Merger Partners

What Merger Partners does

Merger Partners Inc. is a specialty middle-market investment banking firm headquartered in Dallas, Texas, with additional offices in San Francisco, Washington D.C., Denver, Montana, and Stuart, Florida. The firm was founded by Joe Saad, who previously worked at Texas Pacific Capital Corporation and Kreller Consulting Group, and is led by a team of senior managing directors and advisors with backgrounds spanning defense, political operations, healthcare, military/private equity, and capital markets. The company is organized around two integrated offerings: a sell-side advisory practice built on the trademarked Sniper Process® methodology, and Merger Partners Capital, an equity sponsorship division that invests its own capital into control transactions.

The Sniper Process® is a proprietary M&A execution framework that replaces the traditional broad auction with a targeted buyer interview process, with the engagement fee paid by the buyer rather than the seller. Merger Partners Capital extends this model by providing equity capital for control transactions, with stated investment criteria including greater than $2M EBITDA, gross margins above 35%, and post-acquisition growth potential exceeding 20% annually. The firm also operates a channel partner program targeting accounting firms, fractional CFOs, and valuation firms to source sell-side mandates.

Merger Partners generates revenue primarily through transaction-based success fees from buyers on closed M&A engagements, supplemented by equity sponsorship returns from its Capital division. Disclosed case studies span medical products ($18M revenue, $3.2M EBITDA), oilfield services ($42M revenue, $5M EBITDA), and engineering services ($452M revenue, $61M EBITDA). The firm is a privately held Texas corporation with no public revenue, funding, or valuation disclosures.

Name

Merger Partners

Legal name

Merger Partners Incorporated

Website

https://mergerpartners.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Merger Partners is a Dallas-based specialty middle-market investment bank that uses its trademarked Sniper Process® to sell companies to targeted buyers, supplemented by Merger Partners Capital equity sponsorship for control transactions. It serves private business owners and private equity buyers across multiple US offices.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Middle-Market M&A Advisory

NAICS

Investment Banking and Securities Intermediation (523150)

SIC

Security Brokers, Dealers & Flotation Companies (6211), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

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

akta.pro secondary industries

Buy-Side M&A Advisory (FSAEAGAB), Lower Middle-Market Business Brokerage (FSAEAIAB), Corporate Development & Strategic Partnerships Advisory (JVs, Alliances, Carve-outs) (BPAHAOAG)

Keywords

• Middle-market M&A advisory
• Specialty investment banking
• Business sale advisory
• Private equity intermediation
• Sponsored control transactions

Headquarters

HQ city

Dallas

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Transaction-based fee (buyer pays): The company charges a fee to the buyer of the company, not the seller. The seller pays nothing for the service. This unique fee structure aligns incentives and is a key differentiator.
2. Sponsored Transactions (Merger Partners Capital): Merger Partners Capital acts as an equity sponsor in control transactions, providing leadership, capital, and focused guidance to private middle-market companies they acquire and grow. They invest their own capital along with outside capital from family offices, private equity firms, and individuals.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Merger Partners provides M&A advisory services to middle-market business owners and private equity firms through its proprietary Sniper Process®, an interview-based methodology that selects a small group of compelling buyers who compete to acquire a target company, with the buyer paying Merger Partners' fee. The firm also operates Merger Partners Capital, an equity sponsorship arm that invests its own capital alongside outside capital from family offices, PE firms, and individuals to acquire and grow private middle-market companies with greater than $2 million EBITDA.

Product overview

Merger Partners offers two integrated offerings: Sniper Process, a proprietary M&A deal-execution platform that helps business owners and private equity firms sell companies through a competitive buyer-selection process rather than traditional auctions; and Merger Partners Capital, a separate equity sponsorship division that provides capital and operational leadership for control transactions and company acquisitions. The firm operates nationally with professionals across Dallas, San Francisco, Washington D.C., Denver, Montana, and Florida.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Sniper Process®: The proprietary M&A process developed by Merger Partners that identifies the most compelling handful of buyers who compete to acquire the company. The buyer pays their fee and the seller owes nothing.

Products and services

• Sniper Process® Sniper Process® is a proprietary M&A advisory methodology in which Merger Partners conducts an interview-based process to identify the most compelling handful of buyers who then compete to acquire the target company. The buyer pays Merger Partners' fee and the seller owes nothing, and the process is designed to be faster, less risky, and more effective than traditional investment banker auctions. It is sold to private middle-market business owners selling their companies and to private equity firms acquiring them.
• Merger Partners Capital (Sponsored Transactions) Merger Partners Capital is an equity sponsorship offering under which Merger Partners acts as principal investor providing leadership, capital, and focused guidance to private middle-market companies it acquires and grows. The firm combines its own equity capital with outside capital from family offices, private equity firms, and individuals, targeting companies with greater than $2 million EBITDA, post-acquisition revenue growth potential greater than 20% annually, gross margin greater than 35% preferred, and meaningful management equity participation.

Quantifiable outcome

• One in three buyers avoid traditional auction processes run by investment bankers
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Accounting Firms, Fractional CFOs, Valuation Firms (Channel Partners)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorChannel partners including accounting firms, fractional CFOs, and valuation firms refer clients to Merger Partners to sell their companies rather than referring them to traditional investment bankers. This increases billings for the referral partners.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Stifel Financial Corp. Diversified financial services firm with a meaningful middle-market investment banking practice. Competes for M&A advisory mandates with private equity firms and mid-market business owners across multiple industries.
• Robert W. Baird & Co. Diversified financial services firm with a substantial middle-market M&A advisory business. Competes directly for sell-side and buy-side mandates with private equity firms and business owners, but operates at much greater scale.
• Houlihan Lokey: Global investment bank with a strong middle-market M&A advisory practice. Directly comparable as a competitor for sell-side and buy-side M&A advisory mandates in the middle market, though at significantly larger scale and broader sector coverage.
• KPMG Corporate Finance: Global professional services firm with a dedicated middle-market M&A advisory practice. Competes for sell-side advisory mandates with business owners and is similar to Merger Partners in addressing middle-market transaction execution.
• Raymond James Financial: Diversified financial services firm with a significant middle-market M&A advisory group. Comparable in serving private equity firms and business owners on sell-side and buy-side mandates, though with broader service offerings.

Direct peers

• Generational Equity: Lower middle-market M&A advisory firm specializing in selling privately held businesses. Comparable in target customer (business owners seeking to sell), transaction size focus, and fee-based advisory model.
• Woodbridge International: Global middle-market M&A advisory firm that operates a proprietary process for matching buyers and sellers. Highly comparable in methodology-driven approach, fee structure alternatives, and middle-market focus.
• Lincoln International: Boutique investment bank focused on middle-market M&A advisory, with similar buyer/seller intermediation services. Closely comparable in target customer (private equity firms and business owners), transaction size focus, and advisory-only model.
• Andra Partners: Buyside M&A advisory firm serving middle-market private equity firms. Directly comparable in performing acquisition searches for PE firms, a service Merger Partners historically provided and which Brad Barker (Managing Director) was previously associated with.
• Capstone Partners: Middle-market investment banking advisory firm providing M&A services to private equity firms and business owners. Closely comparable in customer base, deal size focus, and advisory-only business model.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/mergerpartners

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Subsidiaries1 record

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 Merger Partners