Southwest Lab Service Firm Sold for $315K, Paid at Close

About the Business

• Industry: Business Services – Scientific Equipment Maintenance, Repair and Sales

• Location: Southwest

• Size: $250K–$500K in annual revenue, $100K–$150K in cash flow

• Sale price: $315,000

• Listing to signed LOI: 249 days

• Signed LOI to close: 91 days

The Challenge: Retiring From a Hands-On Service Business

The two owners ran every service call and the back office themselves, and they wanted to retire so they could travel. They needed a buyer willing to learn the work and take over their recurring maintenance clients.

249 Days to a Signed LOI: Turning a Seller-Financed Offer Into Cash at Close

What happened at every stage

1. Valuation: Baton valued the business when the owners signed on, then built the listing, the data room and recorded video interviews with the owners. The winning buyer later told the owners he had watched all of the videos.

2. Buyer Outreach: 107 buyers viewed the listing and 42 opened the data room. The owners met four buyers, and two submitted early offers.

3. Offer Selection and Negotiation Support: The eventual buyer's first offer relied mostly on seller financing, so Baton connected him with its lending partners. Once he had SBA term sheets, the Baton advisor walked him through Baton's LOI template, and he submitted an SBA-financed LOI with no seller note.

4. Diligence and Closing Support: The Baton advisor ran weekly diligence check-ins, stayed in contact with the bank on timelines and got the purchase agreement drafted early. The deal closed 91 days after the LOI.

The Results

The buyer is a first-time buyer with operations and management experience who runs the business himself as owner-operator. Through Baton's process, the business:

• Sold for $315,000, including the trade name, in an asset sale

• Closed with an SBA 7(a) loan arranged through a Baton lending partner

• Paid the owners at closing, with no seller note or earnout

What's next for the owners?

The owners sold so they could retire and travel, after two months of hands-on training for the new owner.

Advice and Lessons for Future Sellers

1. Help buyers get financing. A lender introduction turned an offer built on seller financing into a deal paid at closing.

2. Let buyers see you before they meet you. Owner video interviews gave the winning buyer confidence before his first call.

3. Keep diligence on a weekly rhythm. Regular check-ins and an early purchase-agreement draft kept a bank-financed deal moving to close.