Last Updated: March 28th, 2024
As crucial a role as M&A advisory firms play in the sale of private businesses, it’s a category with a somewhat opaque dataset surrounding it. While information on the size and deal terms of public sector transactions is widely available, the same isn’t true for the private sector.
Our research team created an algorithm based on data available for private sector-focused M&A advisory firms. We mainly chose firms that serve the lower middle market, ranging from $5M – $200M in revenue.
Our criteria for the rankings algorithm were as follows:
| Name | Description | Weight |
| Total Deals | Total # M&A deals closed between Q2 2023 and Q2 2024 with the firm named as the advisor. | 50% |
| Principle Experience Score | A multi-factor analysis calculating the experience of the firm’s principals, taking into account their tenure in M&A, the reputation of previous firms they were employed at, and the percentage of deals they touch on in their current firm. | 30% |
| Rankings in Major Publications | Awards, accolades, or other notable mentions over the last calendar year from recognized M&A organizations. | 20% |
For each criterion, we allocated points to the firms based on which percentile they fell within along the continuum of their peers after a normalization of the range.
Firm | EBITDA Range | Total Annual Deals (Estimated) | Principal Experience Score | Notable Rankings (2023-2024) | Specialty | |
1 | $1 – 30M | 45 – 72 | 4.5 | #1 S&P Global Market Intelligence League Tables | Sell-side advisory for mid-market companies | |
2 | $50M+ | 197 | 5 | #1 WSJ Global M&A Advisor Ranking | M&A advisory for large private enterprises & public companies, including international | |
3 | $50M | 116 | 5 | #8 S&P Global Market Intelligence League Tables | M&A advisory for large private & public companies | |
4 | $10 – 100M | 5 – 10 | 4.5 | #17 Canada’s Top Investment Banks | Sell-side advisory for architecture & interior design firms | |
5 | $5 – $50 Million | 15 – 25 | 4.5 | #9 Asia Pacific M&A Advisory League Tables | Sell-side advisory for beauty & personal care companies | |
6 | $500k – 1 million | 2 – 5 | 4 | #12 Top 25 Lower Middle Market Investment Banks [Q3 2023] | Buy-side advisory for the industrial sector | |
7 | $750k – $3 Million | 3 – 8 | 3.5 | #1 Inc.com’s Top 9 M&A Sell-Side Advisors | Sell-side advisory for small businesses, largely in the vacation rental sector | |
8 | Fricke & Associates | $500k – 1 million | 5 – 15 | 3.5 | N/A | Buy- and sell-side advisory for small (<$1m EBITDA) law & tax firms |
9 | La Piana | $500k – $1 Million | 1 – 5 | 3.5 | N/A | Strategic consulting for nonprofits, foundations & social enterprises |
Below we offer a summary of each of the top M&A advisory firms based on our research, as well as a summary of online sentiment about the firm among industry peers and clients.
Sica | Fletcher
It is impossible to compile a list of the top M&A advisory firms without coming across Sica | Fletcher. They have held the #1 position in their field since their founding in 2014. They are categorically ranked #1 by the S&P global market intelligence league tables, which measure the overall quality of M&A firms, and they close 45-60 deals per year – roughly 10x the average for a firm their size. While more does not necessarily mean better, it shows that, even during the market downturn last year, they’re getting deals across the finish line.
Sica | Fletcher works with lower mid-market clients across a variety of industries but, judging from the companies they list on their website, has advised quite a bit of professional services and tech companies.
- EBITDA Range: $1 – 30M
- Total Annual Deals (Annual): 45-72
- Principal Experience Score: 4.5
- Notable Rankings: #1 (S&P Global Market Intelligence League Table)
- Specialty: Sell-side advisory for mid-market companies
- Contact: Sica Fletcher Website
| Summary of Industry Reviews |
| Sica | Fletcher’s team are “great dealmakers behind the scenes”, providing clients with “a level of support above and beyond expectations” throughout the process. |
Goldman Sachs
Probably the biggest name in M&A, Goldman has been offering buy-side and sell-side services for more than 150 years. Although they have a reputation for representing large private or public companies generally, they’ve been expanding their range of services towards a particularly international focus in the last five years, including “cross-border M&A, special committee assignments, and other complicated merger transactions.”
