The right M&A advisory firm doesn’t just facilitate a transaction; it enhances the value of your deal through:
I know this because I’ve been leading my M&A advisory firm, Eton Venture Services, for the past 15 years.
From 409A valuations to contentious M&A appraisals, our team of ex-Big 4 consultants use robust methodologies that stand up in court to avoid unnecessary costs and complications.
To help you find the most reliable and accurate M&A advisory firm, I put together this article.
I explain four factors you should look for in an advisory firm, and give you 7 recommendations for low-to-middle market transactions.
Each firm has a unique focus area or industry, so you can pick one that meets your needs.
When selecting an M&A advisory firm, it’s important to focus on a few key factors.
Based on my 15 years of experience, these factors significantly impact how well your deal works out:
You want to work with advisors who have a sophisticated understanding of the M&A process.
Experienced and expert advisors know all about:
You can ask the following questions to gauge their experience and expertise:
Pick a firm that specializes in your industry or similar business sectors.
Specialization often means the firm has valuable industry connections and a nuanced understanding of market-specific trends and valuation metrics, which can lead to better and even quicker deal outcomes.
To gauge their experience in your niche:
The reputation and credibility of an advisory firm are vital.
A reputable advisor ensures that all dealings are transparent and in line with legal and ethical standards.
Check their history, client testimonials, and industry recognition to gauge their standing.
Customer service and support are important both during and after an M&A deal.
You should receive prompt, clear answers to your concerns and questions, and receive guidance throughout the entire process.
This ongoing support is important for smooth post-merger integration and for addressing any issues that might arise afterwards.
For example, at Eton, we are prepared to defend M&A valuations in court later if necessary.
In this article, I’ll go into how Eton excels in these areas. And I’ll introduce you to six other trusted M&A advisory firms in the US.
Here are the top 7 recommendations for independent M&A advisory firms:
Below, I’ll explain why I recommend them.
Related read: The Basic Guide to Mergers and Acquisitions
Revenue Range: $5M – $150M
Years of Experience: 20
Specialty: Private equity firms, investors, high-net-worth individuals
Based in: Austin, TX (but we work with clients from all over the United States)
Eton Venture Services help companies with revenues from $5M to $150M navigate M&A deals with confidence.
Specifically, we support PE firms, investors, and high-net-worth individuals with both sales and acquisitions, and all the advisory support needed in between.
Our team of Big-4 trained CFOs and legal experts strive to understand your needs and deliver audit-proof, robust, and prompt M&A support.
Being a boutique firm, we take pride in providing individual attention to our clients.
Every Eton client is assigned a senior M&A advisory expert. And I, the CEO, will be your key contact throughout your journey with us.
Whatever you need, I am always one call or email away.
We do both buy and sell-side M&A advisory services.
We handle every aspect of mergers and acquisitions, providing support for any part of the process you might need help with:
Assess target companies, divisions, or assets to help determine appropriate bidding prices, negotiation strategies, and optimal structures while identifying potential risks and synergies.
Evaluate the sustainability and quality of a target company’s earnings, providing insights into its financial health and potential for future growth.
Perform fair value assessments of tangible and intangible assets acquired in a business combination, ensuring compliance with financial reporting standards.
Assist clients in conducting annual goodwill impairment tests to determine if any write-downs are required, adhering to relevant accounting standards.
Appraise intellectual property assets, such as patents, trademarks, copyrights, licenses, and customer lists, which are critical components of many M&A transactions.
Provide independent fairness opinions to boards of directors, ensuring that proposed transactions are fair to shareholders from a financial perspective.
Offer guidance and support throughout the M&A process, from due diligence and deal negotiation to closing and post-transaction integration, addressing both financial and strategic aspects.
Provide expert valuation and financial analysis services for M&A-related litigation, including purchase price disputes, earnout disputes, and breach of contract claims.
Have a look at what our happy customers have to say about us:
Let’s look at how Eton measures up against the four factors listed above.
| Factor 1: Experience & Expertise | We’ve worked in this industry for over 20 years with 1000+ clients. Our experts understand the complexity of M&A, and have a proven track record in helping clients gain confidence through superior valuation and advisory services. |
| Factor 2: Specialization | We are a business valuation company. We support PE firms, investors, and high-net-worth individuals with both sales and acquisitions, and all the advisory support needed in between. |
| Factor 3: Reputation & Credibility | Eton's credibility in the M&A space is well-established with a strong track record of successful engagements and positive client testimonials. Some of our clients include Dutchie, Cedar, Healthcare Highways Inc., Spring Health, Pinterest, Loci, and Northwoods Capital Management. |
| Factor 4: Customer Service & Support | We offer ongoing support (even after the engagement ends) and will defend M&A valuations in court if needed. |
Revenue Range: $3M – $50M
Years of Experience: 20
Specialty: M&A advisory for small and midcap software & technology sector
Based in: Boston | Dallas | San Francisco | Seattle
iMerge Advisors is a boutique M&A Advisory Firm for the Small & Midcap Software & Technology Sector.
If you are a software or technology business in the $3M-$50M transaction size, their unique focus will make sure that you receive specialized, industry-specific insights and strategies for your business.
Their Managing Directors have completed on average 6 M&A advisory transactions per year in the small to mid-size software & technology vertical.
Transactions include sales to private & public strategic buyers, private equity firms, family offices, and high net-worth individuals.
They have a global reach, serving clients worldwide.
Revenue Range: $1 – 30M
Years of Experience: 10
Specialty: Financial advisory for the Insurance sector
Based in: New York, New York
Sica | Fletcher, founded in 2014, is a well-known and well-respected M&A and financial advisory firm for the insurance industry.
The firm aims to maximize value for client firms through buy-side, sell-side, and strategic M&A advisory.
