The emails below are from buyers who reached out to me. They may have used similar emails to reach out to other intermediaries or versions of these emails to reach business owners directly.
Brokers get many calls or emails that look and feel the same. Occasionally, a buyer may stand out. Here are some emails I have received with the content unaltered except to hide their identities. Words or acronyms in bold are linked to this site’s glossary.
As you read these emails, you can see how some stand out more than others. For several reasons, I did not respond to most of these emails.
- Emails like these are often auto-generated (I hope they were automated for their sake. I do the same when contacting business owners).
- Many are indistinguishable. I often wonder why buyers tell me their ideal company has a history of profitability with steady growth, a diverse customer base, and a large component of recurring revenue.
- I most likely did not have a listing that fit. (The chances are quite high that I will not have a listing that fits an individual buyer’s wish list during the time period when they are actively searching.)
As you read through these emails, you will notice that many of the professional buyers have a minimum profit level of $1M or more. Smaller main street buyers are less likely to initiate such correspondence, so the ones that do may benefit by standing out (see Walker Deibel’s book, Buy Then Build).
Buyers must cast a very wide net just to find a handful of prospects. Each individual business broker, even very active brokers, have a small number of listings relative to the incredibly high number of listings buyers need to reach and sift through.
I also received phone calls from Buyers introducing themselves and communicating their target criteria. While I appreciate their effort to pick up the phone and I didn’t mind the conversations, the reality is that the majority of these calls proved to be unproductive for both of us.
Most of these emails and calls are from financial buyers and some wealthy individuals.
Hi Ken,
I wanted to introduce our Family Office, X. We are a tight knit and well-capitalized group. Thus, we are able to provide business owners with highly flexible deal structures, no set time horizons for portfolio company exits, and a streamlined decision committee of 3 people.
Below is a bit more information on our core areas of interest:
- Manufacturing & Industrials, Medical Devices, Consumer Goods
- We seek majority interest investments
- $2MM-$6MM in EBITDA with 15%+ EBITDA margins
- US-based companies
I would like to connect over a call and discuss your sell-side deal flow. When is a good time and day for you?
Best Regards,
Ken,
I pulled your name and contact information off the Exit Planning Institute website. I thought it made sense to reach out with my story to see if we have any overlap. If not, please opt out of future correspondence by clicking here. I don’t want to fill your inbox unnecessarily.
By way of background, I bought, built and sold a laboratory supply business from 2009-17. Since selling, I have formed a holding company to acquire and grow a limited number of companies with recurring revenue business models. I am different than a private equity firm insofar as I am investing my own capital and would prefer to own good businesses forever. I am more like a little version of Berkshire Hathaway in that regard. More on my story can be found here.
My general criteria for new partnerships are as follows:
- Recurring revenue business model – I like last year’s revenue to show up next year as well
- Diverse customer base – I prefer if the largest customer is < 25% of revenue and top 10 are < 50% of revenue
- Differentiated product or service – This usually shows up as +40-50% gross margins and/or +15-20% profit margins
- Actionable growth opportunities – I like to be able to write the growth strategy on a cocktail napkin (ie, expand sales team, build out product line, etc)
- Annual operating income of $1.5 to $5.0 million
I’d love to connect if you have any clients or prospects that fit these criteria. I am also open to paying referral fees so long as it is disclosed to the business owner. If I can be of any help to you, please let me know.
All the best,
Z—
Hi Ken,
X is a family office based in the San Francisco Bay Area. We have a strong capital stack and have a lot of flexibility in structuring deals due to our Family Office fund structure.
If you know of any opportunities in the following areas please let us know.
- Software for bakeries
- Tour operations platforms
- Travel communications software
- Parent-school or parent-teacher communications software
- Aging technology software
- Significant recurring or repeating non-cyclical revenue
- Buyout or majority control situations
- $5-20 million of revenue
- Anywhere in the US
Best regards,
S–
co-CEO
Hi Ken,
My name is A— and I’m pursuing a full-time search for one small business in Michigan to acquire and operate. I’ve called this endeavor “The Michigan Purchase” – more detailed information can be found at my website (link in my signature below).
