Last updated: October 2026
For a founder-owned California company with $10M to $100M in revenue, we rank highest here, and Generational Equity and Benchmark International follow. In our experience, large banks fit companies above $100M in revenue and brokerages fit sellers under $5M. The lower middle market sits between them.
Kinected Advisors prepared this comparison, and we scored all eight firms on the criteria below. Full disclosure: we wrote this comparison and we’re on it, in first place. The weights are ours, and we show them below so you can re-weight them yourself. The only source for the other firms was what each firm states on its own website, except Houlihan Lokey’s headquarters, which comes from public filings, and we link each one. Our own California sales, from Pride Resource Partners in San Diego to Power Plumbing, show what a process looks like when named partners run it.
Key Takeaways
- Every firm scored here has a California office. Houlihan Lokey's site blocks automated reading, so its Los Angeles headquarters comes from public filings rather than its own pages.
- We rank first for owners in the $10M to $100M band. We're the only firm here that publishes a close rate (89%, firm-reported). We're one of two firms, with Generational Equity, that pair an early exit-planning start with a named pre-sale program.
- Four of the eight firms name three or more California sales on their own pages. The other four name one or two California sales, or none we could place.
- Before you sign with anyone, ask for the last three California sales with the buyer named and the number of offers each one drew.
How We Evaluated
How Were the Firms Scored?
Kinected Advisors prepared this comparison, and the weights are our own. We scored each firm out of 100 on five weighted criteria, using only what the firm states on its own website, read in October 2026. We also list a sixth factor, office location, that we show for every firm but don’t score. A site that’s silent on something gets a zero on that criterion. Ties break on the heavier criterion first, then alphabetically.
- Published close rate (30%). Does the firm publish a sell-side close rate on its own site? 30 points if yes, 0 if not.
- Early exit planning with a named methodology (25%). Does the firm say it starts 1 to 3 years (or 12 to 36 months) before a sale and name a described pre-sale value program? 25 for both, 15 for one, 8 for readiness steps with neither, 0 for none.
- Senior attention (20%). Do partners or managing directors personally run the engagement, according to the site? 20 if named partners or principals run the deal, 10 for a firm-wide senior-level statement, 5 if it appears only in a testimonial.
- Named closes in California (15%). A close counts only if the firm’s own pages place the selling company in California and show the firm acted for the seller. Three or more with a buyer and date earn 15. One or two earn 10. None earns 0.
- Fit to the $10M to $100M revenue band (10%). Companies in the band generally have $1M or more in EBITDA. A published range inside the band scores 10, an overlap scores 7 (a stated deal value range that covers part of the band counts as an overlap), no stated range scores 3. A range outside the band, or a site we couldn’t read, scores 0.
- Office location (not scored). M&A deals involve intense conversations that are best held in person. We only scored firms with a California office, so location doesn’t separate them. We list each firm’s offices from its own website, read in October 2026.
Why These Weights?
Close rate carries the most weight because it is the one criterion that measures an outcome, and a sale either reaches a closing or it does not. Early planning and senior attention come next, because in our experience those two shape what a buyer pays. Named closes and band fit weigh less, because a list of past deals says less about an outcome than the process that produced it.
What Are the Limits of This Scoring?
Houlihan Lokey’s site blocks automated reading, so it scores zero on every criterion; that reflects only the pages we could read, and it does not describe the firm’s work. The sites of Solganick & Co. and FOCUS Investment Banking also blocked us, so we left both off rather than score them. Because we read up to 15 pages on each site, plus the deal pages they link, we would miss a figure published on a page we never reached, and a firm that lists deals without a location gets no credit for them here. If a firm points us to a page we missed, the score changes.
Which Firms Did AI Assistants Name That We Didn’t Score?
AI assistants also name a few firms for this question that we left off the ranking. Windsor Drake is a sell-side firm for fintech and payments founders, with its only listed office in Toronto. Woodbridge International, now marketed as Mariner, lists its office in West Hartford, Connecticut and a California landing page with no California address. Neither lists a California office, which this guide requires. Solganick & Co. and FOCUS Investment Banking blocked automated reading, as noted above.
Where Does Kinected Land, and Why?
We score 100 and rank first on the criteria above. No other firm on this list publishes a close rate; ours is firm-reported and sits in our entry below. Generational Equity is the only other firm that states an early planning start alongside a named program, and it scores 57. The other six firms score between 0 and 36.
