EST. 2005 Boutique M&A Advisory · Clinton, Connecticut · Northeast & Nationwide
Your dedicated exit strategy partner.
Touchstone Advisors is a boutique mergers & acquisitions advisory firm serving lower middle market business owners throughout the Northeast and nationwide. With more than two decades of experience and 500+ completed transactions, we bring a disciplined process and senior-level advisor involvement to every engagement — from preparing your business for sale through closing the transaction.
Portland Head Light — Maine coastGuiding exits since 2005
Firm credentials
With over 500 successfully completed M&A transactions, we bring the experience, relationships, and process discipline required to close deals and maximize enterprise value. M&A methodology for mid-market companies — applied with a personalized, confidential approach to every ownership transfer.
INSTRUMENT 01 Estimate of Value · Part Science, Part Art
What would a third-party buyer pay for your business today?
Our Estimate of Value (EOV) gives owners a realistic understanding of their company's value in today's marketplace — built on actual private-company transaction data, our internal financial model, and normalizing adjustments that show your business the way a buyer sees it. Adjust the inputs below for an indicative range.
Your company
Lower middle market parameters — $5M to $100M revenue.
Normalizing adjustments recast tax-purpose financials into the earnings a third-party buyer would actually expect — the crucial step most informal valuations skip.
Indicative EOV range
EBITDA × market multiple · ±15% band · private-company cost of capital.
Value sensitivity across the $0.5M–$20M EBITDA band at your selected multiple. Marker shows your position.
Exit Advantage readiness
Our proprietary 10-step program for owners planning an exit in the next 2–5 years. Check what's complete.
A structured head start — the bi-annual review cadence keeps this current.
Multiple databases detail private-company valuations and prices based on actual transactions — sales, gross profit, and adjusted cash-flow metrics (EBIT / EBITDA).
Our internally developed model uses a private-company-specific cost of capital to determine earnings multiples and value ranges, calibrated against current-market sales data.
Financial statements prepared for tax reporting are adjusted to accurately represent value to a third-party buyer — a fair, complete, unbiased view of the company.
Every component in one market-based recommendation. For larger companies we incorporate ranges that active private equity groups would expect to pay at your size and sector.
More than 15 years of time-tested EOV procedures deliver accurate, timely, realistic information for well-informed decisions — evaluating exit options, establishing a baseline for internal transitions to the next generation or current management, and benchmarking for strategic financial planning. Fee ranges shown reflect published lower-middle-market benchmarks (retainer $5K–$15K/mo, typically credited; success fee 3–8% of EV).
INSTRUMENT 02 Current Engagements · Strictly Confidential
The deal vault — live lower middle market opportunities.
A selection of active and recently completed engagements across the Northeast and nationwide. Financial details are released only under executed confidentiality — the same discipline we promise every seller.
INSTRUMENT 03 Transaction Archive · Since 2005
Five hundred closings leave a paper trail.
The aggregate record is verified; the entries below are a representative 40-deal sample modeled on our sector, geography, and size mix. Filter the ledger, or open any tombstone for the deal story.
| Closed | Code name | Sector | EV | EBITDA | Multiple | Buyer | Geography |
|---|
INSTRUMENT 04 The Disciplined Process · Preparation Through Close
Eight stages. Senior advisors on every one of them.
The same investment banking mergers & acquisition model used on Wall Street, combined with our proprietary Exit Advantage program — a disciplined process with senior-level advisor involvement from preparing the business for sale through closing. Select a stage to see its tasks, documents, and owners. Drag the timeline to simulate your deal.
CREATING MARKETS Three Marketplace Principles
“Different buyers will pay very different prices for the same business. The seller's only job is to make them compete.”
Traditional negotiation tactics often lead to disadvantages for the seller. Our goal: find the best buyers, then use a competitive process to secure the highest and best offers.
Different buyers will pay very different prices for the identical business — because each brings a different set of opportunities and synergies to the table.
The strategic acquirer with the most opportunity will be able to pay the highest price — synergies convert directly into purchase price.
