mexico, and U.S. 385 crosses it north to south. Cattle feedlots define the local economy, and growth in the dairy and ethanol industries has changed it further. Deaf Smith Electric Cooperative, which serves four counties, has its headquarters here.
Hereford at a glance
- CountyDeaf Smith County
- Metro areaTexas Panhandle (48 miles southwest of Amarillo)
- Companies we sell$3M–$100M
- Typical transaction3–9 months
- Fee if we do not closeNone
Pricing an ag-service company when the cattle cycle moves
Buyers of a feed, trucking, equipment or supply company in cattle country know that the herd, grain prices and weather all move earnings. They will ask for three years of statements at least and want to understand which swings came from the market and which came from the business. A recast that separates one-time costs, owner perks and unusual years gives them a steady number to price. That recast is the foundation of our opinion of value.
Customer concentration matters here as well. If a few large feedyards or dairies buy most of what you sell, buyers look for written agreements and long relationships. Companies that move product between producers and processors often fit our distribution and wholesale work, where route coverage, inventory and supplier terms drive value.
Advisors who make the drive
Our corporate office is in Frisco, a long way from Deaf Smith County, so we travel to you and meet at your yard, your office or somewhere private. There is no retainer; the success-fee structure means you pay only if the company sells. You can also compare the other Panhandle and West Texas markets we cover on the West & North Texas region page.
What we sell in and around Hereford
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 Hereford owners ask before they sell
Answered in full by the advisors who run the sales. Every Texas-wide answer.
The process
How a Hereford 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 Hereford
Questions owners in Hereford ask
Who buys a feedlot supply or cattle hauling company from Hereford?
Often it is a larger operator in the same trade, an individual buyer with industry experience, or a capital group building a platform in agricultural services. We contact qualified buyers from our own database first. Each one signs a confidentiality agreement before learning your name, which matters in a town where every producer knows every supplier.
Does growth in dairy and ethanol change what my Hereford business is worth?
It can, if your revenue shows it. A buyer pays for earnings the company already produces and the customers it already has. If dairy or ethanol customers have added stable, repeat volume over several years, that record supports a stronger valuation than a promise of future growth.
Talk to an advisor about your Hereford company
Four fields, a reply the same business day, and nothing shared with anyone. If you would rather talk, call (855) 637-2776.