The prices for small businesses changing hands in the Dallas-Fort Worth area have soared in recent months as older owners are finally being enticed to sell, according to industry data provided to the Dallas Business Journal.
The sale of 59 local small businesses tracked by online marketplace BizBuySell in the second quarter went for a median value of $220,000.
That’s up from $160,000 during the same period one year ago.
“There has been an imbalance between supply and demand for a few years,” said Dirk Armbrust, managing director, and investment banker at Dallas-based The Vant Group. “There are more buyers than sellers in the small-to-medium business or “Main Street” space. But this hasn’t manifested into higher prices until recently.” Armbrust said bank financing has played a part in keeping these prices in check.
Many times, sellers rely on the Small Business Administration backing to finance an acquisition. The process keeps loan amounts from soaring above the amount of revenue a target business brings in.
But recently, Armbrust said more stable, revenue-rich small businesses have been coming to market finally pushing prices higher to reflect the glut of buyers. BizBuySell doesn’t track all small businesses sold in the market. The data is self-reported, and sometimes the terms are kept confidential. But the numbers give a glimpse into the space. The median revenue for small businesses sold in the second quarter was nearly 5 percent higher than one year ago, according to the data. Most of the activity has remained among companies that provide services to other businesses. But the median asking price for small manufacturing firms has ballooned to $550,000 from under $440,000 one year ago.
The highest sale price during the second quarter was a liquor store in Dallas that went for $2.1 million.
A combination of rising prices and low-interest rates, which affect the return sellers receive, has pushed older owners from the Baby Boomer generation overdue for retirement to sell off the businesses they’ve been running their whole lives.