---
title: "10 Best Business Brokers in Dallas: Fees and Deal Sizes 2026"
lang: en
canonical_url: https://www.papermark.com/blog/best-ma-advisors-dallas
last_updated: 2026-10-07
published: 2026-10-07
category: [mergers-and-acquisitions]
author: "Marc Seitz"
summary: "Compare 10 verified business brokers in Dallas by deal size, fee model and sector focus, plus what DFW buyers pay and how to run a confidential sale in 2026."
---

# 10 Best Business Brokers in Dallas: Fees and Deal Sizes 2026

Dallas-Fort Worth has one of the deepest buyer pools in the country for privately held companies, and one of the widest ranges of advisors chasing them. This guide profiles 10 verified business brokers in Dallas with deal bands, fee models and sector focus.

The metroplex economy is unusually friendly to sellers. Corporate relocations have stacked headquarters along the North Dallas Tollway and up into Plano and Frisco, which brings strategic acquirers close to home. Private equity has been consolidating HVAC, plumbing, roofing, electrical, veterinary and dental practices across DFW for a decade, and platforms are still buying add-ons. On top of that sit oilfield services, construction and building products, freight and logistics along the I-35 and I-45 corridors, and a large healthcare services market.

Texas also has no state income tax, which changes the arithmetic of an exit. Sellers keep more of the proceeds than they would in California or New York, and out-of-state buyers relocating into DFW keep more of the earnings, which shows up as a slightly stronger bid.

None of that means you should take the first call. Unsolicited buyers pay unsolicited prices. The point of hiring one of the business brokers in Dallas below is to turn one interested party into four or five.

  Every adviser on this list will ask where your documents are going to live
  before they take the mandate. A **data room for Dallas M&A** is the
  permissioned workspace that holds your service contracts and route schedules,
  your fleet and equipment titles and your job costing detail while several
  buyers review them at once.

The 10 firms below are the Dallas shortlist. The full [M&A advisors database](https://www.papermark.com/ma-advisors?market=Dallas) adds every other adviser we have researched, so you can widen to a neighbouring metro or narrow to your own industry.

## Quick list of business brokers in Dallas

- **Generational Group**: Dallas headquartered middle market M&A firm with over 1,800 completed transactions.
- **Sigma Mergers & Acquisitions**: Uptown Dallas brokerage selling businesses since 2003.
- **CGK Business Sales**: High Main Street and lower middle market sales from $1.5M revenue up.
- **Texas Business Brokers**: Performance-only brokerage with Dallas, Austin, Houston and San Antonio offices.
- **ANA Brokers**: DFW brokerage with listings in the $2M to $5M range.
- **Murphy Business Sales Dallas**: Coppell franchise of a 140-office North American network.
- **Kratos Capital**: North Dallas middle market M&A bank for privately held companies.
- **Pinecrest Capital Partners**: Preston Hollow investment bank for founders and families.
- **Optima Mergers & Acquisitions**: Old Parkland boutique run by former owner-operators.
- **ESA Mergers**: Frisco firm for manufacturing, industrials and built-environment companies.

## How to get yes from business brokers in Dallas

Dallas advisors are selective because their opportunity cost is high. Given a choice between a well-prepared $8M mechanical contractor and a $2M shop that keeps the books in a spreadsheet, a firm takes the first every time. Getting signed is about removing reasons to say no.

Start with earnings quality. DFW buyers and SBA lenders scrutinise add-backs hard, especially personal trucks, family payroll, and rent paid to an entity you also own. If you cannot document a line with an invoice, assume a buyer strips it and reprices at closing. On a business earning $1.2M, a $150,000 add-back haircut costs roughly $600,000 at a 4x multiple.

Concentration is the second filter. One customer at 40% of revenue turns a 5x business into a 3.5x business, and in oilfield services or construction a single general contractor relationship can be the whole company. Disclose it at the start, because a problem raised in week one is a negotiation and a problem found in week ten is a repricing.

Third, be ready to move. DFW processes run fast because the buyer bench is deep, so a seller who takes two weeks to produce a contract schedule loses the momentum a competitive process depends on. Staging everything in a permissioned workspace is the fix, and our review of the [best virtual data rooms](https://www.papermark.com/blog/best-virtual-data-rooms.md) covers what each tier costs.