I would love to have a brief discussion about my search focus and process and I can best collaborate with you. My main criteria are:
- Located in Michigan
- $500K – $2M in pre-tax profits or cash flow
- Business-to-business sales and operations
- At least 3 years of operating history
I’ve also attached a one-page brochure that summarizes the key aspects of my approach. Please feel free to contact me at any time. Thanks for your consideration, and I’m looking forward to discussing how we can work together.
Best regards,
Ken,
Just wanted to reach out to keep M— Ventures top of mind and top of your inbox.
We’re looking to acquire an asset light service business between $1-$7M EBITDA. We are particularly focused on B2B services, Health Care services and Education services. If you have any deals that match this criteria please let us know. If you have a buyer database or weekly mailing list, please add us.
M— Ventures was founded to acquire and grow one excellent small business. My business partner and I are passionate about running businesses and leading teams. We will immerse ourselves in the day to day management of the business that we acquire and are dedicated to continuing the success and legacy of the acquired business. Previous to launching M— Ventures I lead strategic consulting engagements as a Director at P—, worked as an advisor at Q— and served as an officer deploying to Afghanistan with a joint special operations task force. My business partner spent the last 6 years leading and growing R— business. Our unique investors include high net worth individuals, family offices, and small private equity firms.
If you’ve seen any deals that you think might be a good fit for us, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
All the best,
Established business of 1`To 3 mill EBITDA. Successful entrepreneur who is looking to help educated son. Great consideration to existing employees.
(That was from the father. The son also contacted me – see below and notice the the numbers 1-3 should be switched with the numbers 5-15.)
I am looking to buy a business with my dad who was a very successful entrepreneur. We are looking at a purchase price of 1 – 3 million dollars and an EBITDA of 5 – 15 million roughly. We would like to keep the existing staff and management if bought.
Hi Ken,
X here, from Y Capital.
We are always looking for great companies to invest in and want to be sure you have our latest investment criteria on your desk.
Please keep us in mind for the following:
- Business founders/owners looking for a capital partner to provide partial liquidity now and invest in growth before a full exit down the road.
- $10 million to $100 million in revenue
- North America
- We’re generally industry agnostic for the right management team and culture, but have particular interest in the following: Safety Management, Private Label Food Manufacturing, Commercial Landscaping, Energy Efficiency, Government Services, Niche Manufacturing, Business Services, Environmental Services, and Utility/Infrastructure Services
If you’re open to connect (or reconnect) on a quick call, please let me know. Hope to hear from you soon.
Hi Ken, I’m new to purchasing businesses. I split my time between NY and South Florida. I am a successful investor and I have previously focused on equities and multi family real estate. As real estate prices continue to rise I am searching for new opportunities. I would prefer to focus on businesses in south Florida and NY/New England. I would be an absentee owner and need a businesses that can support a proper manager. I came across your contact on Bizquest. I felt it could be mutually beneficial to connect. Please reach out when you have a moment. Kind Regards
Hello Ken,
Checking in to see if you might know of any acquisition opportunities that could fit well with our growth strategy. I lead our corporate development efforts and would be thrilled to hear from you.
We are seeking to acquire companies with the following profile:
- IT Staffing: Portofolio Delivery, Application Development, Data Solutions, Staff Optimization
- We are not interested in traditional MSPs / Help-desk IT Services
- $5-20 million of revenue
- Based in the Mid-Atlantic region
- Seeking control deals
We are well-capitalized, have the funds ready to do a quick and clean deal with no debt.
Look forward to hearing from you.
Hi Ken,
My name is X and I represent a family-office backed PE Search fund, looking to acquire businesses in the B2B industrial/ manufacturing space with an EBITDA of $3-10 million, and Enterprise Value less than $50M. You may have heard from some of my colleagues in the past, but since we are all searching somehow independently, I would like to be in your contacts list as well.
Types of companies we’re looking for: broadly speaking “industrial”
- Specialty chemicals
- Basic Materials (could be building materials or valuable sub-components)
- Advanced Manufacturing
- Were quite vertical agnostic but hoping to find a product-based company (not project based) with deep technical and operational knowledge with a need for continued marketing growth.