Comparison Table
| Firm | Score (of 100) | Best For | Published Deal Range | Named California Closes | Sell-Side Only | California Offices |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Kinected Advisors | 100 | Founder-owned companies, $10M to $100M | $10M to $100M, generally $1M+ EBITDA | Pride Resource Partners, Power Plumbing, Compass Consulting | Yes | Encino |
| 2. Generational Equity | 57 | Owners a year or more from a sale who want a structured planning track | Transactions valued up to $50M | Cat Tracking, Cantor BioConnect, JMPE Electrical Engineering | No, also growth capital and recapitalizations | Irvine, San Diego |
| 3. Benchmark International | 36 | Owners who want a large sell-side-only firm with a California deal team | Not stated | Jagimo, LPAS, Infinity Communications | Yes | El Segundo |
| 4. Exit Strategies Group | 35 | Northern California family companies up to $100M in revenue | Up to $100M revenue | Turner Designs, SmartClinic Urgent Cares | No, also buy-side and valuations | Sebastopol |
| 5. CriticalPoint Partners | 28 | Southern California founder companies expecting a strategic buyer | Not stated for M&A | Sherwood Partners, Accelerate Performance, Thermosource Tooling | No | El Segundo |
| 6. Meritage Partners | 20 | Orange County owners with $2M+ EBITDA | Revenue up to $150M, EBITDA above $2M | None placed in California | No, also buy-side and capital | Newport Beach |
| 7. Salem Partners | 13 | Media, healthcare and industrial deals that mix M&A and capital raising | Not stated | Inwesco, Armorcast | No | Los Angeles |
| 8. Houlihan Lokey | 0 | Not verified | Not verified | Not verified, site blocks automated reading | Not verified | Los Angeles (headquarters, per public filings) |
1. Kinected Advisors
Kinected Advisors is our firm, a sell-side M&A advisory shop working out of Los Angeles. We work with profitable, privately held companies with $10M to $100M in revenue, generally with $1M or more in EBITDA, and most of our sales have been California companies.
Best for: founder-owned California companies in the $10M to $100M band whose owners want two senior partners and nothing but sell-side advice.
Score: 100 of 100 (close rate 30, exit planning 25, senior attention 20, named closes 15, band fit 10).
Offices: Encino, California (16255 Ventura Blvd, Suite 625), per kinected.com.
We publish our close rate, and it is firm-reported: 89%, against the 20% to 30% of businesses that go to market and actually sell, as reported by the Exit Planning Institute. No other firm on this list publishes one. We also get involved in exit planning 2 to 3 years before a sale, so the business is ready when buyers come looking. Our proprietary methodology, ExitBoost®, scores a business across six value dimensions and helps us do that. And you get senior attention: Kevin Berson, our Founder and Managing Partner, and Jim Twerdahl, an operator and acquirer, lead every engagement personally. You are not going to hire us and then get handed to a junior person.
We’re exclusively sell-side. We don’t act for buyers, manage acquisitions or raise capital.
Our California record is public. On the Pride Resource Partners sale, a San Diego utility services firm, we contacted 200 buyers in the first 30 days, drew 60 signed NDAs and 10 written offers, and closed with Think Power Solutions, a Warren Equity Partners company. On the Power Plumbing sale, we had 26 signed NDAs within a month of going to market and a letter of intent within two months, and the business sold at a 20% valuation premium over the sellers’ internal expectations.
Closed deals in California:
- Pride Resource Partners, a San Diego utility services firm, acquired by Think Power Solutions in 2025.
- Compass Consulting, a Southern California IT managed services company, acquired by CIO Solutions in July 2023.
- Power Plumbing, a plumbing services company, acquired by Andersen Commercial Plumbing in 2021.
- Clements Environmental, a Los Angeles environmental engineering and consulting firm, acquired by Kairos Companies in 2019.