Bring these to your first broker meeting:

1. Three years of tax returns plus current year to date financials
2. An add-back schedule with documentation behind every line
3. Revenue by customer for the last two years
4. Your lease, equipment list and any vehicle or fleet titles
5. A staff roster with roles, tenure and pay, names redacted
6. Contracts, licences and any franchise or dealer agreements

_No credit card required._

## How to find business brokers in Dallas

Texas has no state licence specific to business brokerage, so credentials come from the trade bodies instead. The International Business Brokers Association awards the Certified Business Intermediary designation, M&A Source awards the Merger & Acquisition Master Intermediary, and the Texas Association of Business Brokers runs a state-level membership. Checking those three narrows the field quickly.

After that, filter on fit rather than reputation. The firms below span a 100x range in deal size, and a brokerage that sells $900,000 restaurants efficiently is unqualified to run a banked process for a $40M distributor.

- **IBBA and M&A Source**: National bodies with an ethics code and the CBI and M&AMI credentials.
- **Texas real estate licence**: Required by TREC where real property or a lease assignment is part of the sale.
- **Deal band honesty**: Ask for the median closed transaction over 24 months, plus the smallest and largest.
- **Sector track record**: Home services, oilfield, healthcare and logistics buyers are separate pools.
- **Fee model**: Straight percentage for Main Street, retainer plus success fee above roughly $2M.
- **FINRA registration**: Required for stock sales, so ask which broker dealer the firm uses.
- **Sponsor relationships**: Ask how many DFW private equity platforms they have sold to in two years.
- **References**: Two sellers who closed recently, including one deal that got difficult.

## How to approach business brokers in Dallas

Approach brokers the way a buyer will approach you: with information, in stages, and without giving away more than the stage requires. You are interviewing them at least as much as they are screening you.

Confidentiality matters more in DFW than sellers expect. Trade networks in HVAC, freight, staffing and commercial construction are tight, and a rumour reaches your competitors, your bonding company and your best crew leads within days.

1. Pick five firms whose stated deal band brackets your revenue and earnings.
2. Open with a blind summary: sector, revenue, earnings, submarket and timing.
3. Ask each for a written opinion of value with the comparable transactions behind it.
4. Ask what the buyer list looks like, split between strategics, private equity and individuals.
5. Check the engagement letter for exclusivity length, tail period, expenses and fee schedule.
6. Confirm the senior person who pitched will still be on the deal in month six.
7. Set the document policy before signing: tracked links, watermarks, no unrestricted downloads.
8. Agree on a weekly written buyer activity report, not just phone updates.

## Comparing the business brokers in Dallas

| Firm | Typical deal size | Focus sectors |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Generational Group | Middle market, up to $1B | Healthcare, manufacturing, technology, energy, retail |
| Sigma Mergers & Acquisitions | Main Street to lower mid | 31 industries across Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico |
| CGK Business Sales | $1.5M revenue and up | Healthcare, HVAC, manufacturing, construction, services |
| Texas Business Brokers | Main Street | Restaurants, retail, services, wholesale, logistics |
| ANA Brokers | Roughly $2M to $5M | Manufacturing, construction, food service, medical |
| Murphy Business Sales Dallas | Main Street to lower mid | HVAC, automotive, retail, medical, transportation |
| Kratos Capital | $5M to $500M value | Manufacturing, industrial services, distribution |
| Pinecrest Capital Partners | Middle market | Healthcare, business services, industrials, logistics |
| Optima Mergers & Acquisitions | Middle market | Healthcare, construction, human capital services |
| ESA Mergers | $5M to $100M revenue | Manufacturing, industrials, business services, software |

## 1. Generational Group

Generational is the largest M&A advisory firm headquartered in Dallas and runs an unusually structured process, pairing exit planning and owner education with a formal sell-side auction.

- Deal size: Middle market, with league table rankings up to $1B
- Sectors: Automotive, healthcare, technology, manufacturing, retail, energy, education
- Location: Dallas, Texas
- Website: [Generational Group](https://www.generational.com/)
- Notable: States over 1,800 completed transactions and more than $9 billion in transaction value

## 2. Sigma Mergers & Acquisitions

Sigma has been selling North Texas businesses since 2003 and works the band where most DFW owners actually sit, below the level where an investment bank will take a mandate.

