How a manufacturing exit actually works.
Valuation, diligence, deal terms, and timing for owner-operated manufacturers across the Charlotte manufacturing region, from Hickory to Rock Hill, written from the owner's side of the table.
Deep dive · 4 min read
Selling to an ESOP: how the exit works for an NC manufacturer
An ESOP buys at an appraised price, can defer federal tax for a C corporation seller, and keeps the plant local. What it asks of the owner in return.
Published October 27, 2026 · Hickory
Comparison · 5 min read
SBA and search fund buyers vs private equity: what each can pay
An SBA 7(a) loan tops out at $5 million, and new SBA rules bar seller earnouts. The arithmetic that decides how far each buyer type can reach on price.
Published October 20, 2026 · Statesville
How-to · 4 min read
Customer concentration: how buyers price it in a Carolinas deal
A top customer at 35 percent of sales changes the multiple, the deal structure, and the buyer list. How each buyer type discounts it, and what answers it.
Published October 13, 2026 · Mooresville
Data resource · 4 min read
How a working capital peg is set, with a Gaston County example
The peg is arithmetic before it is a negotiation. A worked example for an illustrative technical fabrics plant shows where a simple average hides money.
Published October 6, 2026 · Gastonia
Deep dive · 4 min read
Quality of earnings reviews for Charlotte-area manufacturers
From October 1, 2026, SBA lenders must order a quality of earnings review on most acquisitions priced at $3 million or more. What it tests inside a plant.
Published September 29, 2026
How-to · 5 min read
Selling a Charlotte manufacturer at year end: the real calendar
Deciding in September to close by December 31 runs into a diligence calendar, a lender checklist, and the tax year. Here is how the weeks actually line up.
Published September 28, 2026 · Charlotte
Deep dive · 6 min read
The working capital target: the term that quietly changes your wire
Owners negotiate the multiple for months and agree the working capital definition in an afternoon. It is frequently the more expensive of the two.
Published August 11, 2026
How-to · 10 min read
The two-year plan that raises the price of a manufacturing company
Almost everything buyers discount is fixable, and almost none of it is fixable quickly. Here is the order to do it in.
Published June 30, 2026
Deep dive · 7 min read
What happens to your AS9100 and ITAR status when you sell
The approval file is the asset. It does not transfer automatically, and the sequence of notification and re-approval belongs in the purchase agreement.
Published May 27, 2026 · Monroe
How-to · 8 min read
Selling a Gaston County textile business without selling it as a textile business
The word carries forty years of contraction with it. Companies making filtration media and technical substrates are specialty manufacturers, and the buyer pool pays accordingly.
Published April 22, 2026 · Gastonia
Case study · 7 min read
A private equity firm called about your company. Now what?
Unsolicited approaches to healthy Charlotte-area manufacturers are common and often genuine. Handling one alone is the most reliable way to leave money behind.
Published March 18, 2026
How-to · 9 min read
How to value a CNC machining company for sale
The arithmetic is adjusted EBITDA times a multiple. Everything that matters is in the two words before EBITDA and in what sets the multiple.
Published February 10, 2026
Ready to get started?
Charlotte-region owners of $5M to $20M industrial companies get a confidential valuation range from a mid-market M&A advisor, at no cost. Mon-Fri 8am-6pm ET.