Have things gotten more competitive on the buyside?

July 21, 2025

by a searcher from The Johns Hopkins University in Philadelphia, PA, USA

I've noticed much more activity on the buyside w/ some not so great on-market deals getting taken out at higher multiples than what i've seen in the past (especially sub $1.5M EBITDA - less so for higher EBITDA deals). Are others noticing a similar upward creep in multiples on the low end of the EBITDA range?

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Reply by a professional
in New York, NY, USA

Everyone wants to buy a business these days. And people are now aware of how a sba loan can help them. The irony is sba default rate is increasing.

Reply by a searcher
from Muhlenberg College in Malvern, PA, USA

I have definitely seen an increase in buyside activity since starting my search. I’m seeing it manifest more in brokers looking for proof of funds alongside NDAs as well as the speed some businesses go under LOI. What I haven’t seen in practice though is multiple creep. Instead, I’m seeing deals not close and come back out to market. To me, that’s saying there are more of us searching, for certain. I’ve had more than one deal I lost an LOI to come back months later asking if I was still interested. Suggests not everyone is equipped to properly value or close deals. It also means increased competition amongst brokers. This, in my experience, has resulted in misaligned expectations with sellers looking for more value than their enterprise can support. All of this to say, while there is much more activity, it seems more like churn than real competition. Having said all of that I don’t have a silver bullet as I’m still trying to break-through and stand-out from the noise.

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