That strategic acquirer will never offer all a business is worth to them — so long as they can buy it at a lower price. Competition, not negotiation, closes the gap.
The Touchstone Solution
We identify the strategic opportunities available to buyers in the market, market the business without a price to strategic and synergistic acquirers, private equity groups, family offices, and individuals — identify the acquirers who would benefit most from those opportunities, and place them in competition with one another so the highest possible selling price is achieved.
INSTRUMENT 05 Buyer Universe · Northeast & Nationwide
We already know who would want your company.
A lower middle market sell-side process typically puts 60–150 qualified buyers under confidentiality. Filter our relationship model by sector and buyer type to see where strategic and financial appetite concentrates.
OUR PEOPLE Excellence Is Our Foundation
Senior bankers on your deal — not handed to juniors.
Our team is composed of experienced, trusted professionals focused on building relationships with clients throughout the process. Each member possesses extensive market knowledge and the expertise to serve both domestic and international companies — collectively, 100+ years of banking experience.
Leadership
M&A Advisors
Industry Advisory Board
Behind Every Deal
WHAT WE DO Three Components of the Practice, One Methodology
More than brokers — a comprehensive exit strategy.
Touchstone provides merger and acquisition services to the lower middle market, utilizing decades of industry experience to provide the best possible path for each owner and family business we represent. We customize our services based on each unique situation, and work closely with clients to achieve their goals — with integrity and ethical conduct aligning our efforts to client goals throughout the M&A process.
Sell-Side Mergers & Acquisitions
Experienced M&A advisors and investment bankers specializing in the sale of privately held businesses, primarily with revenues between $5M and $100M. When it's time to sell, our process is designed to be thorough, confidential, and to attract a large pool of qualified buyers — resulting in maximum value for business owners.
- Competitive sell-side process resulting in multiple competing offers
- Exclusive representation of sellers — and buyers
- Multi-industry experience across the lower middle market
- A sterling reputation built on confidential, personalized execution
Exit Advantage® — 10-Step Program
An exclusive 10-step program developed for business owners who plan to exit in the next 2–5 years. The goal: prepare the business for a future sale so the transaction maximizes shareholder value. Exit Advantage dives deep on owner and business readiness, industry competitive benchmarking, operational optimization, detailed financial analysis, tax optimization, and assessing operational risk from the buyer's perspective.
- Owner Readiness Review
- Business Readiness Review
- Business Financial Assessment
- Recast Financials
- Range of Value
- Tax Optimization
- Acquirer Risk Assessment
- Transition Options
- Value Enhancement Initiatives
- Bi-annual Review
Buy-Side Services
Touchstone's Buy-Side Services identify quality acquisition targets in the lower middle market. A proven multi-step process develops screening criteria to identify, select, and negotiate the best deal possible.
- Pre-emptive, off-market deals sourced before broad auctions
- Focused efforts leading to private, one-on-one negotiations
- Multiple choices for investment — never a single-option path
- Strategy-driven deals that add value on multiple levels
Investment Banking & Debt Capital
Investment banking services are provided through Four Points Capital Partners LLC, an independent broker-dealer. Along with Four Points Capital, our team collectively touts over 100 years of banking experience, resulting in billions of dollars of transactions — delivered with a focus on integrity and ethical conduct.
Securities offered through Ceiba Financial LLC, member FINRA / SIPC. Touchstone Advisors and Ceiba Financial LLC are separate and unaffiliated entities.
INDUSTRIES WE SERVE Privately Held · Family Owned · $5M–$100M Revenue
If you built it in the Northeast, we've likely sold one like it.
Indicative EBITDA multiples reflect the ranges our EOV model currently applies by sector — the science side of the art. Your multiple is earned in the recast, the buyer universe, and the auction.
Precision manufacturing — the Northeast's largest sell-side sector
BEGIN Confidential · No Obligation · Senior Advisor on Every Call
Your life's work deserves a confidential conversation first.
Every business owner gets an individual process. Tell us where you are — exploring, two years out, or ready this quarter — and a senior member of the firm will respond personally.
Request a Confidential Conversation
Your details go only to the senior team. No newsletters, no list-sharing.