The EBITDA multiple, written EV/EBITDA, is the ratio of a target's enterprise value to its EBITDA. It is the dominant shorthand for valuation in private-company M&A and the central output of trading-comps and precedent-transactions analyses.
How it is used
A buyer offering "8× EBITDA" on a $5M Adjusted EBITDA business is offering an enterprise value of $40M. Equity value is then derived by adjusting for cash and debt:
Equity value = Enterprise value + Cash − Debt − Debt-like items
In auctioned processes, multiples are usually quoted on LTM (last twelve months) Adjusted EBITDA; in growth situations, on NTM (next twelve months) forward EBITDA.
What moves the multiple
- Industry. Healthcare services, software and professional services trade above industrials, manufacturing or commoditized retail.
- Scale. A business at $1M EBITDA trades at a discount to one at $10M EBITDA, even with the same growth and margins — institutional buyers cannot deploy meaningful capital at the former, and lower-middle-market multiples reflect that.
- Growth. Faster revenue and EBITDA growth pull multiples up, all else equal.
- Margin and quality of earnings. Higher gross margins, recurring revenue and a clean QofE support higher multiples.
- Customer concentration. A customer >15% of revenue is a discount; >30% can be a deal-breaker.
- Add-back credibility. Buyers discount aggressive add-backs; pre-launch sell-side QofEs preserve them.
Typical ranges
There is no universal table, but lower-middle-market US ranges that are widely cited:
| Sector | Typical EBITDA range |
|---|---|
| Home-services (HVAC, plumbing, electrical) | 4×–8× |
| Distribution & light manufacturing | 5×–8× |
| Healthcare services | 7×–12× |
| Professional & business services | 5×–10× |
| Vertical SaaS (profitable) | 8×–15× |
These are directional; specific deals fall outside the range routinely.
Limitations
EBITDA multiples ignore capital intensity, working-capital cycles and growth durability — which is why a credible diligence process triangulates the multiple with DCF and EBITDA − capex multiples.
See also
- EBITDA — Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization — a measure of a company's operating profitability used as the base for most M&A multiples.
- Enterprise value — The total value of a company’s operations, independent of its capital structure.
- Comparable company analysis — Relative valuation using the market multiples of similar publicly traded companies.
- Precedent transaction analysis — Relative valuation using the multiples paid in comparable past acquisitions.
- Business valuation — The set of methods used to estimate the economic value of a company or its equity, almost always triangulated across several approaches into a defensible range.
- Seller's discretionary earnings — A small-business profitability measure equal to EBITDA plus owner compensation and discretionary expenses. Standard in lower-middle-market and main-street M&A.