Where?
- We’re hoping to find something in Colorado, or the Mountain west.
- For the right opportunity, we are happy to extend our scope elsewhere
Main aspects we look at while evaluating a deal:
- Is there a succession issue? Need for management to leave?
- Pricing power? Can this product keep up with inflation?
- Good Margins- EBITDA Margins in the 20% and above range?
- Cash conversion – Does it have a large need for working capital?
Of course there are more, but if it can check these boxes we are interested.
Given your brokerage’s focus on transacting businesses in this space, I would like to either schedule a call in the coming week(s) to discuss any possible companies in your pipeline, or get a list of your active deals that I can look through. Also, please put me in your CRM so I can stay abreast of opportunities coming through your pipeline!
Please let me know a time that best fits your schedule to connect. Or, if it’s easier, feel free to find a time using the link below.
Looking forward to hearing from you,
Hello Ken,
X is a holding company that owns and invests in asset-light services businesses. We own 4 businesses, the largest of which will do $25M in EBITDA this year.
We plan to grow our holdings from four companies to six in the next year.
Most of our acquisitions look like the below:
- Industries: Financial Services, Business Services, and Industrial Services
- Size: $2-$10MM EBITDA
- Geography: Eastern and Central US
Do you have 15 minutes for a quick call?
Thank you,
Hi Ken,
I’m representing a family office located in southwest Michigan. We are seeking to acquire businesses in south west Michigan and northern Indiana as well as the greater midwest.
We can provide growth capital to owners looking to take their company to the next level and/or we can provide liquidity to owners who want to retire or transition away from daily operating responsibilities.
Please find our one pager attached to learn more about our goals and background.
I would like to schedule an intro call to explain in detail what type of deals we are looking for. Please feel free to send any CIMs that you think are applicable pre-meeting so we can discuss live.
Best,
Hello Ken,
My name is Y, and I am leading the hardware store growth plan for X Hardware, a subsidiary of the family-owned Z Group of Companies. We are a closely held private family business specializing in multi-unit franchise investments and are seeking additional hardware stores to join our company.
We currently own over 400 locations spanning various industry segments: KFC, Taco Bell, Marriott, Hilton, IHG, Genghis Grill, Sonic, Ace Hardware, and Rent-A-Center to name a few.
We are interested in Ace Hardware, Do it Best, True Value and other branded/unbranded hardware and lumber locations to add to the X Hardware platform.
If you have any hardware store listings now or in the future, I would love to know more about them.
Thanks,
Hello,
Happy new year and hope this email finds you well.
My name is D. I am reaching out to business brokers in Michigan as a part of my email campaign for business acquisition.
I am looking to acquire business in the senior Healthcare industry, generating $200k to $350k in Seller Discretionary Earnings, preferably in the West Michigan region.
I have direct working experience with seniors as a Physical Therapist for over 10 years and also I independently own and operate my senior home care business in West Michigan. Now, I am ready to acquire and expand and looking for businesses that can benefit from strong management skills and value add.
My team of CPA and attorney is ready to work on any off or on market deals and I am also SBA pre-approved.
You can reply to this email or reach me at xxx-xxx-xxxx.
Hoping to hear from you soon.
Warm Regards,
D.
Hi Ken,
Hope all is well. As a brief introduction, I am the Founder of Z, a privately held group focused on acquiring and building founder-led and family-owned businesses. We are focused on businesses with $5-50 million in Revenue across the Industrials, Materials, Business Services, and Consumer sectors. Particular areas of emphasis include Aerospace, Defense & Govt. Services, Data Center Equipment & Services, Food Equipment & Services, and Restaurant Franchisees. I found your information on the Michigan Business Brokers Association website and wanted to reach out to connect – we are particularly interested in great Michigan-based businesses given our roots and ties to the state. It would be great to setup a brief call to introduce Rouge Lake in greater detail and learn more about your focus.
Do you have any availability for a quick call this week or next week?
