Best Business Brokers in Midland, Texas
Permian Basin companies have the highest revenue per business in Texas and the least advisory coverage. Here is how to choose an M&A advisor, how buyers underwrite cyclical earnings, and what a $1M to $20M Midland company is worth.
An honest note about this page. This is Kingdom Broker's own page, not a directory and not a ranking. We do not score other firms and we are not going to pretend a list with our name at the top is research. What follows is the criteria we would use to hire an advisor for our own company, what a Midland business is realistically worth right now, and a plain description of how we work so you can decide whether we fit.
The Permian: big numbers, cyclical underwriting
Midland and Odessa produce companies with revenue figures that would look implausible anywhere else in Texas. Oilfield services, trucking and hauling, equipment rental, water management, fabrication and the housing and commercial services that support the workforce all run at a scale set by basin activity rather than by population.
That scale comes with a specific valuation problem. Buyers do not underwrite a peak year. They underwrite through the cycle. A Permian company that earned $6M of EBITDA in a strong year and $1.5M in a weak one gets valued on something closer to a normalized average, with the multiple adjusted for how much of the revenue is contracted rather than spot. Owners who anchor to their best year are frequently disappointed, and the disappointment is avoidable with an honest valuation up front.
Advisory coverage out here is genuinely thin. Most Permian transactions happen between parties who already know each other, brokered informally, priced by reference to whatever the last deal in town went for. That works until it does not, and it almost never produces a competitive number.
The Permian tell: contract structure beats revenue size every time. A hauling or service company with dedicated contracts, take or pay terms, or multi year master service agreements is underwritten off contracted cash flow. The same revenue booked on spot pricing is underwritten off the trough. That single distinction routinely moves a Permian valuation by two turns or more.
Midland EBITDA multiples by sector
These are working ranges for owner operated Midland companies with $1M to $20M of revenue and at least three years of history. Treat them as a starting frame, not a quote. Two companies with identical earnings routinely trade two turns apart because of the drivers in the right hand column.
| Sector | Adjusted EBITDA multiple | What moves you inside the range |
|---|---|---|
| Oilfield services and well support | 3.0x to 5.0x | Share of revenue under master service agreements or dedicated contracts versus spot work |
| Trucking, hauling and water logistics | 3.0x to 4.5x | Dedicated contract share, fleet age and driver retention |
| Equipment rental and fabrication | 3.5x to 5.5x | Utilization rate, fleet condition and customer diversification |
| Industrial and mechanical services | 4.0x to 6.0x | Recurring maintenance work and depth of supervisory management |
| Commercial and residential support services | 3.5x to 5.5x | Contract base and how much revenue depends on basin headcount |
Ranges apply to adjusted EBITDA after documented add backs. Furniture, fixtures and equipment are inside the multiple. Owned real estate is valued separately and shown with and without it. Illustrative, not a guarantee of value.
How to choose a business broker in Midland
Very few advisors understand cyclical energy earnings. Weight the sector experience question heavily and hold every advisor to these six standards.
| Criterion | What good looks like | The question to ask |
|---|---|---|
| Fee structure you can read in one sitting | A written success fee with the percentage, the breakpoints and the definition of transaction value on the same page. Any retainer disclosed in dollars, not described as 'nominal'. | Show me the fee section of your agreement before I sign an NDA. What exactly counts as transaction value: cash at close, escrow, earnout, assumed debt, the real estate? |
| Buyer network depth, not a listing site | A named, segmented buyer list the advisor can describe by type: private equity platforms, strategics in your trade, family offices, SBA backed individual operators. Real outreach, not a posting that waits for inbound. | How many buyers would you approach for a company my size in my trade, and how many of them have closed a deal in the last 18 months? |
| A confidentiality process that is written down | A blind teaser with no identifying detail, an NDA before anything else moves, staged disclosure, and a rule about when employees and customers learn anything. | Walk me through exactly what a buyer sees at each stage, and at what point my company name is revealed. |
| Sector experience that is specific | The advisor can talk about your add backs, your working capital cycle, your licensing and bonding, and what a buyer in your trade will discount. Generalists miss value that sector people find. | What are the three things a buyer will try to normalize out of my earnings, and how have you defended those before? |
| Who actually runs your deal | The person who pitched you is the person who negotiates. If the deal gets handed to a junior after signing, you learn that up front, not in month four. | Who writes my CIM, who calls the buyers, and who sits on the diligence calls? Name them. |
| An honest valuation, not a flattering one | A range with the drivers that move it, comparable transactions rather than rules of thumb, and a clear statement of what is inside the multiple. FF&E is inside the EBITDA multiple. Owned real estate is valued separately and shown with and without. | Show me the range and tell me what moves me from the bottom of it to the top. Does your number include my building? |
One more test that costs nothing: ask for the name and number of a seller they closed in the last year, in your sector. An advisor who cannot produce one has told you something useful.
