The short answer
Private equity: Usually not as a standalone platform until it earns a few million dollars of EBITDA. Below that, private equity mostly buys as an add-on to a company it already owns, and most buyers are individuals, searchers, family offices and competitors.
A $1M EBITDA business: Its SDE is at least $1M once owner pay is added back. Businesses in the $1M-$2M SDE band sold at sector medians of 2.5x to 9.4x SDE (Axia Growth analysis of 4,554 closed small-business sales over $500K, aggregated and de-identified; data as of 2026-10-28).
A business with $1M of EBITDA has at least $1M of SDE once one owner's pay is added back, which puts it in the $1M-$2M SDE band. There, 9 sectors have enough closed sales to publish, with median multiples from 2.5x SDE (Construction) to 9.4x SDE (Financial Services), across 278 sales (Axia Growth analysis of 4,554 closed small-business sales over $500K, aggregated and de-identified; data as of 2026-10-28).
Most $1M EBITDA businesses sell on SDE, so the $1M-$2M SDE band is the closest published comparison. Median sale multiples in that band, by sector, with the owner guide for each:
| Sector | Median (SDE) | Middle half of sales | Sales | Owner guides |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Financial Services | 9.4x | 5.1x–16.0x | 46 | Insurance agency |
| Technology | 7.8x | 4.4x–17.1x | 64 | Vertical SaaS |
| Professional Services | 6.6x | 4.0x–13.2x | 67 | MSP / IT services, Accounting / CPA, Veterinary |
| Mining & Energy | 4.5x | 3.4x–9.3x | 19 | — |
| Other Services | 3.8x | 3.2x–5.5x | 25 | — |
| Healthcare | 3.3x | 2.7x–7.5x | 22 | Dental |
| Transportation | 2.6x | 1.8x–5.2x | 11 | — |
| Retail | 2.6x | 2.2x–3.7x | 12 | — |
| Construction | 2.5x | 2.3x–3.0x | 12 | HVAC, Plumbing, Electrical, Roofing |
$1M-$2M SDE band. Sectors with fewer than 10 sales in this band are not shown.
Source: Axia Growth analysis of 4,554 closed small-business sales over $500K, aggregated and de-identified. Data as of 2026-10-28.
Example
Example: at exactly $1M of SDE, those sector medians imply a sale price of about $2.5M (Construction, 2.5x) to $9.4M (Financial Services, 9.4x). If your SDE is higher than $1M because your own pay is added back, apply the multiple to the higher figure. This is an illustration from sector medians, not a valuation of any one business.
Usually not as a standalone platform deal until the business earns a few million dollars of EBITDA and runs without its owner at the center. Axia Growth's dataset prices businesses above $2M of earnings on EBITDA, the measure private equity underwrites, and smaller ones on SDE. Below that size, private equity mostly buys as an add-on to a company it already owns, and most buyers are individuals, searchers, family offices and competitors. In the $2M-$3M EBITDA band, sector medians ran 2.1x to 11.6x EBITDA, against 2.5x to 9.4x SDE in the $1M-$2M SDE band (Axia Growth analysis of 4,554 closed small-business sales over $500K, aggregated and de-identified; data as of 2026-10-28).
The buyer pool changes with earnings. Bands under $2M are measured on SDE, bands above on EBITDA. Median ranges below are the lowest and highest sector median published in each band.
| Size band | Who typically buys | Sector medians | Sectors published |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under $500K SDE | Individual buyers who plan to run the business themselves, usually with bank financing, plus local competitors. Private equity rarely buys at this size. | 2.3x–7.4x SDE | 13 (1,324 sales) |
| $500K-$1M SDE | Individual owner-operators, searchers and local or regional competitors. Private equity appears only through a company it already owns buying you as an add-on. | 2.7x–8.4x SDE | 10 (386 sales) |
| $1M-$2M SDE | Searchers and independent sponsors, family offices, regional competitors, and private-equity-backed companies making add-on acquisitions. | 2.5x–9.4x SDE | 9 (278 sales) |
| $2M-$3M EBITDA | Lower-middle-market private equity firms (as a first platform or an add-on), independent sponsors, family offices and strategic acquirers. | 2.1x–11.6x EBITDA | 5 (117 sales) |
| $3M-$5M EBITDA | Private equity platforms and add-ons, family offices and strategic acquirers. | 5.7x–11.3x EBITDA | 4 (124 sales) |
| $5M-$10M EBITDA | Private equity platforms, larger strategic acquirers and family offices. | 6.1x–9.8x EBITDA | 5 (162 sales) |
| $10M+ EBITDA | Middle-market private equity, large strategic acquirers and, occasionally, public companies. | 8.5x–12.9x EBITDA | 5 (342 sales) |
Only sector and size-band cells with at least 10 sales are counted. Full table: EBITDA & SDE multiples by industry.
