MSP & IT services owners · US & Canada
Managed services is one of the most actively consolidated sectors in the lower middle market. Get your number in 60 seconds — then sell confidentially, paid only when you close.
In short
Owner-led MSPs typically sell for about 2–3.5x seller’s discretionary earnings (SDE). MSPs with roughly $1M+ of EBITDA trade around 5.5–8.5x EBITDA, and scaled high-MRR platforms 8–12x. The highest multiples go to businesses with a high proportion of contracted monthly recurring revenue, low churn, multi-year agreements, and no heavy client concentration. These are market ranges, not a quote or a guarantee. Project-heavy IT businesses sell for meaningfully less.
Contracted MRR vs project revenue
Contracted, auto-renewing recurring revenue is worth several times what project revenue is worth. The spread between a well-positioned MSP and a project-heavy IT shop is enormous — even at identical revenue.
A real contracted base with project work on top usually lands mid-range. Churn, contract length and concentration decide the rest.
Illustration only — direction within the published 5.5–8.5× EBITDA range for $1M+ EBITDA MSPs, not a quote or a guarantee.
Low churn with multi-year agreements is the difference between the top and the bottom of the range. A book where one client is a large share of revenue is discounted heavily, no matter how long the relationship has run.
What moves the number
$ buyer-diligence --run msp
The buyers
The dominant buyers, underwriting recurring revenue, churn, and contract quality above almost everything else.
Competitors acquiring for scale, geography, or a specific vertical specialization you have built.
Realistic for smaller books, usually financed and slower to close.
Which of those is at your table changes your number far more than anything on your equipment list.
Prefer a person?
Tell us the basics — MRR, project share, seats or endpoints, top-client concentration. A principal, not a call center, reviews it personally and replies within one business day with an honest range. No listing. No pressure.
Or call (888) 560-5852
How selling with Sentinel works
Converting project clients onto contracted agreements, lengthening terms and documenting your stack take one to two years to show up in the financials — which is why starting early pays.
60 seconds, anonymous, no email. Your range from reported sales of comparable businesses.
Get my free valuation →One email. Ask Vera, our AI, anything; see what moves your number with your Exit Profile; get a free read on any offer.
Create my free account →Next quarter or in five years. The AI works your sale 24/7, a senior principal leads, and you approve every step. Most sales take six to twelve months.
See how the engine works →Real people, accountable
Straight answers
More in our seller guides — or ask Vera in your free account.
Owner-led MSPs typically sell for about 2–3.5x seller’s discretionary earnings (SDE). MSPs with roughly $1M+ of EBITDA trade around 5.5–8.5x EBITDA, and scaled high-MRR platforms 8–12x. The highest multiples go to businesses with a high proportion of contracted monthly recurring revenue, low churn, multi-year agreements, and no heavy client concentration. These are market ranges, not a quote or a guarantee. Project-heavy IT businesses sell for meaningfully less.
Private-equity-backed MSP platforms are the most active buyers, alongside strategic MSPs acquiring for scale or vertical specialization, and individual or search-fund buyers for smaller companies.
Convert project clients onto contracted recurring agreements, lengthen contract terms, reduce client concentration, standardize and document your stack, and fix pricing on unprofitable accounts. These changes take one to two years to show up in the financials, which is why starting early pays.
The engine, pointed at managed services
Before market
Buyer matching
Researched and scored against your business — approached under NDA, only with your written go-ahead.
Buyer Simulation
Found and fixed before you go to market — not in diligence, where it costs you money.
Offer analysis
Free Exit Profile: your range, your value drivers scored and each fix priced in dollars — eleven questions, about three minutes, no email needed to see it. Open my MSP Exit Profile →
Why a quiet process beats the first offer
Most owners in this sector are approached directly, unsolicited, by a consolidator or platform buyer. A buyer negotiating against nobody has no reason to move on price or on terms. The result of a real process is a better number — and better terms for your team, your stay-on, and the earn-out.
Already holding an offer? Get a free read before you sign →