Main Street To Mid-Street Acquisition & Financing News

Expert insights, funding strategies, and practical guidance for securing capital, financing growth, and navigating business acquisitions. Whether you're raising capital for expansion, restructuring debt, or exploring your first acquisition, our blog provides the knowledge and resources to help you succeed.

Clearly Acquired is reshaping small business M&A by giving sellers accurate valuations and massive buyer reach, buyers a single-pane search with CLARA’s underwriting intelligence, and lenders fully prepared, credit-box-aligned deals. It eliminates friction, guesswork, and inefficiency from the acquisition process. This is the future of buying and selling businesses

Growth
January 19, 2026

SBA Announces Record-Breaking Bond Guarantees Surge and SBIC Rule Updates

The SBA reported a historic $10.6 billion in Surety Bond Guarantees for FY 2025 and unveiled modernized SBIC rules aimed at accelerating capital deployment to small and emerging businesses. Together, these changes reflect a broader push to strengthen U.S. supply chains, streamline investment processes, and expand access to growth capital for small contractors, manufacturers, and innovators.

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Growth
January 19, 2026

Waste Management & Recycling: 2026 Industry Valuation Benchmarks

The waste management and recycling industry is forecast to generate about $1.56 trillion in revenue by 2026, with growth driven by ESG regulations, PFAS remediation, waste-to-energy, and tech adoption (AI, IoT, automation) that improve efficiency and margins. Valuations show a wide gap between public companies like Waste Management trading around 14.6x EV/EBITDA and small businesses typically selling for ~3.06x–3.31x earnings, with premium multiples flowing to niches such as waste-to-energy, hazardous waste, and SMBs with dense routes, recurring contracts, and modernized fleets.

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Growth
January 18, 2026

EBITDA Multiples for Oil & Gas and Renewable Energy Services

Oil & gas services typically trade at lower EBITDA multiples (around 5.0x–7.5x private, ~10.8x public by late 2025) due to regulatory pressures, commodity cyclicality, and geopolitical risk despite strong cash flows. Renewable energy services command higher multiples (9.0x–11.0x, with equipment/services reaching ~21.19x) driven by long-term decarbonization demand, policy incentives, and recurring revenue models, though interest rate and policy volatility remain material risks.

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Growth
January 18, 2026

Unacademy and upGrad terminate acquisition agreement due to valuation disputes

The planned acquisition of Unacademy by upGrad has been cancelled after both sides failed to agree on valuation, highlighting the steep reset in edtech pricing since the pandemic boom. Reports suggested the deal would have valued Unacademy at roughly $300–$400 million—far below its $3.44 billion peak valuation in 2021—ultimately derailing negotiations.

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Growth
January 16, 2026

Compass Acquires Anywhere Real Estate, Becoming Largest Brokerage Globally

Compass has cemented its position as the world’s largest real estate brokerage after acquiring Anywhere Real Estate in a $1.6B all-stock deal, bringing powerhouse brands like Sotheby’s, Coldwell Banker, Corcoran, and Century 21 under its umbrella. The merger marks a major consolidation milestone in residential real estate, giving Compass unprecedented market share and signaling a new era of scale-driven brokerage competition.

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Growth
January 16, 2026

Goldman Sachs Shares Hit All-Time High Amid M&A Market Growth

Goldman Sachs shares have hit an all-time high on the back of a resurgent global M&A market, underscoring how deal-making activity is driving record profitability for major financial institutions. At the same time, the biopharma sector is being battered by layoffs, shutdowns, and restructuring, highlighting a stark divergence between Wall Street’s boom and life sciences’ ongoing contraction.

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Growth
January 16, 2026

Valuation Multiples for Consulting and Professional Service Firms

EBITDA and revenue multiples are central to valuing consulting and professional service firms, with small firms often trading at 0.40x–1.47x revenue and 8.8x–10.3x EBITDA, while larger or specialized firms can reach 4.4x revenue and 14.1x EBITDA. The firms that command the highest multiples typically combine recurring revenue, diversified clients, reduced owner dependence, and niche expertise—factors that materially lower buyer risk and increase scalability.

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Growth
January 16, 2026

EBITDA Multiples for HVAC, Plumbing, and Electrical Contractor

EBITDA multiples for HVAC, plumbing, and electrical contractors span roughly 2.4x–10.8x, with the highest valuations going to larger, service-heavy businesses that generate recurring revenue and stable cash flow (especially residential HVAC and maintenance-focused platforms). Contractors that are less dependent on the owner, have diversified customers, and prioritize service/maintenance over new construction reliably trade at the top end of the multiple ranges, while small, project-only shops sit at the bottom.

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Growth
January 16, 2026

Average EBITDA Multiples for Healthcare and Medical Practices

EBITDA multiples for healthcare and medical practices vary widely based on factors like size, specialty, payer mix, and ancillary services, with larger platform-level practices often achieving double-digit multiples. In 2025, median multiples across healthcare services trended around 11.5×, with premium specialties such as dermatology, cardiology, and ophthalmology reaching 15–20× in some cases due to strong margins and consolidation dynamics.

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Growth
January 14, 2026

Valuation Multiples for Manufacturing & Industrial Businesses

Valuation multiples are widely used to gauge the market value of manufacturing and industrial companies, with SDE multiples (≈2.7×–3.5×) typical for smaller owner-operated shops and EBITDA multiples (≈3.5×–9.0×) applied to larger firms with more institutional buyers. Revenue multiples (≈0.7×) serve as a secondary benchmark when margins are inconsistent, with final values influenced by operational efficiency, customer diversification, and overall cash-flow stability.