If you have opportunities that fit the criteria I mentioned above, I would appreciate the opportunity to learn more.
Best,
Hi Ken,
I’m reaching out to see if the company I buy in the next six months is one of your listings.
I’m looking to buy an eCommerce company generating SDE of $250k – $550k with a focus on providing eco-friendly products or sustainable business practices.
Do you have any listing that meet my criteria? If yes, I’d love to take a look. If not, are you willing to add me to your email list of buyers?
If you’d like to chat on the phone, let me know and I’d be glad to give you a ring later today, or you can schedule a time with me here.
Attached is my SBA Business Acquisition Financing Pre-Qualification Letter for a $1.6M loan and my Buyer Profile, which will give you some background on me. I am using my own cash savings for the equity injection.
Warm Regards,
Hi Ken,
I came across your information while researching M&A advisors and was curious about what type of deals your firm specializes in.
We are a PE firm specializing in buyouts of software, tech-enabled service, and other asset-light B2B businesses generating $1.5m to $5m in EBITDA. We move fast to close deals and, to date, we’ve closed on 100% of our signed LOIs.
I’d love to share with you some of the interesting things we’re seeing in the market. Perhaps it may help you in advising clients. As well, we’re looking to expand our M&A advisor relationships. Win/win.
Would you be open to an intro call this week?
Look forward to hearing from you. Thanks Ken.
Kind regards,
Hi Ken,
I’m emailing to introduce myself and reach out about businesses that you might be helping to sell. As a brief introduction, I have an economics degree from Harvard College and have worked in various roles in investment banking (C—), private equity (E—), and strategic finance (F—, G—). I am currently working with D— Capital to search for a business to own and operate. I also have direct operational experience with H—.com, an ecommerce business acquired by I— Capital last year.
I’m specifically interested in businesses with the following characteristics:
- $1-$3mm of EBITDA with margins greater than 15%
- Fragmented, non-cyclical, non-capital-intensive industry (current focus on e-commerce, pets, and business services)
- A high percentage of recurring or repeat revenue
Please let me know if you have any listings that might fit the criteria.
Thank you,
C—
Ken,
My name is L— and I wanted to reach out to make a quick intro and to get my firm, T— Partners LLC, on your radar.
I come from a background in middle-market private equity investing and founded T— earlier this year along with a team of seasoned former operators and private investors to acquire (and subsequently operate) a single business for the long term.
We’re focused exclusively on B2B commercial services companies (online and physical) with $600k – $3MM in EBITDA (or $3-$30MM of sales with margins of 15%+).
We have significant geographical flexibility with a slight bias towards buying in California (where I currently reside), although I am focused on acquiring the right business and will happily move across the country to operate the business I ultimately acquire.
Additional information on the firm can be found on the website (here).
Let me know if it would be helpful to hop on the phone for a live intro; I look forward to working with you in the future and please keep me apprised of relevant deals that come across your desk.
Regards,
Hi Ken,
I hope this email finds you well.
I’m reaching out to introduce myself and my company. My name is D—, and I’m the CEO of B—. We are a small manufacturer and we are looking to acquire other broadly similar companies.
We are looking for product-oriented companies, preferably founder-owned and relocatable manufacturers, with SDE in the range of $50k-$300k (ideally, $100k – $200k).
I’ve attached a profile that gives some more detailed information on our company and what we are looking for.
If one of your clients ever has a business where you think our company might be a good home, I would love to discuss.
Thanks, and have a great weekend!
Good afternoon Ken,
My name is F—. I came across your contact information and wanted to reach out.
I am searching for a business to acquire and operate through my company R—. Below are my criteria for an acquisition.
· History of profitability
· >$5m in revenue or >500k in EBITDA
· Predictable revenue streams
· Customer loyalty, satisfaction, and retention
I wanted to reach out in hopes that I could be added to your email outreach list for available deals. If you would like to learn more about me, please visit my bio page here.
If you have any questions or would like to chat, please feel free to email me or call me. I look forward to connecting and hopefully working on a deal together in the near future.
Thanks,
Ken, hope all is well.