Because of their experience with large enterprises, they seek clients with an EBITDA target north of $50M, and are known for aggressively negotiating, striking deals far better than the company would get with a more traditional M&A advisory firm. They have an equally aggressive fee structure for their services, which clients seem happy to pay.
- EBITDA Target: $50M+
- Total Annual Deals (Annual): 197
- Principal Experience Score: 5
- Notable Rankings: #1 (WSJ Global M&A Advisor Ranking)
- Specialty: M&A advisory for large private enterprises & public companies, including international
- Contact: Goldman Sachs Website
| Summary of Industry Reviews |
| Goldman Sachs has a “talented cross-functional team” that “made significant changes to [the] marketing strategy, resulting in a better deal.” However, “you sometimes feel left behind” by the massiveness of the firm. |
Morgan Stanley
Another well-established name in M&A, Morgan Stanley has a decidedly different reputation from Goldman Sachs despite catering to similar clients. Their services are rooted in a more conservative, traditional M&A philosophy (divestitures, joint ventures, corporate restructuring, and leveraged buyouts). Although they work in the international sphere as well, their expertise remains in domestic deals.
Morgan Stanley is a good fit for companies seeking to mitigate potential losses in a complicated sale, or on the buy side, firms exploring a standard horizontal or vertical merger strategy.
- EBITDA Target: $50M+
- Total Annual Deals (Annual): 116
- Principal Experience Score: 5
- Notable Rankings: #8 (S&P Global Market Intelligence League Tables)
- Specialty: M&A advisory for large private & public companies
- Contact: Using their Morgan Stanley Website
| Summary of Industry Reviews |
| Morgan Stanley “was on top of our needs from day one.” While at times the relationship “felt a bit impersonal”, they provide clients with “extensive due diligence that gave us deeper insight into our own company.” |
BMI
BMI offers buy and sell side M&A advisory across a variety of industries. The firm is known not just for M&A negotiations but also post-acquisition integration for large enterprises. Recently, they have come to specialize in architecture and interior design companies, and have also done deals in the construction sector.
BMI doubles as an investment bank in addition to offering M&A advisory services, making them a good fit for clients seeking additional services, such as underwriting and commercial banking, beyond just negotiating deals. They’re also a good fit for public companies working through issues related to SEC regulations.
- EBITDA Range: $10 – 100M
- Total Annual Deals (Annual): 5-10
- Principal Experience Score: 4.5
- Notable Rankings: #17 (Canada’s Top Investment Banks)
- Specialty: Sell-side advisory for architecture & interior design firms
- Contact: BMI Website
| Summary of Industry Reviews |
| BMI produces fast results, “generat[ing] an LOI within 60 days of going to market.” Their teams also provide clients with “various opportunities to grow the business,” if they feel they need more time. |
Intrepid
Intrepid occupies a unique niche within retail M&A, specializing in the beauty industry, particularly within the Asian-Pacific market. Because of the expected growth of the beauty sector in the coming years (predicted CAGR of 4.64%), they’ve turned a lot of their firm’s focus to finding pricing models and deal terms that suit that industry. Intrepid’s sell-side services, which are executed by industry veterans, include targeted, full search purchasing services that connect buyers to the right sellers.
Although Intrepid specializes in beauty, they’ve also represented other consumer industries such as toys, food, and healthcare. This experience gives their M&A advisory arm a well-rounded framework while still offering clients specialty in a niche market.
