6-7x for a Self-funded Search Deal? (Follow-up)

Adding a follow-up note given the significant amount of feedback. I'm surprised by how much traction the original post got - thanks for all of those who responded with thoughts and suggestions!

I'll add some additional facts about the business:
1) the business is effectively 100% recurring revenue --- it's not a SaaS business, but somewhat similar contractual revenue model
2) scaled businesses in the industry regularly trade for double digit EBITDA multiples given (scaled being above $3M EBITDA; probably even those starting at $2M EBITDA)
3) the business isn't growing 20% / yr today; it may be possible, but again has steadily grown 5-10% / yr for several years in a row
4) this is NOT a typical self-funded 90/10 leverage structure (I'd argue even the lower multiple businesses with that kind of leverage might be crazy). That said, the business can definitely support 3-4x leverage given the recurring nature (in a larger business that might even be conservative in some ways); then possibly 1x of equity rollover or partial buy-in; leaving a 1-2x equity raise roughly. Maybe an earn-out or seller-note fits in as well.
5) 7x is the ASK, not the bid - that multiple comes from the seller's accountant who did a valuation on the company two years ago - these are often meaningless, but unfortunately provide seller's with a valuation peg. That's now what this seller firmly believes that's what his business is worth, in fact even higher because the company has continued to grow. Hoping I can get the seller down to###-###-#### 6x, which is still healthy for a size business this size and still not a fit for the typical 90/10 self-funded SBA deal, but then seems much more attractive given the business dynamics, growth opportunities, and multiple expansion potential.

With those factors in mind, I'm curious to get any additional follow-up perspectives on whether there's investor appetite for a self-funded deal like this and how others would structure (or pass!) on the deal?

Luke - maybe there's a way to tag those who previously responded?

Thanks again!

_____

Original Post:
Looking at a business with $3M revenue and ~$750K in EBITDA. Seller wants ~7x. The business is entirely contracted and recurring revenue, a proprietary deal, and the company has grown consistently and steadily every year for the past 7 (including the COVID years). Seems very scalable with several opportunities for growth and strong fixed cost leverage as the topline grows. In traditional search, this seems like it might work.

Does anyone have perspective on doing a self-funded search deal like this?

Pretty rich multiple, but also a great business. Wondering if there's a thoughtful way to do it with seller financing, larger equity check than a typical self-funded deal, and potentially some equity rollover. May be just too high of a multiple for the size of business though.