You want to sell your machine factory? Then it is good to know what the takeover market in the field of machine factories looks like. The global position of Dutch businesses in the growing high-tech, medical and food end markets is strong, which can have a positive effect on the number of (international) acquisitions.
The number of machine factory mergers and acquisitions has been fairly stable for years. However, last year saw a record number of mergers and acquisitions. The drive for economies of scale will only increase in the coming years.
There are many ways to value a business. A common method of expressing the value of a business is "a factor x gross annual profit." This factor is also called multiple and another designation for gross annual profit is EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest Taxes Depreciation and Amortization).
In manufacturing and production - the industry to which machine factories belong - an indicative EBITDA multiple range of 4.6 to 5.5 is currently in place, according to the Brookz Takeover Barometer. The average EBITDA multiple across all SME sectors is 4.90.
The valuation of a business is often the starting point for negotiations between buyer and seller. The outcome of these negotiations is the final sales price. So valuation and price are two different quantities. Besides valuation, the price is also determined by possible scarcity in the market, bargaining power of the parties, the strategic value of the business for the buyer and possible synergy effects for the buyer (cost savings, purchasing advantages).
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Want to buy a business or sell a business in the Industry & Manufacturing sector? With this Brookz Sector Monitor, we want to present buyers and sellers with facts, figures and an outlook that provide insight into the number of transactions, the value development of businesses and the latest trends and developments in the Industry & Manufacturing sector. Because in any buying or selling process, thorough preparation gives peace of mind, overview and structure.
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In figures, the number of machine factories in 2024 looked as follows(CBS):
With this online training from Brookz you are optimally prepared to largely sell your business yourself: 25 Powerpoint videos, a comprehensive valuation report, legal model contracts, handy templates, checklists and expert support. Plus 50% discount on listing your business on Brookz!
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A number of trends and developments will inevitably cause changes in the coming years, but they also offer the machinery industry many growth and acquisition opportunities:
Roboticization offers plenty of opportunities. More powerful chips, sensor technology, adaptive software and improved vision techniques make robots smarter, more flexible, more user-friendly and cheaper. New smarter production techniques facilitate the ability to "automate" smaller and smaller batches. This makes businesses more productive and offers machine shops numerous opportunities to expand sales markets and strategically change positions.
Machinery companies tend to lag behind in terms of sustainability and circularity, but here and there things are changing, according to Rabobank. Sustainable products are increasingly important, and the government is also setting increasingly stringent sustainability requirements. There are plenty of methods to become more sustainable, such as performing maintenance using sensors and operating more through online channels. The fact that industry is the largest emitter increases the need to look for sustainable solutions. An innovative heat storage system is an example of such a solution.
Machine shops are getting more and more revenue from service and less from traditional sales. Service is no longer a cost, but an opportunity to better serve customers and generate additional revenue. Services such as remote maintenance and predictable maintenance are examples of this. Rental, leasing and pay-per-use are revenue models that focus on service. Customers pay per month or running hour and maintenance is included in the price. This allows machine builders to create a lock-in with their customers.
