Business Broker vs M&A Advisor — When to Use Which
The $5M deal-value cliff most owners don't see coming.
The bottom line
Under $2M sale price = broker territory. Over $5M = M&A advisor territory. The $2-5M gray zone is where most owners get the worst outcome — too big for a broker to run well, too small for most advisors to engage. If you're at $1.2M EBITDA and use a broker you probably leave 1-2 turns on the table. If you're at $700K EBITDA and chase an advisor you'll just pay more for a process that doesn't unlock different buyers.
Side-by-side comparison
| Aspect | Business Broker | M&A Advisor / Investment Banker |
|---|---|---|
| Typical deal size | <$2M sale price | $5M+ sale price (often $10M+) |
| Typical EBITDA threshold | $200K-$800K SDE | $1M+ EBITDA |
| Fee structure | 8-12% of sale price, often with a $20K-$40K minimum | 7-10% of sale price, $500K-$1M minimum fees |
| Process | List on BizBuySell, Sunbelt, or local marketplace. Buyer-to-broker direct. | Confidential auction with CIM, management presentations, structured timeline. Multi-bidder if you have the size for it. |
| Buyer pool | Individual SBA-financed buyers, occasional small competitor | PE platforms, strategics, family offices, larger competitors |
| Time to close | 6-12 months typical | 4-9 months if the data room is clean |
| Quality of execution | Highly variable; brand-name brokers (Murphy, Sunbelt) more consistent than indies | More consistent because barrier-to-entry is higher; bad advisors get filtered out by fee thresholds |
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Based on standard M&A practice and 4 years of healthcare-services M&A advisory experience. Edge cases vary by deal — not legal or tax advice. Methodology