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The Winning LOI [Vol. 3, Issue 21, No. 48]

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Welcome to the latest issue of The Winning LOI, the Axial newsletter that anonymously reveals small business M&A valuation data and certain key deal terms associated with winning LOIs.

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In today’s issue, we review the LOI for a Financial Services business that confidentially went to market via Axial in Q4 2023. The company boasted an impressive EBITDA margin, north of 55%, with revenues in the $5M – $6M range and EBITDA between $3M and $4M.

The deal received 897 buyer matches, known on the Axial platform as *Recommendations. However, the sell-side member ran a more selective process, sending the deal to only 54 of the buyer matches, 22 of whom pursued, resulting in a pursuit rate of 40.74%.

We reviewed the M&A activity on the Axial platform for Financial Services deals over the last 12 months. Here’s the breakdown:

See below for Winning LOI #48’s anonymized data ⬇️

The Deal
Deal TypeChange of Control
Revenue Range (TTM)$5M - $6M
EBITDA Range (TTM)$3M - $4M
EBITDA Margin Range55% - 60%
Key IndustriesFinancial Services
In-Market DateQ4 2023

Axial Deal Data
Recommendations*897
Recipients*54
# of Pursuits*22
Deal Pursuit Rate*40.74%
Winning LOI Pursuit to LOI Executed172 Days
Winning LOI Executed to Deal Closed99 Days

The LOI
Purchase Price Range$27M - $30M
EBITDA Multiple Range (TTM) 8.75x - 9x
Exclusivity75 Days
Structure
➡️ Cash73%
➡️ Rollover Equity10%
➡️ Seller Note17%
➡️ Earnout❌

Axial Sell-Side Member Data
Member TypeM&A Advisory Firm
Total Deals Marketed on Axial2
Average Annual Deals Marketed2
Average Revenue of Deals$5,920,000
Average EBITDA of Deals$3,320,000

Axial Buyside Member Data
Member TypePrivate Equity
Number of Acquisitions8
Buyside Pursuit Rate*12.07%
Buyer Responsiveness Rate*64.20%


Definitions: 

*Recommendations: Axial sell-side members receive a matching set of buyside members for every deal they manage via Axial. A buyside recommendation refers to a specific buyside Axial member who matches a particular deal, also known as a “buyer match.”

*Recipient: A recipient is a buyside member who has been granted access by an Axial sell-side member to review a particular deal.

*Pursuit: Axial buyside members express initial interest in a deal by clicking “Pursue”, after which they can access and sign the NDA.

*Deal Pursuit Rate: The deal “Pursuit Rate” is defined as the number of times a particular deal is pursued by unique buyside members (i.e. the buyer shows explicit interest in exploring the deal) divided by the total number of buyside firms invited to evaluate the deal

*Buyside Pursuit Rate: The buyside “Pursuit Rate” is defined as the number of deals pursued by a particular buyer throughout an entire Axial membership term, divided by the total number of deals sourced during the same timeframe.

*Buyside Responsiveness Rate: The buyside “Responsiveness Rate” is defined as the rate at which a member responds to teaser shares within 5 days. The calculation initiates when a member has a minimum of 10 teasers and is calculated based on the member’s last 100 teasers received.


Disclosures: All data presented in The Winning LOI is anonymized to respect and protect the confidentiality of Axial members and their transactions. Data is provided to Axial by Axial members in accordance with the Axial Member Terms of Service. Axial has endeavored to present data accurately, but Axial does not and cannot fully verify the accuracy of the presented information. Information contained in The Winning LOI is for informational purposes only and does not represent investment advice or recommendations of any kind.

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