Small US deals break the size rule
In Australia, New Zealand, the UK and Canada, bigger deals sell for higher multiples of EBITDA, band by band. The United States breaks the pattern at the small end. US deals under US$6.7 million sold at a median of 9.5 times EBITDA, from 30+ deals between 2005 and 2025. The next band up, US$6.7 million to US$33.3 million, sold at 7.5 times. Australian deals in the smallest band sold at 4.0 times.
Here is something interesting, and we are not sure what is going on. One guess: a small US deal reaches a public filing only in unusual cases, so the ones we can see may not be typical. That is a guess, and we have not tested it.
| Small US deals | 9.5 times EBITDA |
|---|---|
| All US deals | 10.0 times EBITDA |
| Small Australian deals | 4.0 times EBITDA |
Median multiple of EBITDA. Under US$6.7 million counts as small, from 30+ US deals. All US deals: 2,000+.
Source: deals in our database with a published value and an EBITDA multiple, from company filings, experts' reports and press reports. Medians by onestepright.
See the figures behind it: EBITDA multiples by sector in the United States, /sale-multiples/australia/by-size