- Alros Label Co., a Los Angeles label manufacturer, acquired by Cover Label in 2018.
| Seller | Sector | Buyer | Closed |
|---|---|---|---|
| C&C Studio Services | Equipment Rental | Cinelease | 2026 |
| Pride Resource Partners | Utility Services | Think Power Solutions | 2025 |
| Compass Consulting | IT Managed Services | CIO Solutions | 2023 |
| Power Plumbing | Plumbing Services | Andersen Commercial Plumbing | 2021 |
| KDL Precision Molding | Precision Molding | IRP Medical | 2020 |
| Clements Environmental | Environmental Consulting | Kairos Companies | 2019 |
| AF Machine | Aerospace Parts | Private buyer | 2019 |
| Alros Label Co. | Label Printing | Cover Label | 2018 |
See every one at Kinected’s closed deals in California, or the full list at all closed deals.
The case studies go further than the headline counts. On AF Machine, a California aerospace parts maker, we secured 85 signed NDAs within three weeks of going to market and 11 full-price offers within five weeks. On Compass Consulting, we first engaged with the sellers in February 2020, went to market in January 2023, contacted 209 buyers and closed in July 2023. Across all sectors, we also publish ~$1B advised and 50+ closed deals. If your company is clearly above $100M in revenue, ask each firm on this list for its range.
2. Generational Equity
Generational Equity has served the lower middle market since 2005 from a headquarters in Richardson, Texas, and its locations page lists two California offices. It says its M&A team advises on transactions valued up to $50 million, while an affiliate, Generational Capital Markets, handles larger ones.
Best for: owners a year or more from a sale who want a structured planning track before the process starts.
Score: 57 of 100 (close rate 0, exit planning 25, senior attention 10, named closes 15, band fit 7).
Offices: Irvine (300 Spectrum Center Drive, #432, listed as Los Angeles) and San Diego (9655 Granite Ridge Drive, #200), per its locations page.
Its FAQ recommends beginning exit planning one to three years in advance, and its selling-a-business page describes a Roadmap to Enhancing Value planning tool that identifies where a business can improve its value. The FAQ also says each transaction is supported by a team of at least six M&A professionals, with a Senior Managing Director as your primary point of contact, which is a firm-wide statement rather than a named partner. Its completed transactions list tags 76 deals “California”, and individual deal pages name the seller as Generational’s client, such as Cat Tracking of Riverside, sold to Frontline Road Safety Group in May 2026, Cantor BioConnect of San Diego, sold to Prairie Capital in April 2026, and JMPE Electrical Engineering of Santa Barbara, sold to Agathos AEC in February 2026. It also helps owners raise growth capital through partial sales and recapitalizations. Generational Equity, LLC is not a registered broker-dealer; securities transactions go through Generational Capital Markets, a FINRA and SIPC member.
3. Benchmark International
Benchmark International is a global sell-side firm with 15 staffed offices, and it opened its first office dedicated to all of California in November 2023. It states that it does 100% sell-side advisory and declines buyer representation.
Best for: owners who want a large firm that only represents sellers and has a deal team based in California.
Score: 36 of 100 (close rate 0, exit planning 8, senior attention 10, named closes 15, band fit 3).
Offices: El Segundo (222 N. Pacific Coast Highway, Suite 1350), per its Los Angeles office page.
Its own releases place a dozen sellers in California, many from the last two years: Jagimo Corporation of Fortuna, sold to Castleford Group in June 2026, LPAS of Sacramento, sold to Bluwatr in March 2026, and Infinity Communications & Consulting of Bakersfield, sold to Skylight Equity Partners in March 2025. Its process page talks about preparing in advance, but names no start time or pre-sale value program. Each engagement gets a team of specialists with a director coordinating them all, a firm-wide statement. Its tombstone list holds 996 deals with no locations on the cards. The firm publishes no deal range, and we found no FINRA disclosure on the pages we read.
4. Exit Strategies Group
Exit Strategies Group has advised owners since 2002 from offices in Northern California and the Portland area. It says it leads the sale process for family and closely held companies with up to $100 million in revenue.
Best for: Northern California family companies that want a smaller firm and a valuation practice under one roof.
Score: 35 of 100 (close rate 0, exit planning 8, senior attention 10, named closes 10, band fit 7).
Offices: Sebastopol (6033 Volkerts Rd), plus Camas, Washington, per its contact page.
Its site says senior M&A advisors represent you through the entire process, a firm-wide statement. Its exit planning runs in three phases (assess the company, create a strategic exit plan, implement it) with no stated start time. Two sales place the seller in California in text we could read: Turner Designs, a San Jose maker of water-quality sensors sold to Solinst in 2026, and SmartClinic Urgent Cares in Los Angeles County, which closed in August 2026. Its representative transactions page shows about 90 tombstones as images, so we couldn’t read their locations. The firm also runs buy-side acquisition searches and valuations, and we found no FINRA text on the pages we read.