Reaching out as I’m actively acquiring medical spas across the US through W—, an acquisition platform I helped form and lead the acquisition efforts of. We’re set to close our first few acquisitions on the west coast in the next couple months and are looking to grow through aggressive acquisition thereafter.
Not sure if you work with med spas but we’re offering generous buyside referral fees for intros that lead to a deal ($300k+ SDE). If there’s any interest let me know and I can share an overview deck on W—, which you can feel free to share with any of your prospective sellers.
Many thanks!
Dear Ken,
We are looking to acquire a business with $1 to 5 MM in EBITDA and that will be in need of a management solution following the sale.
Are you working with any such sellers at the moment?
Our focus is the physical security and food manufacturing industries, but we’re in a position to consider other industries as well. The business should just be located in or around Michigan, hence how I came to find you.
Thank you,
Hello Ken, I saw your HVAC listing in SE MI on bizbuysell.com and wanted to connect with you to learn a little more. I am currently a senior executive in the consumer goods industry with deep marketing and general management experience within a relatively wide range of companies, categories, and brands. I am now looking to turn the page and acquire a Small Business. You can find my Linked In profile here. I am looking for a business in the $1M – $2M EBITDA range to self-fund the equity and leverage an SBA loan for debt somewhere ideally in Illinois and Michigan. Also, in a perfect world, I find a business that is marketing and consumer oriented, but that is a nice to have more than a hard requirement. That said, I was excited to see your posting meets a lot of these criteria. Can we connect so I can get more details on the business? Looking forward to it.
Hey Ken,
What deals do you have that:
1) producing at least 175k cashflow. NOT SDE. I do not want to factor things like depreciation.
Thanks!
Ken,
In late November I closed on the acquisition of Y— in partnership with the Company’s founders and management team. Y— designs, manufactures and markets niche consumable healthcare products that are primarily sold through broadline distributors such as R—, C—, and P—.
Part of our go-forward growth strategy involves future acquisitions. Please keep us in mind for disposable and consumable medical product companies that sell their products to hospitals, physician offices and medical specialty practices. Revenue of $1 to $15M and EBITDA $500,000 to $3M.
Hi there,
Hope you are doing well. We launched H— this month with a food manufacturing deal under LOI.
We buy food and other manufacturing businesses in the US with a minimum EBITDA of $2M. If you have any relevant clients, know of any food/ingredient companies that would be interested in talking, or know any advisors we should meet, please reach out! We look forward to meeting you.
Here is our website and one-pager.
Best,
Hi Ken,
We are a 12-year-old private equity firm that acquires family-owned American manufacturing companies. It appears that you are active in the manufacturing space. We would like an opportunity to speak with someone on your team to learn more about the kinds of businesses that your firm is bringing to market. Below is a brief summary of our investment criteria. Does sometime next week work for a quick call to discuss?
D— Investment Themes:
- High growth, U.S. based manufacturing
- EBITDA of $3M – $10M, sales of $10M – $50M
- Family owned and operated businesses
- Controlling interest investments
Why D—:
- $100M committed capital fund, sole decision-making authority
- Seasoned management team, abundant entrepreneurial experience
- We are our biggest investor, management team represents ~20% of current fund
Sectors We Like (but aren’t limited to):
- Building Products
- Material Handling
- Industrials
- Aerospace & Defense
- Infrastructure/Utility
- Agriculture
We look forward to connecting.
Searching for strategic add-ons in the following industries:
- Industrial safety equipment
- Landscaping companies focused on high-end residential and commercial in the midwest
- Emergency railroad & hazardous cleanup services
- Recurring revenue painting contractor
- Specialty packaging manufacturer
- MRI accreditation and repair firm
- Media business providing education materials to schools/police department
Platform Investment Criteria
The two most common situations we encounter are owners looking to transition into retirement or scale back their involvement with day-to-day operations.
- Financial: $1M – $5M+ EBITDA
- Geographic: United States
- Targeted industries but not limited to:
- Traffic Control – pavement markings, control cabinets, electrical services, software, lighting accessories, etc.
