M&A Advisor in New York City | 2026 LMM Sell-Side Guide

Updated Q3 2026.

Hiring an M&A advisor in New York City is not like hiring one anywhere else in the country. New York City is the global capital of transactional finance, and the concentration of bulge bracket banks, boutique sell-side firms, private equity sponsors, and premium legal benches means a lower middle market (LMM) owner in the five boroughs faces both the deepest buyer pool in the world and the highest expectations for process quality. Whether your business is a $12 million SaaS company in SoHo, a $45 million specialty distributor in Long Island City, or a $90 million healthcare services rollup in Midtown, the advisor you choose sets the ceiling for outcome. This guide walks through what a New York City M&A advisor actually does, which local boutiques serve LMM sellers, how fees compare to national benchmarks, current EBITDA multiples, the PE hub landscape, the dominant deal verticals, the local law and accounting bench, and the questions every owner should ask before signing an engagement letter. If you want the statewide view first, start with our New York state M&A advisor guide and come back here for the metro layer.

What does an M&A advisor in New York City actually do?

An M&A advisor in New York City runs a sell-side process for LMM business owners: preparing marketing materials, curating a targeted buyer list drawn from the largest sponsor pool in the world, managing bids and diligence, negotiating price and structure, and coordinating with local counsel and QoE providers through close. In NYC, that process is usually faster, more competitive, and more institutional than in other metros because the buyer bench is deeper and the intermediary bench is denser.

The mechanical work is the same as in any city: a confidential information memorandum, a management presentation, a data room, a bid process, negotiation of the letter of intent, exclusivity, quality of earnings, purchase agreement, and close. What changes in New York City is intensity. A well-run NYC sell-side process for a $20 million to $80 million EBITDA business will typically source 80 to 200 initial buyer contacts across strategics, sponsors, family offices, and independent sponsors, of which 15 to 40 sign an NDA, 6 to 12 submit indications of interest, and 3 to 5 reach a final round. The reason those numbers run higher than in secondary metros is straightforward: sponsors and strategics staff their outbound origination teams in New York, and boutique advisors here have shorter dial distances to the decision-makers.

The other differentiator is process management. Because NYC advisors run so many deals in parallel, they enforce process discipline that keeps buyers on a common timeline. That discipline matters most in the four weeks between IOI receipt and management meetings, where a disorganized process can lose 100 to 200 basis points of enterprise value. See also our statewide advisor guide for the broader picture across upstate New York and Long Island.

Which M&A advisors serve New York City LMM sellers?

Verified LMM boutiques with New York City offices include MidCap Advisors, Solomon Partners, Berkery Noyes, Oaklins DeSilva+Phillips, Drake Star Partners, Progress Partners, and Three Ocean Partners. Each runs sell-side mandates in the $5 million to $250 million enterprise value band, with sub-specialties in information industries, media, tech, and generalist LMM. Owners should shortlist based on vertical fit, not office proximity.

Verified NYC LMM M&A boutiques (2026)

Firm	Office	Sweet spot	Focus
MidCap Advisors	Manhattan	$5M to $250M revenue	Sell-side, corporate finance, capital raises
Solomon Partners	Midtown Manhattan	$25M to $100M EV	Generalist LMM
Berkery Noyes	Midtown Manhattan	LMM	Information industries, tech, media
Oaklins DeSilva+Phillips	NYC	LMM	Media, information services
Drake Star Partners	NYC	LMM	Tech and media
Progress Partners	NYC	$10M to $25M EV	Media, marketing tech
Three Ocean Partners	NYC	LMM	Generalist

MidCap Advisors (see midcapadvisors.com) runs sell-side and capital raise mandates across generalist LMM, with a bench that leans toward $5M to $50M EV owner-founder transactions. Solomon Partners is a well-known independent advisory brand out of Midtown; its LMM practice fits owners in the $25M to $100M EV range who want a bulge-adjacent process without paying bulge fees. Berkery Noyes has been the go-to specialist for information industries, publishing, and B2B media M&A since the 1980s, and remains one of the most cited advisors on media-tech tombstones. Oaklins DeSilva+Phillips covers media and information services with the global reach of the Oaklins network. Drake Star Partners handles tech and media LMM cross-border. Progress Partners serves smaller media and marketing-tech sellers in the $10M to $25M band. Three Ocean Partners runs generalist LMM sell-side.