- EBITDA Range: $5 – $50 Million
- Total Annual Deals (Annual): 15-25
- Principal Experience Score: 4
- Notable Rankings: #9 (Asia Pacific M&A Advisory League Tables)
- Specialty: Sell-side advisory for beauty & personal care companies
- Contact: Using their Intrepid Website
| Summary of Industry Reviews |
| Intrepid excels at capital raising services, providing the “necessary cash infusion to our startup in a heroic time frame.” They also record favorable deal results, in one case “getting our deal done with collateral that amounted to 70% LTV” but some felt the executives could have been more involved in the process. |
The Hatteras Group
The Hatteras Group works on behalf of smaller, mostly industrial-focused businesses, offering buy and sell-side M&A services plus growth advisory and capital sourcing. This combination gives their sell-side clients the opportunity to grow revenue prior to a sale in order to get a higher valuation and their buy-side clients a more appealing range of acquisition targets.
Hatteras Group’s experience in the industrial sector means they are typically working with companies in HVAC, contracting, trucking, & manufacturing.
- EBITDA Range: $500k – $1 Million
- Total Annual Deals (Annual): 2-5
- Principal Experience Score: 4
- Notable Rankings: #12 (Top 25 Lower Middle Market Investment Banks [Q3 2023])
- Specialty: Buy-side advisory for the industrial sector
- Contact: The Hatteras Group Website
| Summary of Industry Reviews |
| The Hatteras Group provides “expert advisors who clearly had researched my industry.” Their initial research leads buyers to a “smooth auction process that quickly found the best buyer” for their clients. |
Rain Catcher
Rain Catcher caters to small businesses and startups, primarily in the vacation rental sector, offering a “hands-off,” data-driven approach to M&A. They offer clients comprehensive audits wherein they conduct interviews, perform industry research, and review existing legal and corporate documentation on behalf of clients. Having this data ensures better deal outcomes and avoids discrepancies during negotiations.
Rain Catcher is a good fit for hands-on clients – small business owners who have already sold companies in the past and have a framework in which they prefer to operate, or owners who already retain in-house advisors. For these types of clients, Rain Catcher’s analytical, data-driven approach makes them attractive.
- EBITDA Range: $750K – $5 Million
- Total Annual Deals (Annual): 7-8
- Principal Experience Score: 3.5
- Notable Rankings: #1 (Inc.com’s Top 9 M&A Sell-Side Advisors)
- Specialty: Sell-side advisory for small businesses, largely in the vacation rental sector
- Contact: Rain Catcher Website
| Summary of Industry Reviews |
| Rain Catcher’s teams demonstrate “expertise, ethics, and a true concern for our outcome.” Their services cater to less-experienced business owners: “They explained the entire process to us, and had a well-organized system already in place.” |
Fricke & Associates
Serving law firms and tax companies since their founding in 1999, Fricke & Associates has a customer service-oriented reputation that speaks to first-time buyers and sellers seeking advisory services that will hand-hold them through M&A negotiations. They also advise clients on internal restructuring and leading management teams through M&A transitions.
Fricke & Associates specializes in attorneys and law firms, but smaller private practices in various fields would also likely benefit from their expertise since they tend to have similar EBITDA ranges and operating structures.
- EBITDA Range: $500k – $1 Million
- Total Annual Deals (Annual): 5-15
- Principal Experience Score: 3.5
- Notable Rankings: N/A
- Specialty: Buy and sell-side advisory for small (<$1m EBITDA) law & tax firms
- Contact: Fricke & Associates Website
| Summary of Industry Reviews |
| Fricke & Associates provides “honest and reliable service and communication” using their “patient and professional” teams. |
La Piana
The non-profit sector is an often-overlooked niche in M&A, which makes having the right partner that much more essential. La Piana fills that need by supplying consultants experienced in collaborations, alliances, and strategic restructuring on behalf of clients. Taking this more holistic approach to M&A allows La Piana to act on behalf of their clients while guiding negotiations towards a closing that reflects the partnered world of the non-profit sector.
