Q3 2009 Business Valuation Data

Sell My Portland, OR Business

We just received the latest Portland, Oregon business valuation data for Third Quarter 2009.

Median Ask Prices for Portland, OR Businesses

If you are interested in trends in business-for-sale asking prices, here are the median asking prices for businesses in the Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton, OR-WA metro area for the last 11 quarters.

Quarter
Median Ask
Q1 2007
$189,500
Q2 2007
$202,500
Q3 2007
$299,000
Q4 2007
$315,000
Q1 2008
$290,000
Q2 2008
$275,000
Q3 2008
$275,000
Q4 2008
$289,500
Q1 2009
$295,000
Q2 2009
$295,000
Q3 2009
$292,250

As shown in the table, Portland business-for-sale listings in Q3 2009 had a median asking price of $292,250.

That compares to a median ask price of $275,000 in Q3 2008. With median asking prices for Portland, OR businesses for sale trending up, we can conclude that only businesses that know they can command a premium price are willing to sell in this tough market.

Revenue Multiples for Portland, OR Businesses

Here is how median revenue multiples are tracking in the Portland area, based on BizBuySell.com's data.

Quarter
Revenue Multiple
Q1 2007
0.68
Q2 2007
0.76
Q3 2007
0.88
Q4 2007
0.83
Q1 2008
0.82
Q2 2008
0.92
Q3 2008
0.96
Q4 2008
0.83
Q1 2009
0.86
Q2 2009
0.85
Q3 2009
0.88

In the Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton, OR-WA metro area, small companies will typically sell for 0.88 times the selling company's revenues. The data from BizBuySell.com indicates that is the mean revenue multiple for Q3 2009 in this area of the country.

In other words, a business that has revenues of $150,000 might list for $132,212. Remember, however, that this is just an average for revenue multiples in Portland and surrounding communities. Some companies will have higher revenue multiples and others will have lower revenue multiples.

According to BizBuySell.com, the median revenues for its Portland business-for-sale listings was $436,712 in Q3 2009.

To put this in perspective, the Q3 2008 revenue multiple was 0.96 and the median revenue for listed Portland businesses was $389,575.

Cash Flow Multiples for Portland, OR Businesses

The table below shows how cash flow multiples are trending in the Portland area, based on BizBuySell.com's quarterly reports.

Quarter
Median Cash
Flow Multiple
Q1 2007
3.30
Q2 2007
3.42
Q3 2007
3.74
Q4 2007
3.91
Q1 2008
3.65
Q2 2008
3.99
Q3 2008
3.84
Q4 2008
3.47
Q1 2009
3.41
Q2 2009
3.41
Q3 2009
3.68

As you probably know, cash flow multiples are another useful method to value a business.

For Q3 2009, the average cash flow multiple for listed businesses in the Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton, OR-WA metro area was 3.68.

So, a business with cash flows of $110,000 might list for $405,086. That calculation is dependent on the business selling for the area's average multiple. Most businesses will not conform to industry- or area averages.

If you are interested in what cash flows are for a business in Portland, BizBuySell.com reports that the median cash flow for Portland area businesses was $100,000 in Q3 2009. In Q3 2008, Portland cash flow multiples averaged 3.84 and the median cash flow was $95,114.

Number of Portland Businesses for Sale in the Dataset

The study data comprised 130 listings in the Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton, OR-WA metro area. Many of the businesses in the dataset are outside of Portland, but they are in the area and so are probably representative of Portland business valuations.

In Q3 2008, just one year ago, there were 196 Portland listings in the BizBuySell.com dataset. As a result of the recession, fewer Portland business owners are selling because they hope to weather the storm and sell after the economy turns around.

Can I Sell My Portland, OR Business Now?

The market is turning around and it's a great time to sell. Still, you may have to be creative. For example, with credit still relatively tight, you might want to consider offing seller financing to a buyer. This will improve your odds of closing a business-for-sale transaction. This helpful tip comes from Domenic Rinaldi, managing partner of Sun Acquisitions, a leading business brokerage firm.

Business Valuations for Portland, OR Businesses

If you are contemplating buying a business or selling a business and would like to look at completed transaction sale price comparables in the area, we suggest you try the BizBuySell.com Business Valuation Tool. Based on your specific criteria, you can modify the company dataset that creates business valuation estimates. Access to the tool is very reasonable -- costing less than $100.

BizBuySell.com's Quarterly Reports

The BizBuySell Insight Report is a nationally-recognized economic report that tracks trends in the business-for-sale marketplace. If you find these trends interesting, take a moment to visit BizBuySell.com Insights Report for more information.

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