Market intelligence
for owners & operators.
Quarterly industry reports, M&A market updates, and practical guidance for business owners considering a transition. Authored by the CM&Co team.
Featured Insights
Industry Insights: Material Handling Q1 2025
Material Handling Industry Enters 2025 with Tailwinds in Automation, M&A and Valuation. The material handling and process equipment industry is positioned for significant growth in 2025, driven by technological innovation.
Window and Door Industry Snapshot
Windows and Doors Market Sees Sustainable Growth. The global windows and doors industry is poised for continued growth, projected to expand from $221.9 billion in 2023 to $348.4 billion by 2032.
Evolving Tastes and Market Momentum: Q2 2025 Food & Beverage Update
Strategic buyers drove renewed F&B M&A in Q2, with selective dealmaking in defensive categories and a clear tilt toward health, tech, and efficiency themes. 142 transactions, restaurant and manufacturer recaps, plus the Yum! / PDQ case study.
All Insights
Process & Vibratory Equipment: Industry Insights, Q3 2025
Where the growth is in the market that feeds, conveys, heats, grinds, and screens industrial materials. Segment-level CAGRs, valuation ranges by positioning archetype, active platform buyers, and recent transactions across the sector.
Construction & Engineering M&A Update: Q2 2025
235 announced C&E transactions in Q2 amid a scarcity premium for quality contractors. Disclosed multiples, residential and nonresidential and nonbuilding trends, and recent representative deals including our sale of McClintock Electric.
Construction & Engineering Q1 2025: Featured Vertical, Electrical Contracting
Our Q1 spotlight on the electrical contracting roll-up cycle. Deal themes, multiples by size, recent transactions, the Braemont Capital / Loenbro platform case study, and our Project Power engagement.
Meat Processing Recent Transaction Report: TTM Sep 2025
A trailing-twelve-months snapshot of disclosed M&A activity in meat processing through September 2025, covering 15 transactions across red meat, poultry, processed meat, and the Smithfield IPO.
Global M&A 2024 Market Review
Global M&A Activity Rebounds with Renewed Confidence. Global M&A activity surged in 2024, signaling a robust recovery from the slowdown seen in 2022. Global deal value rose by 22.8% year-over-year.
How Strategic Financial Planning Builds Business Value and Owner Freedom
As a business owner, your company likely represents not only your livelihood but a significant portion of your personal net worth. Whether or not you're thinking about selling, the decisions you make today shape long-term outcomes.
The Valuation Continuum: Creating a More Valuable, Resilient Business
Every business owner has likely asked themselves: "What is my company truly worth, and how can I continue increasing that value over time?" Valuations may fluctuate, but there are concrete levers every owner can pull.
Manufacturing the Future of Sustainability
Chemicals Industry Rebounds with M&A Momentum and Sustainability Focus. The global chemicals industry entered 2025 with renewed optimism following a volatile 2023 and a recovery-driven 2024.
The Wholesale Renaissance
The wholesale distribution industry is evolving rapidly, fueled by technology adoption, shifting customer expectations, and supply chain innovation. CM&Co's 4Q24 Wholesale Distribution Market Report covers key trends.
A Fresh Take on Food & Beverage Preferences
The Food & Beverage sector experienced a dynamic start to 2025, with M&A activity gaining momentum despite economic headwinds. CM&Co observed a notable increase in deal flow during 1Q25.
Selling Your Business is Easy: NOT! Part Two
Theodore Roosevelt said it best: "Nothing worth having comes easy." Selling your company is a worthwhile endeavor, but it is never a simple one. Part two of this series covers five more common misconceptions.
Selling Your Business Is Easy: NOT! Part One
Selling your company is easy, right? Wrong. Selling a business is a complex process with a lot of moving parts. If the owner has never sold a business before, common misconceptions can derail outcomes.
Leveraged Finance 4Q24 Review
Leveraged Finance plays a crucial role in driving capital markets, particularly in M&A, private credit, and refinancing activities. As businesses navigate changing economic conditions, our review covers key trends.
