Sigma Mergers & Acquisitions
At a Glance
The rare firm that answers the fee question with a number, which makes it a yardstick as well as a broker.
- Pricing
- Success Fee, The rate is on its own FAQ: 'Our success fee based commission ranges from 4% to 10%', with the trigger beside it: 'We only charge at closing so Sigma only gets paid when you get paid. There is no money paid to Sigma prior closing of your business to a buyer.'
- Best For
- Texas buyers, and anyone who wants a published percentage to measure another broker's quote against
- Kind
- One firm, one bench of brokers, one process.
- Footprint
- Names Texas. It names those states and works others too, so a state it does not name is worth asking about rather than ruling out.
- Seller Fee
- Publishes a schedule. The actual percentages are on its own site, so a seller's quote can be checked against them.
- Roadmap Stages
- 2. Define & Test Your Thesis4. Source & Screen Deals
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Publishes an actual commission range on its own FAQ, which almost no brokerage does
- States the payment trigger in the same breath as the rate, so both halves of the fee question are answered together
- Publishes a price band, $500,000 to $50M, a buyer can test themselves against
Cons
- Its own pages disagree on volume: the FAQ says over 600 businesses sold, the homepage says 700-plus closings
- The homepage claims its fees are significantly lower than most, with nothing behind it, beside a real published range
- Almost nothing published for buyers beyond a track-record line
What Searchers Say
Rate, trigger and price band read from Sigma's own FAQ. A secondhand report of an Oklahoma and New Mexico footprint did not survive a read of that page, which names Texas and Texas cities only, so this row claims Texas and nothing more.
How to Approach
Sigma Mergers & Acquisitions is a brokerage, and it works for the seller rather than for you, so this is how that side of the table comes in and what it is deciding about you.
The Typical Arc
- A teaser and an NDA, before you see the name of the business.
- A call with the listing broker, who is screening you as much as answering you.
- The CIM, then a seller meeting the broker schedules and usually sits in on.
- Your offer, carried by the broker to the seller they represent.
What It Weighs
- Whether your money is real: how much is cash, and where the rest is coming from.
- Whether your criteria are specific enough to match against a listing.
- How fast you move, because the fee arrives on a close rather than on a conversation.
How to Prepare
- Write the one page a broker asks for before you inquire. Buyer Profile Builder
- Set criteria specific enough for a listing to match. Buy Box Builder
- Know what you can pay before the CIM lands. Business Valuation Calculator