What Is The Difference Between a Main Street (MS) and a Middle Market (MM) Business?

While these terms are widely used within the industry, they do not have a standard definition.  At Sunbelt, we generally classify businesses valued at less than $1m as Main Street, and greater than $1m as Middle Market.  However, there are other factors that distinguish MS from MM.  For example, in MS transactions, all the parties (seller, buyer, broker) are local; in MM, your right buyer may be in another state or country, and may be an individual, private equity group, or institutional investor.  Additionally, while most MS transactions are asset sales, many more deal structures are typically contemplated with MM business sales.

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