Sica | Fletcher dominates the industry in terms of deal volume: it has closed $17.5 billion deals in insurance agency and brokerage transactions since inception.
Based on this high volume of deals closed, the company has been ranked by S&P Global as the #1 insurance M&A advisory firm every year from 2017 to 2023.
Compared to Eton and other firms in this article, Sica | Fletcher has a shorter span of experience (10 years), although this doesn’t necessarily mean a lack of expertise.
Revenue Range: $500k – $1 Million
Years of Experience: 20+
Specialty: Strategy consulting for non-profit
Based in: Los Angeles, CA
If you’re in the social services sector, La Piana Consulting would be a great choice for you. The firm provides M&A advisory for nonprofits, foundations, and social enterprises.
In the last 20 years since its foundation, it has helped 1,500+ clients with:
Some of its notable clients include:
La Piana Consulting takes a collaborative and hands-on approach to M&A advisory, with a senior consultant leading each engagement.
It also avoids cookie-cutter solutions and provides reliable, customized solutions that fit your circumstances.
Revenue Range: $10M – $300M
Years of Experience: 25
Specialty: Privately-held, middle market companies
Based in: Atlanta, GA
CCG Advisors is a boutique M&A advisory firm for entrepreneur, family and private equity-owned companies.
During their 25 years of being in business, CCG Advisors has completed over 125 successful transactions, with $4B+ aggregate transaction value.
It offers both sell-side and buy-side advisory services.
The consultants at CCG Advisors have experience across a wide range of industry segments, including:
But their main expertise lies in the “Green Industry”, specifically the landscape industry.
In addition to landscape, their consultants have also worked with companies across all other green industry sub-sectors, such as tree care, lawn care, pest control, and more.
Revenue Range: Not publicly available
Years of Experience: 25
Specialty: Emerging growth and middle-market companies
Based in: Raleigh, NC
High Rock Partners is a trusted M&A advisor for middle-market companies. The firm helps owners and management with strategy, exits, acquisitions, and financing.
The consultants of High Rock Partners have written multiple books on doing deals in the middle-market, and embedded that knowledge and expertise into their advisory services.
The firm also has a unique and proprietary framework called “Enterprise Value (EV) Engineering®” for M&A and divestitures (i.e. company sale) to increase a target company’s value, while concurrently attaining other shareholder ambitions and objectives.
Due to this framework, the firm is able to increase the selling value of 90% of deals before closing.
Their industry experience is across many sectors, including:
Revenue Range: $5M – $150M
Years of Experience: 30
Specialty: Sale of mid-size companies
Based in:
Woodbridge International, founded 30 years ago, disrupted the way mid-sized companies are sold.
While most other firms rely on their professional network, they use proprietary marketing tools to find and reach the largest pool of qualified buyers.
The firm boasts a database with over 450,000 strategic and financial buyers, and a competitive auction helps generate more bids, leading to better sales prices and fit.
Woodbridge is a bigger firm than all the others we listed here, so they might be lacking in the personalized approach of a boutique firm.
Want a business valuation company with expertise you can trust at affordable prices and with first-class customer service? Get in touch with us here.
| # | Firm | Revenue Range | Years of Experience | Focus Area | Based In |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eton Venture Services | $5M - $150M | 20 | Private equity firms, investors, high-net-worth individuals | Austin, TX (but we work with clients from all over the United States) |
| 2 | iMerge Advisors | $3M - $50M | 20+ | Small and midcap software & technology sector | Boston, Dallas, San Francisco, Seattle |
| 3 | Sica | Fletcher | $1M – 30M | 10 | Insurance sector | New York, New York |
| 4 | La Piana Consulting | $500k – $1 Million | 20 | Nonprofits, foundations, and social enterprises | Los Angeles, CA |
| 5 | CCG Advisors | $10M - $300M | 25 | Entrepreneur, family and private equity-owned companies | Atlanta, GA |
| 6 | High Rock Partners | Not publicly available | 25 | Emerging growth and middle-market companies | Raleigh, NC |
| 7 | Woodbridge International | $5M - $150M | 30 | Sale of mid-size companies | Multiple locations in the US; Canada, South Africa |
Have more questions about M&A advisory firms? I answer them below:
An M&A (Mergers and Acquisitions) advisory firm provides expert advice and services to companies involved in mergers, acquisitions, and other corporate restructuring activities.
Here are some of the key roles and services provided by M&A advisory firms:
Consulting firms play a critical role in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) by advising companies on strategic decisions, valuations, and integration processes.
They provide expertise in areas such as due diligence, where they assess the financial health and business prospects of potential acquisition targets.
Consulting firms also help in structuring deals to maximize financial and strategic value, and they offer guidance on regulatory compliance to ensure smooth transaction approvals.
Post-merger, they assist with the complex task of integrating operations, cultures, and systems to achieve the desired synergies.
Their objective insight and specialized skills are invaluable in navigating the complexities of M&A transactions effectively.
It’s hard to nail down the “best” consulting firm for M&A since we don’t know your actual circumstances.
The right choice for you will depend heavily on the sector you’re in, company revenue range, and the level of expertise you seek.
In this article, I shared my top 7 recommendations for M&A advisory firms. Each firm has a unique focus and expertise.
For instance, Eton Venture Services focuses on buy-and-sell-side advisory for private equity firms with $5M to $150M revenue range, while Sica | Fletcher focuses on M&A advisory for insurance companies with $1M to $30M revenue range.
Schedule a free consultation meeting to discuss your valuation needs.
Chris co-founded Eton Venture Services in 2010 to provide mission-critical valuations to venture-based companies. He works closely with each client’s leadership team, board of directors, internal / external counsel, and independent auditor to develop detailed financial models and create accurate, audit-proof valuations.