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Growth
January 13, 2026

Average EBITDA Multiples for Healthcare and Medical Practices

EBITDA multiples for healthcare and medical practices typically range from about 3×–7× for smaller offices to 10×–15×+ for larger, multi-site or platform-level groups, with top specialties like dermatology, cardiology, and ophthalmology sometimes reaching 20×. Valuations climb meaningfully with scale, strong commercial payer mix, and owned ancillaries (ASCs, labs, imaging), while heavy government reimbursement and weaker earnings quality pull multiples down, contributing to a reset in median healthcare services multiples to ~11.5× in 2025 (down from 14.5× in 2024).

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Growth
January 13, 2026

EBITDA Multiples for SaaS and Software Companies (2025-2026)

EBITDA multiples for SaaS and software companies have largely normalized in 2025–2026, with private SaaS businesses trading around 22.4x median EBITDA and public software companies closer to ~12.7x. Higher multiples are concentrated among companies with strong operating leverage, predictable recurring revenue, high retention, and AI-driven efficiencies, while smaller or founder-dependent firms trade at discounts.

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Acquire Quality. Fund Growth. Close with Confidence.

As an AI-driven Business Acquisition Marketplace and Financing Platform, we are on a mission to simplify and accelerate the MainStreet to MidStreet lending and acquisition ecosystem.

We specialize in technology that supports price discovery, identity verification and financial qualification, and buy-side tools to help searchers source and manage deal flow, make offers, secure lending/financing solutions, and close with confidence.

illustration of team with digital platform

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are some frequently asked questions by users that are looking to buy businesses on Clearly Acquired:

How can I show business owners I'm a legitimate buyer and that I'm interested?

With a Clearly Verified account, you can instill confidence in other users, brokers and sellers that you are, who you say you are, when you "verify" your identify.  This is the key to instilling confidence in the users on the platform,  gaining traction and getting instant access to financials, supporting data and insight to quickly move to making an offer or moving on.   This will save you months of wasted time and expedite the closing of a sale.

How are my finances verified?

Using financial technology the Clearly Acquired Platform safely and securely verifies your finances, to help sellers understand your closing capability and help lenders expedite your financing. Additionally, the buy-side deal room will help you get your documentation in order, to prepare you for the debt and equity financing you will need to close your acquisition.

Can I get in touch with advisors to help support me in this process?

The Clearly Acquired team is here to support you on your business acquisition or business sale journey. That said, the platform is designed to connect you with a community of users, who are identify verified, which include: investors, lenders, advisors, brokers, consultants, and other buyers who are looking for partners.  

What is a Deal Hub?

The Deal Hub is the central repository for all transaction-related activities on our business acquisition platform. It serves as a secure and organized space where buyers and sellers can access critical information and manage the entire acquisition process efficiently. The Deal Hub is divided into two main components: the Data Room and the Deal Rooms.

Data Room: The Data Room is a secure, virtual storage space where sellers can upload and share essential documents related to their business. This includes financial statements, legal contracts, operational reports, and other due diligence materials. Buyers can access these documents to conduct thorough evaluations and make informed decisions. The Data Room ensures that all sensitive information is protected and only accessible to authorized parties.

Deal Rooms: The Deal Rooms are dedicated spaces for each business listing where buyers and sellers can collaborate and negotiate terms. Each Deal Room is equipped with tools for real-time communication, document sharing, and tracking the progress of the deal. This streamlined environment facilitates transparent and efficient interactions, helping to expedite the acquisition process and ensuring that both parties are aligned at every stage.

The Deal Hub's comprehensive and secure infrastructure simplifies the complexities of business acquisitions, providing a seamless experience for all users involved.

What is Plaid?

Plaid is a financial technology company that provides a secure and seamless way to connect and interact with financial institutions. It enables applications to access users' financial data with their consent, facilitating a wide range of services such as identity verification, account authentication, and transaction history retrieval. Plaid's robust API infrastructure ensures high security, reliability, and compliance with regulatory standards.

By integrating Plaid, Clearly Acquired can offer a secure, efficient, and reliable method for identity verification, building trust among users and ensuring the integrity of the acquisition process.

I am new to the idea of business acquisition, where can I get more information on how to get started?

Make sure to check out our Educational Course on Business Acquisition that is offered in our paid plans for buyers: From Purchase to Profit: Mastering the Art of Business Acquisition.

This Membership Course for buyers is designed to empower individuals with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to navigate the business acquisition process successfully. Whether you're a first-time buyer or an experienced entrepreneur, our course equips you with the tools and insights needed to make informed decisions and achieve your acquisition goals. Join us and embark on your journey to buying a business with Clearly Acquired.

Easy as 1, 2, 3

Create Your Account. Get Verified. Start Searching.

1

Create an account

Every day, lenders, investors, brokers, and sellers come to Clearly Acquired looking for qualified operators like you. Creating an account and getting verified helps you stand out and build trust.

2

Build your profile

Build your profile to get matched with capital and opportunities. Showcase your expertise and resume, to connect with the right capital and acquisition partners—making every opportunity count.

3

Search & Connect

Browse Verified listings, source off-market deals, & manage deal flow with powerful tools to underwrite opportunities, and connect with capital to streamline the entire acquisition and funding process

Join the Clearly Acquired Search Community

Create Your Profile & Get Verified for Free