Oak Stream Partners
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Business services · Lower middle market

Sell your service business to an operator who has built companies

One LOI, multiple capital sources and an operator’s plan to maximize value

Oak Stream Partners is a private investment firm and independent sponsor for North American B2B service companies with roughly $1–15 million of EBITDA. When you sell your service business to Oak Stream, you get one letter of intent with multiple capital sources behind it, an operator’s plan to maximize value, and a buyer who will take care of the company you built.

Start a confidential conversationCall (478) 276-4431

Why the buyer matters

Selling a service business to a buyer who has built one

If you are thinking, “I want to sell my service business, but I want it in good hands,” the buyer matters as much as the price. Many buyers have spent their careers building financial models. Ryan Addis, Oak Stream’s founder, has spent his building and running companies, so you deal with someone who understands what it took to build yours.

He has served as Chairman and CEO of SCJ Insurance Services, a national MGA working with more than 2,100 independent brokers; as President and COO of DeepFuse, a 45-state insurtech agency; and as an operating partner at ScaleCo, a lower-middle-market private equity firm. Read more on the About page and in the Captain’s Log.

For you, that means a buyer who sees the full value in your team, your customer relationships and your systems, and who can explain it to capital partners in operating terms. It also means your employees and customers are in the hands of someone who knows how to lead people and serve clients, which protects the legacy you built.

Insurance and warranty are a special focus for Oak Stream, not our only area. As a private investment firm, we look at business services, tech-enabled services and other B2B service companies across the lower middle market.

What we look for

B2B service companies with $1–15M EBITDA

  • Business process and outsourced services
  • Tech-enabled and software-enabled services
  • Compliance, testing, inspection and regulatory services
  • Financial, administrative and back-office services
  • Specialty B2B services with recurring or repeat revenue
  • Roughly $1–15M of EBITDA, headquartered in the U.S., Canada or Mexico
Full acquisition criteria

Preparing to sell

What drives your price when you sell a service business

Buyers pay most for durable revenue and a B2B service company that runs well without its founder. Knowing what they will examine lets you strengthen it early, which supports a higher value and a smoother diligence with fewer surprises.

Recurring and repeat revenue

Showing contracts, retainers and renewal rates clearly lets buyers credit you for predictable revenue, which supports a higher value.

Customer relationships

Demonstrating long-tenured customers and relationships owned by the company, not only by you, reduces perceived risk and protects your price.

Margins and delivery

Clear gross margin by service line and efficient delivery show the profit engine you built, and highlight upside a buyer will pay for.

People and leadership

A strong team beneath you supports value, gives you flexibility on how long you stay, and shows your people they have a future.

Contracts and compliance

Organizing customer agreements, change-of-control terms and licenses early keeps diligence moving and avoids late-stage issues.

Clean financials

Clean numbers and documented add-backs reduce re-trades and speed up diligence. See our quality of earnings primer.

Process

How selling your service business to Oak Stream works

Our process is built to give you flexibility, fewer surprises and a strategy that maximizes what your company is worth.

  1. Confidential conversation

    You share your goals for price, timing, your role and your team, under an NDA if you prefer, and speak directly with the decision-maker.

  2. One letter of intent

    After a preliminary review, Oak Stream signs an LOI covering price, structure and timing. You negotiate once, with one counterparty who stays with you through closing.

  3. Multiple capital sources behind it

    Ryan brings your company to the capital partners best suited to it: search fund investors for roughly $1–5M of EBITDA and private equity firms for roughly $3–15M. More than one potential source of equity gives your transaction more flexibility and more paths to closing than depending on a single buyer.

  4. Strategic plan and modeling

    Ryan builds an operator’s strategic plan and financial model for your company, showing capital partners what it can become. That plan is designed to support the strongest value for your business.

  5. Focused diligence

    Financial, legal and operational review is coordinated for you, so your team can keep serving customers and the business keeps performing.

  6. Close and build

    A planned transition that looks after your employees and customers and, if you want it, an ongoing role or retained equity in the next chapter of growth.

Interest from capital partners is not a commitment, and no transaction is certain to close. Having more than one potential source of equity adds flexibility, and we will be candid with you at each step.

Capital partners

Multiple capital sources behind one letter of intent

Depending on your company’s size, your transaction can draw on search fund investors, private equity firms or both, all through a single counterparty.

Tier 1 · Search fund investors

~$1–5M EBITDA

For lower-middle-market companies, we invest alongside an established network of search fund investors and operators: founders and executives behind companies such as Asurion and Oracle, and funds dedicated to the search fund model.

Meet the investor network

Tier 2 · Private equity firms

~$3–15M EBITDA

For larger companies, we invest alongside institutional private equity firms, which gives us the capacity for larger transactions and follow-on acquisitions.

How our capital works

Legacy and upside

Your legacy, and a share in what comes next

Investment bankers and business brokers typically market a service business as it is. Oak Stream brings an operator’s view of what it can become: a strategic plan, operating improvements in pricing, delivery, sales and reporting, and, where it fits, add-on acquisitions. That plan helps you capture more of your company’s future value at the sale.

If you choose to roll over equity or stay in a role, you share in the growth that plan creates. If you prefer a full exit, you leave knowing your employees and customers are with a team that has built and led companies.

Talk with Ryan Addis

FAQ

Questions owners ask

How much is my service business worth?

Value depends on recurring revenue, customer relationships, margins, growth and how dependent the business is on you. We focus on adjusted EBITDA, explain how we reach our number and show how our plan supports it, rather than quoting a rule-of-thumb multiple.

Why does one letter of intent with multiple capital sources matter when selling a service business?

You negotiate once with one counterparty, while more than one potential source of equity stands behind the deal. That gives the transaction more flexibility and fewer reasons to re-trade than relying on a single buyer, although no transaction is certain until it closes.

What size B2B service companies does Oak Stream buy?

Generally companies with roughly $1–15 million of EBITDA across North America. Search fund investors typically back companies of about $1–5 million of EBITDA, and private equity firms about $3–15 million.

How is selling to a private investment firm like Oak Stream different from selling to private equity?

You work with an operator who has run companies as CEO, President and COO, and who builds the strategic plan and model that drive value. Oak Stream invests deal by deal with capital partners matched to your company rather than from a single committed fund.

What happens to my employees and customers if I sell my service business?

Protecting them is part of the plan. We decide with you when and how to communicate, and we build a transition that keeps service strong and gives your team a future.

Can I stay on or keep a stake after I sell?

Yes, if you want to. You can roll over equity to share in future growth, stay in a role through a transition or longer, or take a full exit. Structures include majority recapitalizations, management buyouts and phased transitions.

What if I am not ready to sell yet?

Our transaction-readiness consulting can help you organize the numbers, strengthen the team and prepare for diligence on your own timeline.

Confidential conversation

Thinking about selling your service business?

Start with a confidential conversation. Call or email, and you will speak directly with Ryan Addis about your company, your goals for price, timing, your team and your role, and whether there is a fit.

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