East Texas · Texas
Marshall business brokers and M&A advisors
Ready to sell a business in Marshall? MDR & Associates will act as your M&A advisor, representing you, the owner, through every step of the sale. Marshall is the seat of Harrison County in the Ark-La-Tex, about 40 miles from Shreveport and 150 from Dallas where U.S. 59 crosses U.S. 80 and Interstate 20, and we meet you there, face to face.
Railroad shops, cotton, pottery and claims processing
The Texas and Pacific Railway based its shops and general offices here in the 1870s, and by 1880 the town was one of the largest cotton markets in the South. Pottery has been made in Marshall since 1895. The railroad shops closed in the 1960s, and between the 1960s and the 1980s the city felt the effects of railroad restructuring, the new interstate highways and the 1980s oil bust.
Today the economy is more varied. Health Care Service Corporation, which operates Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas, runs insurance claims processing in the city; several colleges add education jobs; Republic Industries makes wood kitchen cabinets and Rio Ammunition makes shotgun cartridges; and tourism brings about a million visitors a year. The 2020 census counted 23,392 people in Marshall and 65,631 in Harrison County.
Marshall at a glance
- CountyHarrison County (county seat)
- Metro areaHarrison County (Ark-La-Tex)
- Companies we sell$3M–$100M
- Typical transaction3–9 months
- Fee if we do not closeNone
Cabinet makers, ammunition plants and service firms: the buyers for each
A cabinet shop, a specialty manufacturer or a claims-support contractor will each attract a different buyer. Makers draw strategic buyers who want capacity or a product line, and private equity groups building a platform in manufacturing. Service companies draw buyers who want recurring contracts and trained staff, the core of our business services work. Either way, a buyer in Dallas, Shreveport or another state has to understand your company from a distance, which is what our marketing package, financial recast and HD video are for.
Owners with a year or two before a planned sale can use our pre-exit consulting, which concentrates on what buyers will question: owner dependence, customer concentration and records that do not reconcile. Fixing those before going to market usually costs less than negotiating around them later.
Terms and a first step
You pay nothing for the discovery meeting or the opinion of value. If we believe we cannot sell your company for full value, we decline rather than list it and hope. When we do take it on, the fee is paid at closing and only if there is a closing. We serve East Texas by traveling to the owner.
What we sell in and around Marshall
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 Marshall owners ask before they sell
Answered in full by the advisors who run the sales. Every Texas-wide answer.
The process
How a Marshall 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 Marshall
Questions owners in Marshall ask
Would a buyer from Shreveport be interested in a Marshall company?
Possibly. Marshall is about 40 miles from Shreveport and sits on Interstate 20, so a Louisiana buyer may see a Harrison County company as a natural extension. Buyers from Dallas, Houston and other states may be interested too. We approach all of them confidentially and let the offers compete.
My Marshall business depends partly on tourism. Will buyers see that as seasonal risk?
They will ask about seasonality, and the answer is in your monthly numbers. Show three years month by month, explain the peaks, and point to repeat customers and group bookings. A seasonal pattern is not a problem in itself; what buyers discount is revenue they cannot predict.
Talk to an advisor about your Marshall company
Four fields, a reply the same business day, and nothing shared with anyone. If you would rather talk, call (855) 637-2776.