- EBITDA Range: $500k – $1 Million
- Total Annual Deals (Annual): 1-5
- Principal Experience Score: 3.5
- Notable Rankings: N/A
- Specialty: Strategic consulting for nonprofits, foundations & social enterprises
- Contact: La Piana Website
| Summary of Industry Reviews |
| La Piana excels at guiding clients through complex restructuring, providing “on-point advice and practical support to our senior management and board leadership.” Their teams are “rigorous, responsive, and a superb team to work with.” |
The tables below rank M&A advisory firms by characteristics that may be of interest to sellers, buyers, and prospective employees.
| Top M&A Advisory Firms By Deal Volume | |||||
| # | Firm | Average Client EBITDA Range | Total Annual Deals | Principal Experience Score | Notable Rankings |
1 | Goldman Sachs | $50M+ | 197 | 5 | #1 WSJ Global M&A Advisor Ranking |
2 | Morgan Stanley | $50M | 116 | 5 | #8 S&P Global Market Intelligence League Tables |
3 | Sica | Fletcher | $1 – 30M | 45 – 72 | 4.5 | #1 S&P Global Market Intelligence League Tables |
4 | BMI | $10 – 100M | 5 – 10 | 4.5 | #17 Canada’s Top Investment Banks |
5 | Fricke & Associates | $500k – 1 million | 5 – 15 | 3.5 | N/A |
| Top M&A Advisory Firms for SaaS Businesses | |||||
| # | Firm | Average Client EBITDA Range | Total Annual Deals | Principal Experience Score | Notable Rankings |
1 | Sica | Fletcher | $1 – 30M | 45 – 72 | 4.5 | #1 S&P Global Market Intelligence League Tables |
2 | The Hatteras Group | $500k – 1 million | 2 – 5 | 4 | #12 Top 25 Lower Middle Market Investment Banks [Q3 2023] |
3 | BMI | $10 – 100M | 5 – 10 | 4.5 | #17 Canada’s Top Investment Banks |
4 | Rain Catcher | $750k – $3 Million | 3 – 8 | 3.5 | #1 Inc.com’s Top 9 M&A Sell-Side Advisors |
5 | Intrepid | $5 – $50 Million | 15 – 25 | 4.5 | #9 Asia Pacific M&A Advisory League Tables |
| Top M&A Advisory Firms for Fintech | |||||
| # | Firm | Average Client EBITDA Range | Total Annual Deals | Principal Experience Score | Notable Rankings |
1 | Goldman Sachs | $50M+ | 197 | 5 | #1 WSJ Global M&A Advisor Ranking |
2 | Sica | Fletcher | $1 – 30M | 45 – 72 | 4.5 | #1 S&P Global Market Intelligence League Tables |
3 | BMI | $10 – 100M | 5 – 10 | 4.5 | #17 Canada’s Top Investment Banks |
4 | Intrepid | $5 – $50 Million | 15 – 25 | 4.5 | #9 Asia Pacific M&A Advisory League Tables |
5 | Morgan Stanley | $50M | 119 | 5 | #8 S&P Global Market Intelligence League Tables |
| Top M&A Advisory Firms to Work At | |||||
| # | Firm | Average Client EBITDA Range | Total Annual Deals | Principal Experience Score | Notable Rankings |
1 | Intrepid | $5 – $50 Million | 15 – 25 | 4.5 | #9 Asia Pacific M&A Advisory League Tables |
| 2 | La Piana | $500k – $1 Million | 1 – 5 | 3.5 | N/A |
3 | BMI | $10 – 100M | 5 – 10 | 4.5 | #17 Canada’s Top Investment Banks |
4 | Sica | Fletcher | $1 – 30M | 45 – 72 | 4.5 | #1 S&P Global Market Intelligence League Tables |
5 | Rain Catcher | $750k – $3 Million | 3 – 8 | 3.5 | #1 Inc.com’s Top 9 M&A Sell-Side Advisors |
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