6 New Year's Resolutions for the Enterprising Business Owner
With the New Year upon us, everyone is making personal resolutions to exercise more, eat healthier, or improve personal finances. While you are at it, why not consider resolutions for your business?
The PEO Revolution
Industry Growth and Opportunities. The PEO industry is evolving rapidly, with revenues projected to increase by 8-12% annually, driven by technological innovation and rising market demand.
Involving Management in the Transaction Process
When the owner contemplates selling their company, one important question is how to communicate with the management team. When? Who first? With what incentives? The answers shape the entire transaction.
Building Momentum: Construction & Engineering Trends 2Q24
In Q2 2024, Construction & Engineering demonstrated remarkable resilience despite economic challenges like high interest rates and supply chain disruptions. Companies adapted by divesting non-core assets.
Fastening the Future: Trends in Industrial Distribution
In Q2 2024, the industrial fasteners and distribution market experienced steady growth, driven by reshoring, automation, and adoption of new technologies despite ongoing economic pressures.
industry report?
CM&Co publishes quarterly market reports across our core sectors. Contact us to receive reports relevant to your industry directly.
The Business Exit
A practical guide series for owners, written by our team, on preparing, timing, and running the sale of a privately-held business.
Top 10 Mistakes Business Owners Make When Selling | Part One
Selling is unfamiliar, high-stakes territory. The first five mistakes owners make, from weak NDAs to over-sharing with unqualified buyers, and how to avoid them.
Top 10 Mistakes Business Owners Make When Selling | Part Two
Five more mistakes, plus a bonus, covering the LOI, exclusivity, negotiating power, responsiveness, and confidentiality before the deal closes.
8 Tell-Tale Signs an Owner Waited Too Long to Sell
Perfect timing is fragile. Eight signals that the window to sell on the owner's terms has started to close, and what each one means for value.
Dastardly Buyer Tricks: Part One
Five tricks some buyers try before the letter of intent, from constant extensions to bidding up an offer they never intend to honor, and how to spot them.
Dastardly Buyer Tricks: Part Two
Seven more tricks that surface after the LOI, from gotcha hunting to eleventh-hour demands, and why the seller's best defense is the will to walk away.
Owner Reinvestment: More Than an Investment Decision
Rollover equity is shaped by more than the numbers. How age, the buyer universe, net proceeds, and capital calls should guide whether to reinvest after a sale.
Business Lessons We Have Learned From Our Clients
After years of advising owners, the lessons run both ways. The most memorable things our clients have taught us about building a company worth buying.
Universal Advice for Sellers: Part Three
Timeless guidance we repeat to owners through the middle and late phases of a sale, from the management presentation to the working capital adjustment.
The 4 Phases of a Sale
What is actually involved in selling a company, and how long it takes. A clear walk through the four phases, from preparation to closing.
Is a Management Buyout (MBO) the Right Exit Strategy?
Selling to your own team can be the most streamlined path to closing. The indicators an MBO is viable, and the risks if it stalls.
10 Characteristics of Difficult-to-Value Companies
Valuation is rarely cut and dried. Ten traits, from cyclical earnings to intangible assets, that make a company especially hard to value.
Should You Answer the Call?
Unsolicited buyer calls arrive weekly. How to handle them, what to ask, and why to be cautious about disclosing too much, too soon.
Why the Best Buyer Isn't Biting
Owners often fixate on one perfect buyer. Why that buyer may not bite, and why a strong backup list is the real key to a successful sale.
Universal Advice for Sellers: Part One
The counsel we give owners most often during Phase I, from getting tax advice early to running the company as if you were not going to sell it.
Universal Advice for Sellers: Part Two
Advice for the middle and late phases, from keeping dry powder on add-backs to disclosing fully and closing when you are ready, not when it is convenient.
What is Fair Market Value?
It is theoretical until a deal closes. What fair market value really means, and why the process and competition for the company are what determine it.
The Unintended Consequences of a Sale
The sale process surfaces issues owners did not know they had, from tax exposure to weak contracts. Why preparing well in advance is the best defense.
Six Avoidable Transaction SNAFUs
Some deal-breakers are foreseeable. Six avoidable snags, from cross-collateralized real estate to overlooked consents, and how to clear them early.