- Deal size: Main Street through lower middle market
- Sectors: 31 industries across Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico
- Location: 2626 Cole Avenue, Suite 300, Dallas
- Website: [Sigma Mergers & Acquisitions](https://www.sigmamergers.com/)
- Notable: States it has helped sell over 700 businesses and maintains a database of 10,000+ buyers

## 3. CGK Business Sales

CGK sits deliberately between brokerage and investment banking, taking companies from $1.5M of revenue upward, and its principals came out of large bank corporate finance rather than local brokerage.

- Deal size: $1.5M+ in annual revenue, up to roughly $100M
- Sectors: Healthcare, HVAC, manufacturing, construction, professional services, distribution, transportation, home services
- Location: Dallas, one of 11 US offices
- Website: [CGK Business Sales](https://www.cgkbusinesssales.com/sell-your-dallas-business/)
- Notable: States 15+ years selling privately held businesses across 30+ industries

## 4. Texas Business Brokers

Texas Business Brokers runs a strictly performance-based model with no upfront fees, which suits an owner testing the water on a smaller listing.

- Deal size: Main Street
- Sectors: E-commerce, restaurants, retail, service businesses, wholesale, construction, logistics, technology
- Location: Dallas, with Austin, Houston and San Antonio offices
- Website: [Texas Business Brokers](https://texasbusinessbrokers.com/)
- Notable: States a 100% performance-based fee model with no upfront costs

## 5. ANA Brokers

ANA works the DFW lower middle market and publishes listings in the $2M to $5M range, which is a useful signal of where its buyer relationships actually sit.

- Deal size: Roughly $2M to $5M
- Sectors: Manufacturing, building and construction, food service, medical transportation, medical software
- Location: Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas
- Website: [ANA Brokers](https://www.anabrokers.com/)
- Notable: Positions itself as a DFW market leader in business sales

## 6. Murphy Business Sales Dallas

The Dallas Murphy office covers the western metroplex from Coppell and adds business valuation and equipment appraisal alongside brokerage, which is useful when equipment carries most of the asset value.

- Deal size: Main Street through lower middle market
- Sectors: HVAC and construction, automotive services, medical and wellness, retail, transportation, pet services
- Location: 724 Madison, Coppell, Texas
- Website: [Murphy Business Sales Dallas](https://murphybusiness.com/dallas/)
- Notable: Part of a network of over 140 offices across North America

## 7. Kratos Capital

Kratos is a North Dallas middle market bank that keeps its client roster small and puts a senior banker on every engagement, which is the main structural difference between a bank and a brokerage.

- Deal size: Privately held companies valued between roughly $5M and $500M
- Sectors: Manufacturing, industrial services, distribution, specialty services
- Location: 14160 N Dallas Parkway, Suite 740, Dallas
- Website: [Kratos Capital](https://www.kratoscapital.com/)
- Notable: States over 300 completed transactions, each led by a senior investment banker

## 8. Pinecrest Capital Partners

Pinecrest advises founders and families across nine industry verticals from a Preston Hollow office, covering sell-side, buy-side and private capital raises.

- Deal size: Middle market
- Sectors: Healthcare, business services, industrial and manufacturing, transportation and logistics, aerospace and defence, consumer, energy, financial services, technology
- Location: 8235 Douglas Avenue, Suite 550, Dallas
- Website: [Pinecrest Capital Partners](https://pinecrestcap.com/)
- Notable: Offers pre-transaction advisory for owners two or three years out from a sale

## 9. Optima Mergers & Acquisitions

Optima is run by people who have built and sold their own companies, and its live engagements sit in the $4M to $66M revenue range with strong EBITDA margins, which tells you what kind of business it takes on.

- Deal size: Middle market, engagements from roughly $3.8M to $66M in revenue
- Sectors: Healthcare including diagnostic imaging and women's health, construction, human capital consulting
- Location: Reagan Place at Old Parkland, 3963 Maple Avenue, Suite 400, Dallas
- Website: [Optima Mergers & Acquisitions](https://www.theoptimateam.com/)
- Notable: Recognised by Axial for deal quality

## 10. ESA Mergers

ESA calls itself the M&A firm for the built environment, and that focus is real: manufacturing, industrials and building-adjacent business services rather than a general practice.