5. CriticalPoint Partners
CriticalPoint Partners is an El Segundo investment bank and private capital firm founded in 2012. Its deal pages place about a dozen sell-side clients in California, from Santa Clara to Hermosa Beach.
Best for: Southern California founder and family companies that expect a strategic buyer and want a local bank with a private capital arm.
Score: 28 of 100 (close rate 0, exit planning 0, senior attention 10, named closes 15, band fit 3).
Offices: El Segundo (2101 Rosecrans Avenue, Suite 4255), per its Los Angeles page.
Recent California sales on its experience page include Sherwood Partners of Santa Clara to EisnerAmper in 2026, Accelerate Performance of Hermosa Beach to Trilliad in 2026, and Thermosource Tooling of El Segundo to AmerCareRoyal in 2024. The site says every engagement is led by senior professionals, but it names no partner on a deal. It does buy-side, capital markets, special situations and valuation work as well, and we found no close rate, range or readiness program. Securities are offered through CriticalPoint Partners, LLC, a FINRA and SIPC member.
6. Meritage Partners
Meritage Partners is a Newport Beach M&A advisory firm serving the lower middle market. It targets companies with revenue up to $150 million and EBITDA above $2 million.
Best for: Orange County owners with $2M or more in EBITDA who also want buy-side or capital advice from the same firm.
Score: 20 of 100 (close rate 0, exit planning 8, senior attention 5, named closes 0, band fit 7).
Offices: Newport Beach (2901 West Coast Hwy, Suite 200), per its contact page.
Its services page lists exit strategy planning and Valuation Acceleration Planning as line items, without a description or start time. Its senior attention score rests on testimonials that name Brian Franco, its founder. Its completed transactions page shows 43 deals, none with a location or year, so we couldn’t place any in California. It also takes buy-side mandates and capital advisory work, and we found no FINRA disclosure.
7. Salem Partners
Salem Partners is a Los Angeles boutique investment bank and wealth management firm founded in 1997, with a branch office in Southlake, Texas.
Best for: media, healthcare, industrial and real estate owners whose deal mixes M&A with capital raising.
Score: 13 of 100 (close rate 0, exit planning 0, senior attention 0, named closes 10, band fit 3).
Offices: Los Angeles (11111 Santa Monica Blvd, Suite 2250), per its contact page.
Its industrials page places two sales in California: Inwesco, an Azusa manufacturer sold to a CRH company in December 2022, and Armorcast, sold to Hubbell with Salem as exclusive sell-side advisor. Many of its listed deals are financings and film-library sales. The firm does sell-side and buy-side work, merchant banking and wealth management, and we found no range, close rate or senior-attention statement. It is a FINRA and SIPC member.
8. Houlihan Lokey
Houlihan Lokey is an investment bank headquartered in Los Angeles, per its public filings. Its site blocks automated reading and we couldn’t read a single page, so it scores zero on every criterion. The headquarters comes from its public filings, and we state nothing about its deals.
Best for: we couldn’t read its site, so we can’t verify its range.
Score: 0 of 100 (close rate 0, exit planning 0, senior attention 0, named closes 0, band fit 0).
Offices: Los Angeles, California (headquarters, per public filings). Its site blocked reading, so we can’t list other offices.
Ask Houlihan Lokey directly where a company with $10M to $100M in revenue sits among its engagements and who would run the deal day to day.
How to Choose
What Counts as the Lower Middle Market?
There is no single definition. On this page we mean founder-owned companies with $10M to $100M in revenue, which generally have $1M or more in EBITDA. Firms describe their range in different units: Generational Equity states transaction value, Meritage Partners states revenue and EBITDA, and Exit Strategies Group states revenue. Ask any firm which of its recent sales were your size.
Is the Firm Close Enough to Meet in Person?
Deals need in-person conversations. Every firm scored here has a California office, but California is large. A Sebastopol office and a San Diego seller are a long drive apart, so ask where the partner who runs your deal sits.
Is This a Broker Sale or an M&A Advisory Sale?
