Central Texas · Texas
San Marcos business brokers and M&A advisors
MDR & Associates acts as M&A advisors and business brokers for San Marcos owners, taking a company to market confidentially and negotiating the best offer. San Marcos, the Hays County seat, lies on the Interstate 35 corridor 30 miles southwest of Austin and 51 miles northeast of San Antonio, and we come to San Marcos to meet you.
A university, two outlet centers and Amazon
The city's largest employers in 2021 were Amazon with 5,000 jobs, Texas State University with 3,730, San Marcos Premium Outlets with 1,600 and Tanger Factory Outlets with 1,540. The region's institutions of higher education provide a continual source of talent. By the 1960s education had become the largest industry in town, after a long stretch as a center for ginning and milling farm products, with cattle and cotton driving growth once the railroad arrived in 1880.
The San Marcos and Blanco rivers run through the city. Most of it lies in Greater Austin, with a portion in Guadalupe County belonging to Greater San Antonio, and the 2020 census counted 67,553 residents.
San Marcos at a glance
- CountyHays County (also Caldwell and Guadalupe counties)
- Metro areaGreater Austin
- Companies we sell$3M–$100M
- Typical transaction3–9 months
- Fee if we do not closeNone
Between two metros: what that does for a sale
A company on the corridor between Austin and San Antonio can serve both, and buyers from both notice. If your business moves goods through wholesale, logistics or supply, buyers of distribution companies will ask about routes, supplier terms and whether a large nearby employer is a customer or a competitor for workers. A steady supply of graduates can help a service company hire, and buyers will want to see that you keep the people you train.
Retail businesses near the outlet centers and companies that serve students face a different test: buyers ask about lease terms, foot traffic and how revenue moves with the academic year. Service firms selling to other businesses along the corridor are judged on contracts and repeat work, the focus of our business services practice.
We start with a free opinion of value; the online valuation snapshot offers a quick range before that. When you engage us, the company goes to our database of qualified buyers under a blind profile, and we line up competing letters of intent.
The Austin connection
San Marcos owners get the same approach we follow across the Austin area. You pay nothing unless the company sells, and one of our principals leads each negotiation personally.
What we sell in and around San Marcos
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 San Marcos owners ask before they sell
Answered in full by the advisors who run the sales. Every Austin answer.
The process
How a San Marcos 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 San Marcos
Questions owners in San Marcos ask
Does Texas State University's presence affect the value of a San Marcos business?
It can, depending on the company. For some businesses the university is a customer base; for others its graduates are a hiring pool. Buyers will ask how much revenue follows the school calendar and how you recruit. We show those patterns clearly so they are valued properly.
Can a San Marcos company attract buyers from both Austin and San Antonio?
Yes. San Marcos sits between the two on Interstate 35, and parts of the city are in each metro. Buyers from both, along with private equity groups and acquirers from other states, appear in the pool we approach. Competition among them, under strict confidentiality, is what sets the price.
Talk to an advisor about your San Marcos company
Four fields, a reply the same business day, and nothing shared with anyone. If you would rather talk, call (855) 637-2776.