Buying a Business
Cost to Buy a Business in Cary
Considering purchasing a company in Cary, North Carolina? You've come to the right place to get statistics and trend data on Cary, North Carolina business-for-sale transactions.
Fortunately, the folks at BizBuySell.com have made some data available on what it costs to buy a business in Cary.
BizBuySell.com is the largest online marketplace for business-for-sale transactions. Their listings include almost all of the available listings from business brokers nationwide. They also have many FSBO (for sale by owner) business-for-sale listings.
If you are looking to buy a business in North Carolina, check out the BizBuySell North Carolina listings to see the latest business-for-sale listings for Cary and other North Carolina towns.
Business Valuations in Cary, NC
According to BizBuySell.com, the median asking price for an Cary business-for-sale listing in Q4 2008, the quarter when they most recently released their data, was $248,500.
That was based on 164 listings in the Raleigh-Cary, NC metro area. As such, some of the businesses used to derive the median valuation might be outside of Cary, but they are in the area and so are likely representative of Cary business valuations.
Remember that this is the median asking price for a business. If you are in the market to buy a company, you may be able to buy an Cary business for much less. At the same time, some Cary businesses may cost much more.
Another thing you should know is that this is the asking price for an Cary business. Typically, when a business owner lists a company for sale, they start with an asking price that is higher than the final sale price. The sale-price-to-asking-price ratios depend on deal specifics but typically might be between 0.85 and 0.90. Given this industry norm, if a small business owner were to list a company for $300,000, it might sell for between $255,000 and $270,000.
If you are interested in trends in business-for-sale asking prices, here are the median asking prices for businesses in the Raleigh-Cary, NC metro area for the last 8 quarters.
Cary, NC Revenue Multiples
In the Raleigh-Cary, NC metro area, businesses will typically sell for 0.76 times the selling company's revenues. That was the mean revenue multiple for Q4 2008 in this area of the country.
In other words, a firm with revenues of $200,000 might list for $151,772. Remember, however, that this is just an average for revenue multiples in Cary and surrounding communities. Some small businesses will have higher revenue multiples and others will have lower revenue multiples.
Here is how median revenue multiples are tracking in the Cary area, based on BizBuySell.com's quarterly reports.
According to BizBuySell.com, the median revenues for its business-for-sale listings was $400,000 in Q4 2008.
Cash Flow Multiples In Cary, NC
Another common method to value a business is through cash flow multiples.
For Q4 2008, the average cash flow multiple for listed businesses in the Raleigh-Cary, NC metro area was 3.16.
So, a business with cash flows of $120,000 might have an asking price of $379,693. That's if the business fits the area average. Cash flow multiples can vary considerably based on many factors.
The table below shows how cash flow multiples are trending in the Cary area, based on BizBuySell.com's quarterly reports.
Flow Multiple
If you are interested in what cash flows are for a business in Cary, BizBuySell.com determined that the median cash flow for Cary area businesses was $90,183 in Q4 2008.
Things to Consider When Buying a Business in Cary, NC
Once you have a business that you would like to buy, it may be time to bring in your attorney. However, refrain from spending lots of money on legal documentation until you are certain you are going to buy the business. Many buyers spend money on legal fees before they are committed to buying a coompany...that's a mistake you'll want to avoid. This helpful tip comes from Domenic Rinaldi, managing partner of Chicagoland Sunbelt, a leading business brokerage firm.
Business Valuations for Cary, NC Businesses
If you have a specific business in mind and want to find out how much a business is worth, we recommend the BizBuySell.com Business Valuation Tool. You can refine the dataset that generates business valuations to meet your specific needs, and access to the tool is very affordable -- less than $100.
More Information on BizBuySell.com's Quarterly Reports
The BizBuySell Insight Report is a nationally-recognized economic indicator that tracks the health of the U.S. small business economy. If you find this data interesting, be sure to visit BizBuySell.com Insights Report for more information.
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