Dallas–Fort Worth · Texas
Plano business brokers and M&A advisors
For owners in Plano, MDR & Associates is the Metroplex sell-side firm up the road: our corporate office sits at 1518 Legacy Dr. in Frisco, just north of the city. We work as business brokers and M&A advisors to privately held companies doing somewhere around $3 million to $100 million in sales each year, and we sit only on the owner's side of the table. More than 250 deals have closed under our name since 2008.
From a railroad farm town to Toyota, Frito-Lay and the Legacy campuses
Plano grew slowly for most of its history. Settlers arrived in the early 1840s, the Houston and Texas Central Railway reached the area in 1872, and the town incorporated in 1873. In 1960 it still had just 3,695 residents. Twenty years later the count was about 72,000, by 2000 it had passed 222,000, and the 2020 census counted 285,494, making Plano the ninth-most-populous city in Texas. The city lies mostly in Collin County, with a small part in Denton County, about 17 miles from downtown Dallas. Its central area is bounded by the Sam Rayburn Tollway to the north, the President George Bush Turnpike to the south, the Dallas North Tollway to the west and U.S. 75 to the east.
Corporate relocations drove much of that growth. Toyota Motor North America, Frito-Lay, JCPenney, Pizza Hut, Rent-A-Center and Tyler Technologies all have their headquarters here, and the largest employers include JPMorgan Chase, Capital One, Toyota, PepsiCo and Ericsson. Many of the big campuses line Legacy Drive between Preston Road and the Dallas North Tollway, and about 80 percent of the city's visitors come on business.
Plano at a glance
- CountyCollin County (small part in Denton County)
- Metro areaDallas–Fort Worth
- Companies we sell$3M–$100M
- Typical transaction3–9 months
- Fee if we do not closeNone
The private companies around Plano's corporate base, and who buys them
If you own a company that serves that corporate economy, such as staffing, IT support, facilities maintenance, printing, insurance or professional services, or a home-services company working the neighborhoods that followed the headquarters, you are selling into a wide market. Interest typically comes from private equity groups adding to a platform, larger competitors buying customers or a service line, and individuals with capital who want an established company rather than a start-up. The firm's business services sales include companies such as North Texas Surveying and a pest control company.
Buyers for Plano companies look hard at a few things. How much revenue comes from one corporate customer, and can that contract pass to a new owner? Are key employees staying? Do three years of records reconcile with the tax returns? A company that answers those questions before a buyer asks them keeps its price through due diligence. One that does not tends to see the offer cut late in the process, when the owner has the least room to push back.
Our answer on price is competition. We start with buyers we already know from our own database, whether private equity, capital groups or well-funded individuals, and several of them are brought to the letter-of-intent stage together. Each offer is presented to you in person; accepting, rejecting or countering is your call.
How an engagement with a Plano owner runs
Step one is a discovery meeting that costs nothing and stays confidential. Once we have been through three years of your statements, you get an opinion of value expressed as a range, and if we think the market will not pay full value for the company, we tell you and step back. If you would rather see a rough number before any meeting, the online valuation snapshot gives you one.
When we go to market, buyers receive a confidential package built around a recast of your financials, plus an HD video shot by our own production team. Day to day you deal with our VP of Client Engagement; at the negotiating table you have a principal of the firm. Most sales close in three to nine months. Your own attorney and CPA stay involved throughout, and no fee is owed unless a closing happens. It is the same approach we bring to owners throughout Dallas and the wider Dallas–Fort Worth region.
What we sell in and around Plano
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 Plano owners ask before they sell
Answered in full by the advisors who run the sales. Every Dallas–Fort Worth answer.
The process
How a Plano 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 Plano
Questions owners in Plano ask
Does it help a Plano owner that your office is next door in Frisco?
It makes meetings easy, and a principal can be in your conference room on short notice. It does not limit who buys your company; buyers for a Plano business come from across Texas and the country. Many owners still prefer to meet away from their own building so employees see nothing unusual, and we arrange that.
Most of my revenue comes from one of the corporate campuses along Legacy Drive. Will buyers discount that?
They will look at it closely. What reduces the discount is evidence: the number of years you have served that customer, whether a written agreement exists that a buyer could assume, and how many contacts you have there. We put that history in front of buyers early so they price a known risk.
A private equity group sent me an unsolicited offer for my Plano company. Should I negotiate it myself?
One offer tells you someone is interested; it does not tell you what the market would pay. Before replying, find out what your company is likely worth and whether other qualified buyers would bid against this one. We can review the letter with you and, if you decide to sell, bring it into a process with several bidders.
Talk to an advisor about your Plano company
Four fields, a reply the same business day, and nothing shared with anyone. If you would rather talk, call (855) 637-2776.