- Deal size: Family and founder owned companies with $5M to $100M in annual revenue
- Sectors: Manufacturing, industrials, business services, software and technology
- Location: 5 Cowboys Way, Suite 300, Frisco
- Website: [ESA Mergers](https://www.esamergers.com/)
- Notable: Also runs exit planning engagements for owners two to five years from a transition

## Which Dallas buyer type fits your business

| Buyer type | Usually targets | What they focus on |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Individual SBA buyer | Under $5M purchase price | Owner transition, lender qualification |
| Search fund or sponsor | $1M to $3M EBITDA | Recurring revenue, management depth |
| Private equity add-on | $1M to $5M EBITDA | Fit with an existing platform |
| Private equity platform | $3M+ EBITDA | Growth runway, reporting quality |
| Relocated corporate strategic | Any size in sector | Customers, contracts, DFW footprint |
| Employee stock ownership plan | $20M+ revenue | Cash flow stability, succession |

## Why you need secure document sharing in a Dallas sale

DFW processes run wide. If your advisor contacts thirty private equity groups plus a dozen strategics, forty parties may sign NDAs and expect documents. Emailing a confidential information memorandum widely leaves you with no way to withdraw it and no record of where it went.

A large share of those forty parties compete with you. Private equity has been consolidating HVAC, plumbing, roofing, electrical, veterinary and dental practices across the metroplex for a decade, which means the sponsors on your buyer list already own a platform doing exactly what you do, and their operating partner reads your file. So does the relocated strategic in Plano that has been trying to open a DFW branch, and the oilfield services competitor whose general manager sat across from you at a bid opening last month. Job costing by contract, revenue by customer and your crew pay bands are the three things a competitor most wants and the three things a CIM contains.

What a leak costs locally is not abstract. Trade networks in HVAC, freight, staffing and commercial construction are tight, and the news travels through them in days. Your best crew leads start taking recruiter calls, your largest general contractor quietly adds a second subcontractor to the next bid list, and the referral sources that feed you work start hedging. If you are a franchisee or lease a yard, the franchisor and the landlord both hear about it before you have chosen a buyer, and both hold consent rights you will need at closing. Email attachments cannot be recalled, cannot be watermarked, and tell you nothing about who actually opened them.

## Data room for Dallas M&A

![data room for a Dallas business sale](https://img.papermarkassets.com/upload/file_35DtVER7SdS1G6unRE8unv-papermark-data-room.png)

_Folder-level permissions let an advisor open the general file to forty buyers and contracts to two._

A **data room for Dallas M&A** is the permissioned workspace where your advisor stages the diligence file and runs forty buyers through it at once, without any of them seeing what the others see. It is what a DFW banker means when they ask whether your documents are ready.

Papermark is a secure, fully customizable, and developer-friendly data room built for exactly this: a **secure data room for your Dallas sale process** that keeps the sensitive parts of the file locked while the process runs. NDA agreements sit on the link itself, so a buyer signs before the CIM renders. Dynamic watermarking burns each viewer's email and the timestamp onto every page, the most effective deterrent against a competitor circulating your job costing or customer list. Granular file-level permissions release the general folder to everyone while contracts and payroll detail stay locked to the two parties still standing after bids.

Page-by-page analytics also tell your advisor where to push. When one sponsor spends twenty minutes on the customer concentration pages and another has not opened the file since day two, the follow-up list writes itself. The audit log gives you a permanent record of every view, download and permission change.

The [Data Rooms plan](https://www.papermark.com/pricing.md?view=datarooms) is **€149/month**, or **€99/month billed annually**, with a 7-day free trial, and includes 3 team members, unlimited data rooms, unlimited documents, a custom domain, dynamic watermarking, NDA agreements, and granular file-level permissions. Open a [secure data room](https://www.papermark.com/data-room.md) before the teaser goes out and reuse it through diligence.

### Why Papermark as a data room provider for Dallas M&A

Most virtual data rooms were built for bankers and priced for them. Papermark is a **secure data room for modern dealmakers**, and it is more customizable and more branded than any other VDR on the market.

- **Security first.** SOC 2 Type II, granular file-level permissions, dynamic watermarking on every page, and NDA agreements that sit on the link itself.
- **Open source and self-hostable.** The codebase is public, and Enterprise can run it in your own environment, which matters when a buyer's IT team asks where the documents actually live.
- **Branded and white-labelled.** Custom domain and full white-labelling, so the room carries your firm's name rather than a vendor's.
- **AI and MCP.** 57 typed MCP tools over the Model Context Protocol let Claude, Cursor, ChatGPT or your own code drive the room, plus a REST API for everything else.
- **Chat with your data room.** Papermark AI answers questions across the room and the documents in it, so you are not scrolling a folder tree to find one clause.
- **Built for Dallas deals.** Permissions are set per file, so the sensitive parts of the file can stay locked to final bidders while the general file stays open.