- Business services – power washing services, niche recruitment services, fence rental companies, nuclear waste disposal companies, etc.
- Manufacturer of chemicals – gel packs, railyard lubricants, adhesives, deicing fluids, dust remediation fluids, etc.
- Seal manufacturers – inflatable seals, silicone seals, polyurethane seals, etc.
- Manufacturing equipment monitoring software platforms/control panels – humidity controls, machine down monitoring, electronic downtime, etc.
Ken, saw your profile on IBBA’s directory, and wanted to reach out and see if we might find a way to work together. I’m looking to acquire a Great Lakes-based business (MI would be ideal) within the next three months. I’m currently sourcing direct leads with owner / operators in the medical imaging services space. While it would be great to learn of any opportunities you’re currently representing in that industry, I’m also open to other B2B service deals.
Below are a selection of characteristics of the ideal business I aim to acquire:
- Business: provides critical services to commercial customers who purchase month after month
- Values: integrity, transparency, customer-centric, positive culture
- Revenue: greater than $5M – with 60%+ being repeat or recurring in nature
- Pre-tax profit: greater than $1.5M – with strong margins in excess of 15%
- Customers: many – with none contributing more than 10% of revenue
- Location: Great Lakes
- Needs: finance, and improvements in operations, asset utilization, and capital allocation
I have capital, can move quickly, and will be a dedicated to actively operating and growing the business over the long-term. I’m looking for an owner who wants to exit and wants to sell their business to a capable operator who will lead the business, care for the team, and further the values that have made it successful.
Even if you aren’t representing any deals that align with the criteria, it would be great to connect and discuss further. Thanks, and looking forward to speaking with you, Ken.
Hi Ken,
Z is a specialized investment firm, focused on acquiring food companies.
Acquisition criteria:
- Food & Beverage: preferably with a focus on ethnic foods
- $5 million to $100 million in sales
- Buyouts, recapitalizations, growth and turnarounds
- Anywhere in the US
Please let us know if you know of any deals that could fit our investment focus.
Thanks,
X
Hi Ken,
Hope you’ve been well since the last time we connected.
I wanted to check in to see if there’s anything in your pipeline that may be a fit for us as we’re approaching the final months of the year. We look at companies with an EBITDA between $1-5M+ and can be flexible if an owner wants to stay for 10 days or 10 years post-transaction. We own and operate 10 companies throughout the U.S. and recently acquired two strategic landscaping businesses in Illinois for our platform investment.
Our companies operate in everything from manufacturing of industrial safety equipment to software monitoring to emergency waste cleanup services to flexible packaging to high-end residential landscaping services.
I’d be happy to look at any opportunities you think would be a fit.
Hello Ken,
It’s X with Y. Just wanted to send you a quick update as we are eager for new strategic acquisitions.
Do you know of any opportunities that meet the following criteria?
- Services: Companies that service extinguishers, fire suppression systems (kitchen systems, vehicle systems, special hazard), sprinkler systems, fire alarms, and security / monitoring systems
- Revenue Mix: We focus more on the services side and less on the install/construction side. We want at least 50% service revenue and ideally more.
- Size: We are open to anything that has $1m – $20m of revenue
- Approach: Open to all type of sellers, whether they want to stay, roll equity and grow the business or transition out
Are you working on any new deal opportunities in the fire & safety space that we can participate in?
Look forward to hearing from you.
Thanks
Ken,
I am sending over a quick update to let you know that one of our partnerships, X, completed the acquisition of Z in early June.
Z designs and markets silicone scar management products used by dermatologists, plastic surgeons and patients in over 55 countries. We remain interested in acquiring additional wound care product companies as well as manufacturers of consumable/disposable products in a broad range of healthcare categories.
In addition to our add-on work, we are actively seeking new platforms of recurring revenue businesses operating in stable end-markets with EBITDA of at least $1.5 million and up to $6.0 million. Particular industries of interest include wealth management advisors, compliance/training/certification providers, value-added distributors and market share leaders operating in niche markets. Please pass along any opportunities to partner with or acquire family-held or entrepreneur-owned businesses that meet these criteria.
Thanks,