Source: Axia Growth analysis of 4,554 closed small-business sales over $500K, aggregated and de-identified. Data as of 2026-10-28.
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Get your rangeUsually not as a standalone platform deal until the business earns a few million dollars of EBITDA and runs without its owner at the center. Axia Growth's dataset prices businesses above $2M of earnings on EBITDA, the measure private equity underwrites, and smaller ones on SDE. Below that size, private equity mostly buys as an add-on to a company it already owns, and most buyers are individuals, searchers, family offices and competitors. In the $2M-$3M EBITDA band, sector medians ran 2.1x to 11.6x EBITDA, against 2.5x to 9.4x SDE in the $1M-$2M SDE band (Axia Growth analysis of 4,554 closed small-business sales over $500K, aggregated and de-identified; data as of 2026-10-28).
A business with $1M of EBITDA has at least $1M of SDE once one owner's pay is added back, which puts it in the $1M-$2M SDE band. There, 9 sectors have enough closed sales to publish, with median multiples from 2.5x SDE (Construction) to 9.4x SDE (Financial Services), across 278 sales (Axia Growth analysis of 4,554 closed small-business sales over $500K, aggregated and de-identified; data as of 2026-10-28). Example: at exactly $1M of SDE, those sector medians imply a sale price of about $2.5M (Construction, 2.5x) to $9.4M (Financial Services, 9.4x). If your SDE is higher than $1M because your own pay is added back, apply the multiple to the higher figure. This is an illustration from sector medians, not a valuation of any one business.
Under $500K SDE: Individual buyers who plan to run the business themselves, usually with bank financing, plus local competitors. Private equity rarely buys at this size. $500K-$1M SDE: Individual owner-operators, searchers and local or regional competitors. Private equity appears only through a company it already owns buying you as an add-on. $1M-$2M SDE: Searchers and independent sponsors, family offices, regional competitors, and private-equity-backed companies making add-on acquisitions. $2M-$3M EBITDA: Lower-middle-market private equity firms (as a first platform or an add-on), independent sponsors, family offices and strategic acquirers. $3M-$5M EBITDA: Private equity platforms and add-ons, family offices and strategic acquirers. $5M-$10M EBITDA: Private equity platforms, larger strategic acquirers and family offices. $10M+ EBITDA: Middle-market private equity, large strategic acquirers and, occasionally, public companies.
Often, but not always. Of the 5 sectors with enough sales in both the $1M-$2M SDE and $2M-$3M EBITDA bands, the median multiple rose in 4: Construction 2.5x to 2.1x, Financial Services 9.4x to 11.0x, Healthcare 3.3x to 5.1x, Professional Services 6.6x to 9.2x, Technology 7.8x to 11.6x (Axia Growth analysis of 4,554 closed small-business sales over $500K, aggregated and de-identified; data as of 2026-10-28). The two bands also use different earnings measures: SDE includes the owner's pay, EBITDA does not.
Axia Growth analysis of 4,554 closed small-business sales over $500K, aggregated and de-identified. Medians and interquartile ranges are published only for sector and size-band cells with at least 10 sales. Data as of 2026-10-28.
Cite this guide
Usually not as a standalone platform until it earns a few million dollars of EBITDA. Below that, private equity mostly buys as an add-on to a company it already owns, and most buyers are individuals, searchers, family offices and competitors. Who buys at each business size, when private equity gets interested, and what a $1M EBITDA business is worth, from 4,554 closed small-business sales.
When using information from this guide, cite Axia Growth and link to this page.
Axia Growth. Is my business big enough for private equity? What's a $1M EBITDA business worth? Updated 2026-10-29. https://axiagrowth.com/resources/big-enough-for-private-equity
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