## Did not find the right business broker in Dallas?

If your company sits outside these firms' bands, or you would rather test the market before signing an exclusive, the alternative is approaching buyers directly with an attorney and a CPA supporting you.

If none of the ten above fits, the [M&A advisors database](https://www.papermark.com/ma-advisors) lists every firm we have researched by city and by industry, with deal sizes and sectors side by side. Filter to **Dallas** to compare these against each other, or widen to a nearby metro if the local bench is thin.

## FAQ

### How much do business brokers charge in Dallas?

Main Street brokers handling businesses under $1M charge 8% to 12% of the sale price, with the smallest deals at 12% to 15%. Above $2M, expect a Double Lehman success fee plus a $5,000 to $25,000 monthly retainer.

### Do business brokers charge an upfront fee in Texas?

Some do and some do not. Texas Business Brokers advertises a 100% performance-based model with no upfront cost, while lower middle market firms typically charge $2,000 to $10,000 a month, generally credited against the closing fee.

### Do business brokers need a licence in Texas?

Texas has no standalone business broker licence, but the Texas Real Estate Commission requires a real estate licence where real property or a lease assignment transfers, which covers most small business sales. Stock sales run through a FINRA registered broker dealer.

### How do I find a good business broker in Dallas?

Check IBBA, M&A Source and Texas Association of Business Brokers membership, then shortlist four to six firms whose median closed deal over 24 months brackets your size. Ask each for two references from deals closed in the last 12 months.

### What is my business worth in Dallas?

Most small businesses trade at 2x to 4x seller's discretionary earnings, and IBBA Market Pulse has put the median small business sale near $350,000 at roughly a 2.7x SDE multiple. Businesses worth $5M to $50M trade closer to 6x to 7x EBITDA.

### How long does it take to sell a business in Dallas?

Six to twelve months from engagement to close is realistic. Due diligence alone runs 30 to 90 days after a letter of intent, and an SBA financed deal under $5M adds another 45 to 60 days for underwriting.

### Do I need a business broker to sell my business?

Not legally, but a single unsolicited buyer creates no price competition. A broker-run process typically puts four or five credible parties on the table, and a 10% commission is small against that spread.

### Why do private equity firms buy so many DFW businesses?

Home services, healthcare, logistics and IT services have all been consolidated across the metroplex, and platforms keep buying add-ons in the $1M to $5M EBITDA range. With recurring or contracted revenue, expect part of your buyer list to be sponsor backed.

### Does no state income tax change what my business sells for?

It does not change the multiple directly, but Texas has no personal income tax, so a seller keeps more of the same headline price than in California, where the top state rate exceeds 13%. It also makes DFW attractive to relocating buyers.

### What is a CIM and when do buyers get it?

The confidential information memorandum runs 20 to 40 pages covering the business model, financials, customers and growth plan. Buyers see it only after signing an NDA, which is why advisors deliver it through a tracked link.

### What documents do I need to sell my business?

Three years of tax returns, current financials, an add-back schedule, revenue by customer, your lease, an equipment list and a staff roster. Diligence adds another 40 to 80 requests, which is why sellers stage a data room first.

## Related resources

- [M&A advisors database](https://www.papermark.com/ma-advisors) with every firm we have researched, by city and by industry
- [Best virtual data rooms](https://www.papermark.com/blog/best-virtual-data-rooms.md) for comparing providers before you go to market
- [Papermark data room](https://www.papermark.com/data-room.md) for sharing your CIM and diligence file securely
- [M&A due diligence checklist](https://www.papermark.com/blog/m-and-a-due-diligence-checklist.md) covering what buyers will request
- [Selling to private equity](https://www.papermark.com/blog/selling-to-private-equity-yes-or-no.md) for owners weighing a platform or add-on deal
- [Letter of intent in an acquisition](https://www.papermark.com/blog/letter-of-intent-acquisition.md) explaining the terms you will negotiate
- [Sell-side due diligence](https://www.papermark.com/blog/sell-side-due-diligence.md) on preparing before buyers arrive

---

_Markdown version of [this article](https://www.papermark.com/blog/best-ma-advisors-dallas) for AI agents and LLMs._
_More Papermark content: [llms.txt](https://www.papermark.com/llms.txt) · [full index](https://www.papermark.com/llms-full.txt)._