How would you value a concrete installation business with SDE of ~350K?

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April 28, 2022

by a searcher from University of Connecticut in Charlotte, NC, USA

The business has new and underutilized equipment (liquidation value ~500K) as well as agreements to do repair work with local utilities. Agreements are up for renewal at year end and represent ~80% of work. Located in a growing southeast metro area. Rev ~$1MM.

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Reply by a searcher
from University of Virginia in Norfolk, VA, USA
Can't help much on the valuation, but some things to consider:

1. Sourcing - If you're in a metro area, then there should be a good selection of suppliers. Look to understand where the company does work and where the suppliers are. Concrete often must be refused if it takes more than 60 minutes to deliver from the plant (and ASTM standard is 90mins). This is especially relevant if they're doing work in outlying areas.

2. Employee Skillsets - Concrete can require a lot of technical expertise to finish correctly. If the company does a lot of utility work, I would expect most of the jobs to be sidewalks, curbs, etc. which require experience but not a master level. If the company does interior finished concrete, then that's more specialized and you want to ensure all of the experience doesn't reside with one person (or that the one person will stay on after the acquisition).

3. Contractor Relationships - Does the company do most of the work contracted directly with utility companies and local utility departments, or is most of their work as a subcontractor? If they're a sub. you need to understand the current owner's relationship with the GCs and how those relationships might be affected if you become the owner.
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Reply by a searcher
in Tyler, TX, USA
Valuation for me would depend on how "sticky" the annual renewals are. Have they had them for 1 year or 10 years? I would probably value it in a 3-4x SDE range. Higher if the revenue is more recurring and if there's capacity to fill with the equipment. Lower if the opposite is true (or if capex is meaningful and will suck up a lot of that cash flow).
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