Q3 2009 Business Valuation Data
Sell My Boston, MA Business
We just received the latest Boston, Massachusetts business valuation data for Third Quarter 2009.
Median Ask Prices for Boston, MA Businesses
If you are interested in trends in business-for-sale asking prices, here are the median asking prices for businesses in the Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH metro area for the last 11 quarters.
As you can see from the chart above, Boston business-for-sale listings in Q3 2009 had a median asking price of $199,900.
That compares to a median ask price of $199,000 in Q3 2008. With median asking prices for Boston, MA 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 Boston, MA Businesses
Here is how median revenue multiples are tracking in the Boston area, based on BizBuySell.com's data.
In the Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH metro area, small companies will typically sell for 0.75 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 $112,018. Keep in mind that this is just an average for revenue multiples in the area. Some firms will have higher revenue multiples and others will have lower revenue multiples.
According to BizBuySell.com, the median revenues for its Boston business-for-sale listings was $392,500 in Q3 2009.
As a reference point, the Q3 2008 revenue multiple was 0.82 and the median revenue for listed Boston businesses was $355,000.
Cash Flow Multiples for Boston, MA Businesses
Here is how cash flow multiples are trending in the Boston area, based on BizBuySell.com's quarterly reports.
Flow Multiple
As you probably know, cash flow multiples are another common way to value a business.
For Q3 2009, the average cash flow multiple for businesses listed in the Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH metro area was 2.82.
So, a firm with cash flows of $110,000 might list for $310,412. That's only if the firm complies with the local average. In practice, cash flow multiples can vary considerably from one business type to another.
If you are interested in what cash flows are for a business in Boston, BizBuySell.com determined that the median cash flow for Boston area businesses was $100,000 in Q3 2009. In Q3 2008, Boston cash flow multiples averaged 2.95 and the median cash flow was $98,102.
Number of Boston Businesses for Sale in the Dataset
The study data comprised 536 listings in the Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH metro area. As such, some of the businesses used to derive the median valuation might be outside of Boston, but they are close by and so are likely representative of Boston business valuations.
One year ago, in Q3 2008, the BizBuySell.com dataset for Boston spanned 659 listings. The downward trend in the number of Boston business-for-sale listings is indicative of the current down economy.
Should I Sell My Boston, MA Business Now?
It is a good time to sell a business. The market is turning and strategic buyers are very active. Many strategic buyers are flush with cash and see a great opportunity to grow market share and top-line revenues. For a selling SMB business owner, there is plenty of opportunity to cash out at a premium price. This advice on selling a business comes from Domenic Rinaldi, managing partner of Sun Acquisitions, a leading business brokerage firm.
Business Valuations for Boston, MA Businesses
If you are thinking about buying a business or selling a business and would like to appraise the value of a specific business, 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 published quarterly. If you find these trends interesting, take a moment to visit BizBuySell.com Insights Report for more information.
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