Who buys Permian Basin companies
Permian companies draw a distinct buyer set. Private equity funds specializing in energy services understand the cyclicality and will pay for contracted cash flow, though they structure carefully. Strategic acquirers, usually a larger service company already in the basin, buy for equipment, crews and customer access and can move fastest. Individual operators using SBA financing are less common here because deal sizes and asset intensity often exceed what SBA structures handle comfortably.
The critical work in a Permian process is presentation. Buyers need to see normalized earnings, contracted versus spot revenue split out clearly, fleet condition documented, and a realistic capital expenditure picture. Companies that present that way get institutional bids. Companies that present a peak year get informal ones.
How a Kingdom Broker sale actually runs
Kingdom Broker is AI native M&A for Texas owners in the $1M to $20M range, working alongside The Vant Group, a Texas M&A firm with 26 years in the market and more than 700 closed transactions since 1999. Every engagement runs the same six steps.
- Confidential conversation. A private call about the business, the number you need and the timeline. Nothing is marketed and nothing is disclosed.
- Valuation with the drivers shown. A range built from comparable transactions, with the specific items that move you from the bottom of it to the top. FF&E sits inside the multiple. Owned real estate is valued separately and shown with and without.
- Preparation before exposure. Add back schedule, recast financials and a confidential information memorandum a buyer can underwrite. Problems get found here, while they can still be fixed.
- Screened, NDA gated outreach. A blind teaser goes to a buyer list matched on sector, size and structure. Your named competitors and customers are excluded before anyone is contacted.
- Competition, then terms. Multiple offers compared on cash at close and probability of closing, not headline price. Working capital target, escrow and any earnout get negotiated in the letter of intent, not at the end.
- Diligence to close. The same people who pitched you run diligence, manage the buyer's advisors and stay in it until the wire lands.
Where we work around Midland
We work with owners across Midland, Odessa, Big Spring, Andrews, Stanton, Monahans, Pecos, Seminole, Lamesa and the greater Permian Basin.
What Midland owners ask us first
How do buyers value a cyclical oilfield services company?
On normalized earnings rather than the best year, with the multiple set by how contracted the revenue is. Most Permian service companies land between 3.0x and 5.0x normalized adjusted EBITDA. Master service agreements, dedicated contracts and take or pay terms push toward the top. Pure spot market work pushes toward the bottom, because the buyer has to underwrite the trough.
What are my trucks and equipment worth in the sale?
They are inside the EBITDA multiple, not added to it. That surprises asset heavy owners more than any other point. What fleet condition changes is the deferred capital expenditure a buyer models. An aging fleet gets priced as a future cash requirement and deducted. Owned real estate and yards are different and get valued separately, shown with and without.
Should I wait for activity to pick up before selling?
Sometimes, and it should be a numbers decision rather than a hopeful one. Selling into a strengthening cycle usually means more cash at close and less structure. But waiting also means more years of capital spending, more driver turnover and more personal risk concentration. Get a normalized valuation now, model both paths, then decide.
Are there really institutional buyers looking at Midland?
Yes. Energy services focused private equity funds actively want Permian exposure, and strategic acquirers in the basin are consistently acquisitive. The reason most local owners never meet them is that most Permian deals are brokered informally between people who already know each other. A structured process reaches a completely different buyer set.
What does a business broker charge in Midland?
Sell side fees in Midland generally run as a success fee on transaction value, commonly in the 7 to 10 percent range at the lower end of the lower middle market and stepping down as deal size climbs. Most credible firms also charge a work fee or retainer, because building a real CIM and running a proper buyer process costs money before anything closes. Kingdom Broker charges a retainer that is lower than the market and offers a No-Cost Exit option for owners who qualify. Ask any advisor to show you the fee clause in writing before you sign anything.
Should I use a local Midland broker or a national firm?
Neither label predicts the outcome. What predicts the outcome is whether the person running your deal has closed companies your size in your trade, and whether their buyer list reaches beyond Midland. Local knowledge matters for pricing labor, permits and route density. National reach matters for finding the private equity platform or strategic acquirer who will pay the top of your range. You want both in one team, and you should ask for evidence of each.
Useful next steps
Find out what your Midland business is worth
A confidential valuation with the drivers shown, no listing, no exposure and no obligation. If the number is not what you need yet, we will tell you exactly what to fix and how long it takes.