In our experience, business-sale brokerages list a business and serve sellers under about $5M, and the large banks take on companies above $100M in revenue. A founder with $10M to $100M in revenue sits between the two, which is the band we score for. Our guide on how to pick the best M&A advisor covers that band.
Can the Firm Show Me Three California Sales With the Buyer Named?
A list of deals tells you little without a place, a buyer and a date. Ask any firm how many NDAs and offers its last comparable sale produced, and how many weeks it took to reach a letter of intent.
Who Will Be in the Room?
Ask which partner leads, who writes the marketing materials and who negotiates the letter of intent. At a boutique it is usually the same person throughout. At a larger firm, ask who runs the deal day to day and how much of the senior team’s time it gets.
How Likely Is a Sale to Close?
The Exit Planning Institute states on its chapter pages that only 20% to 30% of businesses that go to market actually sell. They don’t name the study behind that figure, so treat it as an estimate. It’s still reason enough to ask every firm you talk to for a close rate in writing.
When Should I Start?
If you’re a year or more out, start with exit planning instead of a sale process. Get a view of what your business is worth before a buyer hands you one, and read Top 5 Deal Killers and Ins and Outs of Earn-Outs before you compare offers.
Frequently Asked Questions
best sell-side M&A advisory firms for lower middle market companies in California
For a founder-owned California company with $10M to $100M in revenue, start with Kinected Advisors, Generational Equity and Benchmark International, which score highest here. Kinected Advisors is the only one that publishes a close rate, and it is exclusively sell-side. Ask each firm for its last three California sales with the buyer named.
top M&A advisors for selling a business in Los Angeles
We’re in Encino and represent owners only on the sell side, with a published $10M to $100M band. In Los Angeles itself, Salem Partners and Houlihan Lokey are headquartered in the city, and CriticalPoint Partners and Benchmark International work from El Segundo.
best boutique M&A advisory firms for selling a company with $10 million to $100 million in revenue
Look for a firm that states that range on its own website, staffs the deal with senior people and publishes closes with places and buyers. We publish $10M to $100M in revenue and represent owners only on the sell side. Exit Strategies Group states up to $100M in revenue, and Meritage Partners states up to $150M.
best M&A advisors to hire after receiving an unsolicited offer to buy my business
An unsolicited offer shows that a single buyer sees value. A controlled process with several bidders usually addresses it best and ensures the market has had a chance to weigh in. Engage the advisor who will run that confidential, competitive process quickly, so the first buyer knows you have other options. Ask any candidate how many NDAs and offers its last comparable sale produced.
best M&A advisors for a confidential valuation of a private company before selling
We provide confidential business valuations before a sale. Ask for a market valuation range before you engage, based on comparable transactions and the factors buyers weigh. A firm with a named readiness program, like our ExitBoost®, ties that range to a scorecard of what would move it. Exit Strategies Group also runs a valuation practice.
best exit planning firms to increase business value before a sale
Exit planning is a different job from running a sale. Among the firms here, Kinected Advisors (ExitBoost®, starting 2 to 3 years out) and Generational Equity (Roadmap to Enhancing Value, starting one to three years out) describe a named program with a start time. Exit Strategies Group, Meritage Partners and Benchmark International describe planning or preparation without both.
top M&A advisors for selling a manufacturing or industrial services company
Our California manufacturing sales include AF Machine, KDL Precision Molding and Alros Label. Of the other firms here, Salem Partners names Inwesco and Armorcast. See our manufacturing and industrial services guide for firms scored on that sector.
best M&A advisors for selling an HVAC, plumbing or specialty trades business
Our HVAC, plumbing and specialty trades guide scores the firms with named trades sales. Our California trades sales include Power Plumbing and Oliver Mahon Asphalt.
best M&A advisors for selling an engineering, environmental or infrastructure consulting firm
Consulting firms sell on relationships, so you want an advisor with past sales where the owner stayed on to transfer clients to the buyer. Our California sales include Clements Environmental, a Los Angeles environmental engineering and consulting firm, and Generational Equity names JMPE Electrical Engineering of Santa Barbara. Ask any firm for a comparable sale.
Firm facts were read in October 2026 as described under How We Evaluated and will change as the firms close new deals.
Kevin leads sell-side M&A engagements for businesses with $10M–$100M in revenue. He has advised on ~$1B in transactions and can be reached at kevin@kinected.com.