Skyline Advisors

What Skyline Advisors does

Skyline Advisors is an independent, boutique investment bank founded in 2005 (originally as CFO Capital, rebranded in September 2017) and headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, with a second office in Chicago, Illinois. The firm advises lower middle market companies with revenues typically between $5 million and $200 million on strategic transactions, including selling or buying businesses, raising capital, and obtaining strategic advice. Its core service offerings are Mergers & Acquisitions Advisory, Corporate Finance Services, and Strategic Transaction Support, delivered through direct client engagement from initial meeting through transaction close.

The firm's primary customer segment is family-owned and closely-held companies, with sector expertise in Food and Agriculture, Industrials, Technology, and Healthcare. Securities services are offered through a partnership with M&A Securities Group, Inc., and real estate brokerage services through Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Ambassador Real Estate, with Skyline Advisors operating as a separate entity. The team is small (1-10 employees), led by President John Gustafson and Partner Michael Pechette (who leads the Industrials practice and Great Lakes region from Chicago), supported by an Associate and several research analysts.

The business model is transaction-fee based, with revenue earned from advising on M&A, capital raises, and strategic transactions; pricing is not publicly disclosed. The firm markets through content (industry reports, blog, newsletter) and direct engagement, with no disclosed funding rounds, no parent company, and no institutional ownership. Recent disclosed transactions include Decision Logic (2025), Cockle Legal Briefs (2024), Behaven Kids (2022), and R&R Christo Construction (2021), indicating a steady but episodic deal cadence.

Name

Skyline Advisors

Legal name

Skyline Advisors, LLC

Website

https://skyline-advisors.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Skyline Advisors is a boutique investment bank founded in 2005, advising lower middle market family-owned and closely-held companies on M&A, capital raising, and strategic transactions across Food & Ag, Industrials, Technology, and Healthcare. Headquartered in Omaha with a Chicago office.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Investment Banking Advisory

NAICS

Management Consulting Services (54161), Other Management Consulting Services (541618)

SIC

Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPAHAOAA

M&A Advisory (Buy-Side & Sell-Side)

Business & Public Services/Professional Services (Legal, Accounting, Consulting)/M&A, Transaction & Restructuring Advisory

SECONDARYBPAHADAG

Capital Raising Advisory (Debt/Equity/Private Capital)

Business & Public Services/Professional Services (Legal, Accounting, Consulting)/Strategy & Corporate Finance Advisory

SECONDARYFSAEAGAB

Buy-Side M&A Advisory

Financial & Insurance/Financial Advisory, Brokerage & Intermediation/M&A Advisory & Corporate Finance

SECONDARYBPAHAOAE

Equity Capital Advisory (Private Equity Placements, Growth Capital)

Business & Public Services/Professional Services (Legal, Accounting, Consulting)/M&A, Transaction & Restructuring Advisory

Keywords

• Mergers and acquisitions advisory
• Middle market investment banking
• Corporate finance advisory
• Strategic transaction support
• Boutique investment banking

Headquarters

HQ city

Omaha

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. M&A Advisory Fees: The firm earns fees for advising on strategic transactions including selling, buying, raising money for, or investing in businesses. Services involving securities are offered through M&A Securities Group, Inc.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Skyline Advisors is an independent boutique investment bank that advises lower middle market companies on strategic transactions. Its core offerings are Mergers & Acquisitions Advisory, Corporate Finance Services (capital raising and financing support), and Strategic Transaction Support spanning positioning, due diligence, and deal execution. Clients are primarily family-owned and closely-held businesses with $5 million to $200 million in revenue.

Product overview

Skyline Advisors is an independent, boutique investment bank offering a unified set of advisory services centered on strategic transactions. The firm's core offerings include Mergers & Acquisitions Advisory, Corporate Finance Services, and Strategic Transaction Support. These services are designed to help companies with selling, buying, raising capital, or investing in businesses and strategic assets, with a focus on high-growth and middle-market companies including family-owned and closely-held businesses.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Mergers & Acquisitions Advisory

Named customers4 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• M&A Securities Group, Inc.coreOthersSecurities services are offered through M&A Securities Group, Inc. Located at 4151 N Mulberry Drive Suite 252, Kansas City, MO, 64116. Skyline Advisors, MAS, and BHHS are separate entities.
• Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Ambassador Real EstatecoreOthersReal estate brokerage services are offered through Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Ambassador Real Estate. Skyline Advisors, MAS, and BHHS are separate entities.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Generational Equity: One of the largest US boutique M&A advisors exclusively focused on the lower middle market ($5M-$200M revenue), selling private, family-owned and closely-held businesses; nearly identical target client profile, geography (national, US-based), and service offering to Skyline Advisors.
• Lincoln International: Global middle-market investment bank advising on M&A, capital raising, and advisory across industrials, technology, healthcare, and consumer; directly comparable in middle-market M&A focus and sector breadth, though meaningfully larger and more globally distributed.
• Cascadia Capital: Independent, middle-market M&A advisory firm headquartered in Seattle with sector teams across food & ag, industrials, healthcare, and technology; same boutique sell-side model and several overlapping verticals as Skyline Advisors.
• Marsh Berry: M&A and consulting firm specialized in insurance distribution and financial services, advising on transactions for closely-held and family-owned firms; comparable boutique advisory model and concentration on lower-middle-market founder-led companies.
• FMI Corporation: Consulting and investment banking firm focused on engineering and construction firms, advising on M&A and ownership transition; directly comparable boutique model with vertical specialization serving closely-held and family-owned businesses.

Broad incumbents

• Houlihan Lokey: Established global investment bank with deep middle-market M&A, capital markets, and restructuring practices; overlaps directly with Skyline on sell-side mandates for family-owned and sponsor-backed companies in the lower-to-mid middle market.
• Piper Sandler: Public, full-service investment bank with a strong middle-market M&A franchise covering consumer, healthcare, industrials, and tech; competes with Skyline on lower-to-mid middle market sell-side mandates and on the buy-side for sponsor relationships.
• Stifel Financial: Large diversified financial services firm with a sizable middle-market investment banking group covering M&A, capital raising, and advisory across healthcare, tech, and consumer; competes with Skyline on lower middle market sell-side mandates and capital raises.
• Kroll (Corporate Finance / M&A): Global advisory firm with a dedicated M&A practice advising middle-market and large-cap clients on sell-side, buy-side, and special situations; broader footprint than Skyline but overlapping target segments in family-owned and closely-held businesses.

Others

• M&A Securities Group: FINRA-registered broker-dealer through which Skyline delivers securities-related advisory services; a strategic partner / enabling entity for Skyline's capital raising and securities mandates, not a head-to-head competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/skylineadvisors
• Facebookfacebook.com/SkylineAdvisors

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Skyline Advisors