Your life’s work, on your terms.
McCombie Group is an investment bank for founder- and family-owned businesses. We help owners make the business more valuable, raise capital or take some money off the table, and, when it’s time, sell to the right buyer.
Free and confidential: about two minutes of questions, then a preliminary value range by email.
Most owners who talk to us aren’t selling yet.
Best-seller
Maximize first, then monetize. We bring both.
Most of an owner’s options are hired for one event: a consultant to improve the business, a lender or investor for capital, a broker or banker for the sale. We stay with you across all three, with two kinds of expertise most advisors can only offer one of. And because our team has led investments in private companies as principals (private equity), we know how a buyer will look at your business before one does.
Operator
What drives performance in your business, what to improve first, and relevant, actionable advice to get it done.
M&A dealmaker
Valuation, process design, competitive tension, structuring, negotiation, and the relationships to reach the right buyers.
Deep in the industries we cover.
Buyers pay for what they understand. We research each industry we work in, publish what we learn, and bring that fluency to your process.
Deals our team has advised on.
Sell-side: we represented the seller. Buy-side: we represented the buyer.
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Self storage
Shareholder buyoutFinancial advisor -
Healthcare
Acquired by
Buy-side advisor -
Healthcare
Sold to
Sell-side advisor‡ -
Insurance
Sold to
Sell-side advisor -
Healthcare
Miami Center for Advanced CardiologySold to
Sell-side advisor -
Equipment rental
Investment from
Sell-side advisor -
Healthcare
Sold to
Sell-side advisor -
Industrial equipment
Acquired by
Buy-side advisor† -
Manufacturing
Shareholder buyoutFinancial advisor -
Marine
Norseman ShipbuildingSold to
Sell-side advisor -
Consumer products
Majority investment from
Sell-side advisor -
Industrial equipmentAcquired bySeamLev InvestmentsBuy-side advisor§
Transactions advised by members of our team while at McCombie Group. † Completed after McCombie Group principals became investors in Atlantic Tractor. ‡ McCombie Group principals held an ownership stake in the business. § McCombie Group principals invested in the SeamLev acquisition. Logos are the companies’ own marks, shown in one color.
Combined Underwriters of Miami · 1:27
“We couldn’t have done it without them.”
Working with McCombie Group was (and continues to be) an outstanding experience. David’s knowledge, experience, and insightfulness proved to be an invaluable asset in negotiating an agreement, which had the potential to be difficult. David assisted us through the entire process, always available regardless of time of day to answer any questions. Without question, David was an asset to us and we will continue to request his assistance in any future negotiations.
Nia Yasher · Managing Partner, Combined Underwriters of Miami
Testimonials reflect the experience of these clients and may not be representative of the experience of other clients. They are not a guarantee of future performance or success.
Latest Outlook
What buyers know, written for owners.
We publish what we learn, written for owners and shared openly: annual M&A Outlooks on the industries we cover, a benchmark of what advisors charge, and the book on selling a mid-market business.
- M&A Outlook2026 Insurance Agency M&A OutlookWho is buying agencies, what they pay for, and how retention and organic growth move the multiple.→
- Fee BenchmarkWhat an advisor costsThe typical fee curve by deal size, and the research on what advised sellers achieve.→
- The bookSelling Your Business with ConfidenceThe whole sale process, from first conversation to closing, written for mid-market owners (Wiley, 2024).→
- InsightsAll of our researchM&A Outlooks, articles, podcasts, and tools, in one place.→
You’ll likely sell your business once. The buyers across the table do this for a living.
That gap is why most owners come to us years before any transaction. We help you see the business the way a buyer will, fix what a buyer would flag, and keep every option open: keep growing, take some money off the table, or sell when you decide it’s time.
Led by the person who wrote the book on selling a business.
David has studied it, done it, and written the book on it: Selling Your Business with Confidence: A Practical Playbook for Mid-Market Owners, published by Wiley. A senior team runs every engagement the same way, held to David’s exacting standards.
David W. McCombie III
An entrepreneur first, and a dealmaker by trade, David founded McCombie Group in 2010 and has since bought, run, and sold businesses himself, as a private equity investor with his own capital at risk and as an owner. When he negotiates against private equity, he’s negotiating against a playbook he has run himself.
Trained at Harvard Law School, McKinsey, and Citigroup, he built McCombie Group’s M&A advisory practice to close the gap most owners run into: small brokers who list businesses on one side, and Wall Street banks that save their best people for billion-dollar clients on the other.
David also serves on the executive committee of the Miami chapter of YPO, the global community of chief executives.
David’s full bio →Straight answers before you call us
What does McCombie Group do?
Do I need to be ready to sell to talk to you?
What is my business worth, and how do I find out?
I just got an offer for my business. What should I do?
The best time to talk to us is long before you’re ready.
A confidential conversation, or a realistic view of your range. Both are free, and both are useful even if you do nothing for years.
Free and confidential: about two minutes of questions, then a preliminary value range by email.
The information on this page describes capital-raising services and is provided for general informational purposes only. Nothing on this page is an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any security, nor a recommendation regarding any security or investment. Any such offer or solicitation will be made only through definitive transaction documents to eligible investors, and only in compliance with applicable federal and state securities laws. Capital-raising or any other transactions involving the offer, purchase, or sale of securities are conducted through GT Securities, Inc., a broker-dealer registered with the SEC and a member of FINRA and SIPC. Past results are not indicative of future outcomes. No assurance can be given that any transaction will be completed or achieve any particular result.