Open data · Free with attribution
Reviewed by Rob Ismoilov · M&A AdvisorAvailable datasets
Every dataset ships with an HTML documentation page, a CSV file for spreadsheet import, a JSON payload for programmatic use, and an embeddable SVG infographic. All four formats update in lockstep — one source of truth.
Primary keyword · business valuation multiples
P25–P75 SDE and EBITDA multiple ranges plus median days-to-close and primary buyer type across 22 Main Street verticals. Aggregated from IBBA Market Pulse, BizBuySell Insight Report, and Axial LMM data for 2025–Q3 2026.
22 industries · v1.0.0
Primary keyword · business sale timeline
Duration bands per phase for a Main Street business sale, segmented by preparation quality (excellent / average / poor). Phase-by-phase breakdown of what eats the clock and where deals actually stall.
5 phases · v1.0.0
Every dataset here is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0). You can use, adapt, and republish the data in any format — commercial or otherwise — as long as you credit Your Exit Path and link back to this page.
Copy-paste attribution
Plain-text citation (e.g. footnote)
Main Street M&A Benchmarks (Your Exit Path, 2026). Retrieved from https://yourexitpath.com/data/business-sale-multiples. Licensed CC BY 4.0.
Inline HTML (link back to the dataset)
Source: <a href="https://yourexitpath.com/data">Main Street M&A Benchmarks — Your Exit Path</a>. Licensed <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY 4.0</a>.
Embed the infographic (SVG)
<a href="https://yourexitpath.com/data/business-sale-multiples">
<img src="https://yourexitpath.com/data/business-sale-multiples/infographic.svg"
alt="Main Street business sale multiples by industry — Your Exit Path"
width="1200" height="900" />
</a>Ranges represent typical P25–P75 bands aggregated across public quarterly reports (IBBA Market Pulse, BizBuySell Insight Report) for the 2025–Q3 2026 window in the Main Street sub-$5M-revenue segment. This is a synthesis of publicly-available industry data, not proprietary research. Every row declares which primary sources most directly cover its data via the `sources` field. Multiples assume clean books, three years of accrual-basis financials, and no material owner-dependency concentration.
Scope. United States. Main Street private-target M&A (roughly sub-$5M revenue). Excludes cross-border deals, distressed sales, and public-company acquisitions.
Update cadence. Reviewed quarterly. Next review . Version history is maintained in the changelog at the bottom of src/lib/data/market-benchmarks.ts (visible on GitHub if the repo is public).
Primary sources
Every dataset row cites the specific sources that most directly cover it. Full source list below.
International Business Brokers Association
Quarterly practitioner survey covering deal activity, multiples, and terms across Main Street and lower-middle-market segments.
BizBuySell
Quarterly report aggregating listing- and closing-data across BizBuySell's marketplace. Covers median sale price, revenue, SDE, cash flow, and days-on-market by industry and geography.
American Bar Association
Empirical study of legal deal terms (cash-at-close, seller notes, earn-outs, indemnification caps) in private-target M&A transactions.
U.S. Small Business Administration
Program data + Standard Operating Procedures for SBA-guaranteed acquisition financing. Public loan-level data on 7(a) volumes by year, size, and NAICS.
Exit Planning Institute
Longitudinal survey of owner readiness across the pre-exit population — captures prep-quality distribution, planning horizons, and post-close outcomes.
Axial
Deal-flow marketplace covering lower-middle-market processes. Publishes quarterly recap of buyer-side activity by industry.
Preqin
Publicly-summarized data on private-equity fund overhangs and dry-powder totals — the supply side of the Main Street roll-up market.
American Institute of CPAs
Practice guidance on Quality of Earnings scope and methodology for private-target due diligence.
Value Builder Software Inc.
Third-party framework and dataset covering the eight quantifiable drivers of exit multiple within an industry range.
Suggest a dataset
If there's a Main Street M&A dataset you'd cite in your work — regional cuts, industry sub-segments, deal-structure percentiles — let us know. New datasets ship quarterly.