Closed Transactions

A/E and surveying firm transactions we have closed

These are real closed deals, named where the client gave permission, with the sellers' own words attached. Architecture, engineering, and land surveying firms whose owners sold and were paid at closing.

Deal terms stay confidential, so what you see here is what the firms themselves have already put on the record. Nothing on this page is an estimate.

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Sell to your employees. SBA Bank financing is arranged with a 5% down payment. Get paid at closing. (Not an ESOP)

The Record

Firms that sold, and how each one was structured

Most are internal sales, where the buyers were people already inside the firm. One is a buy-side engagement, representing the person doing the acquiring. Each entry lists only what has already been made public.

Internal sale to employees

Roberts Engineering

Civil engineering and land surveying, Hamilton, New Jersey

Sold to a senior engineer inside the firm

A 28-person practice where the founder and a long-tenured senior engineer had both known the logic of an internal sale for more than two years before anything moved. Three things kept it stuck: financing, price, and control.

The assumed structure had been seller financing, which meant the seller would carry a multi-year note and keep governance rights until it was paid. That is not a retirement. Once the deal was rebuilt around bank financing with an independent valuation, the seller was paid at closing and the control question stopped mattering.

Founder Carmela Roberts sold the firm to Cameron Corini, an 18-year employee who had become a partner in 2023. His existing equity in the business counted toward the financing, so he bought the firm with no cash down payment, and almost all of the proceeds were paid at closing.

“I'm delighted that the Roberts Engineering legacy can continue beyond my retirement.”
Carmela RobertsFounder, Roberts Engineering Group
Read the full Roberts Engineering case studyRead the firm's announcement of the sale

Internal sale to employees

EGA Architects

Senior living architecture, Newburyport, Massachusetts

Two owners sold to three employees

A 19-person architecture practice that has designed senior living communities for 60 years. Its two owners were ready to retire and sold the firm to three of their employees.

The buyers put down 10 percent, and the sellers were paid in full at closing. Shortly after the sale a fourth employee asked to become an owner, and the company and its bank revised the transaction documents to bring him in.

“We were paid in full at closing, and the firm we spent years building continues in the hands of employees we know and trust.”
Gerry MenkeFormer CEO, EGA Architects
Read about the firm on EGA's own site

Internal sale to employees

Phasor Corporation

Engineering

Sold to employees without carrying the note

The owner had been told that selling to his own employees while still being paid at closing was not possible. It was the specific thing he wanted and the specific thing he had been advised to give up on.

Three lenders had declined the deal before we got involved. We found the right bank and restructured the transaction, and it funded in 45 days as an employee buyout with the bank, not the seller, financing the purchase.

“John brought clarity and direction to what felt like an overwhelming process. He helped me achieve what I had been told was impossible: selling to my employees and not being the bank. More than anything, John treated the sale like a true partnership, and he always kept my goals in mind. I can honestly say my firm's future is brighter because of his guidance.”
Jim ReganFormer Owner, Phasor Corporation

Internal sale to employees

Lighthouse Land Surveying

Land surveying

Seller paid at closing, employees retained

A land surveying firm sale where the owner's two priorities were that his people were looked after and that he was paid at closing rather than collecting from his buyers for years.

Both held. The transaction was structured around SBA financing with the bank funding the purchase.

“Selling my firm was one of the biggest decisions of my life. John made the process smooth. His knowledge of SBA financing and deep understanding of how land surveying firms work gave me complete confidence from start to finish. He was a trusted advisor who knew what mattered most: making sure my employees were cared for and that I got paid at closing.”
Rick ReidFormer Owner, Lighthouse Land Surveying

Buy-side engagement

Capitol Engineering

Engineering

Buyer acquired the firm and planned the growth path

The buyer's side of an engineering firm acquisition. The work did not stop at getting the deal closed, it carried through to what the new owner would do with the firm afterward.

This is the side of a transaction most advisory relationships treat as someone else's problem.

“Working with John was an exceptional experience. He demonstrated a remarkable command of both SBA financing and the intricacies of engineering firm acquisitions. His expertise extended far beyond a traditional business broker / M&A Advisor. He served as a strategic advisor, helping me not only complete the deal but also create a clear and actionable path for future growth.”
Craig McKenzieNew Owner, Capitol Engineering

Internal sale to employees

John W. Delano & Associates

Land surveying, Massachusetts

Seller received liquidity at closing

A Massachusetts land surveying firm where the seller took liquidity at closing rather than a payout stretched over years.

Watch the seller's video testimonial

Internal sale to employees

Cammett Engineering and Surveying

Engineering and land surveying, Massachusetts

Seller received liquidity at closing

A Massachusetts engineering and land surveying firm, sold with the seller receiving liquidity at closing.

Watch the video testimonial

The Lender’s View

What the bank says when the file lands on its desk

Every deal above had to clear a credit committee. The seller worry that never gets said out loud is that the financing will not come together and the sale will collapse in underwriting. This is a lending partner describing what it is like to receive one of these files.

I've worked with many brokers and M&A advisors, and John is a cut above. My Credit Committee highly respects him because he consistently presents solid, bankable deals. Additionally, his transactions are well-structured, and he has educated the borrowers to avoid surprises.

Director of SBA Lending

Lending partner

What These Deals Share

Three things every one of these transactions had in common

The firms differ in discipline and size. The structure underneath them does not.

  1. The seller was paid at closing

    In every one of these deals the owner took proceeds on the closing date instead of collecting installments from the people who used to work for them. That is the point of the structure, and it is the thing sellers are most often told they cannot have.

  2. The buyers already worked there

    Senior engineers, surveyors, and key staff who knew the clients, the files, and the standards before the deal started. Continuity was not something anyone had to engineer after closing, because the people running the firm never changed.

  3. The bank funded the purchase, not the seller

    The financing came from a lender, so the repayment risk sat with the bank rather than the retiring owner. That single change is what turns an internal sale from a decade of collections into an actual exit.

Your Firm Could Be Next

Find out what this looks like for your firm

A confidential conversation is the whole first step. No fee, no obligation, and you will know quickly whether an internal sale is realistic for your firm's size, profitability, and buyer readiness.

Schedule Your Confidential Consultation(617) 992-6717