Owners should not pick from this list purely on office proximity. The right question is vertical fit and process pattern. If you run a $30M revenue B2B SaaS business, a media-tech specialist like Progress Partners or Drake Star will source a different (usually better) buyer set than a generalist. If you run a $60M industrial distributor, a generalist like Solomon or Three Ocean is a stronger fit.

How do New York City fees compare to national LMM benchmarks?

New York City M&A advisor fees generally follow a modified Lehman or double-Lehman success fee structure with a retainer, and total success fees on completed LMM deals typically land between 2% and 6% of enterprise value depending on deal size. The NYC premium over national LMM benchmarks is small (usually 25 to 75 basis points) and is usually justified by faster processes, deeper buyer pools, and better negotiation use.

Typical LMM M&A advisor fee structures in New York City

Deal size (EV)	Monthly retainer	Success fee range	Structure notes
$5M to $15M	$10K to $25K	4% to 6%	Often flat or modified Lehman with minimum fee
$15M to $40M	$15K to $40K	3% to 5%	Double Lehman or modified with break points
$40M to $100M	$25K to $75K	2% to 4%	Tiered with performance kickers above target price
$100M to $250M	$50K to $100K	1.5% to 3%	Bespoke; usually includes hurdle-based upside share

According to the Alliance of Merger & Acquisition Advisors annual fee survey, the national median success fee for sub-$50M EV deals sits between 3.5% and 5.5%. NYC advisors tend to fall on the lower side of that band for premium franchises because the buyer pool is deeper and the auction dynamic gets to a competitive price faster. That said, NYC retainers are almost always higher than in secondary metros: a $30M EV owner should expect a $20K to $35K monthly retainer that is fully credited against the success fee at close. Watch for two common structure quirks: (1) minimum success fees that can push effective rates well above the stated percentage for smaller deals, and (2) performance kickers that only fire above an unrealistic target price and effectively give the advisor no incentive to beat expectations.

What EBITDA multiples are New York City businesses selling for in 2026?

In 2026, premium New York City LMM franchises are transacting at 7x to 11x EBITDA on the sell-side, with financial services, healthcare, and vertical SaaS at the top of the range and traditional business services in the middle. The NYC metro premium over comparable Midwest LMM comps is real but modest, typically 0.5x to 1.5x, driven by buyer competition rather than intrinsic operating differences.

Recent NYC LMM multiple ranges by vertical (2026)

Vertical	EBITDA multiple range	Deal driver
Financial services and fintech	8x to 12x	RIA roll-ups, wealth-tech, insurance brokerage consolidation
Tech and media	7x to 11x	Vertical SaaS, ad-tech, information services
Healthcare services	7x to 10x	MSO roll-ups, home health, specialty medical practices
Real estate services	6x to 9x	Property management, brokerage, PropTech
Business services	5x to 8x	MSPs, IT services, marketing services

Recent tombstones cleared through Solomon, MidCap, and Berkery Noyes have landed in the 7x to 11x range for premium franchises. GF Data’s LMM quarterly reports show median LMM multiples nationally in the 6.5x to 8x band, so NYC premium franchises are transacting at a modest premium to the national LMM median. That premium is real but often overstated by owners doing armchair comping.

“When we run a sell-side out of New York City, the multiple premium comes from process quality more than geography. A well-run auction with the right buyer list will surface a strategic willing to pay 0.5x to 1.5x above the median every time. The mistake owners make is assuming the premium is automatic. It is not. It has to be built into the process from the CIM forward.”

, CT Acquisitions M&A team

Which PE firms have offices in New York City?

Every major US private equity sponsor either headquarters in New York City or maintains a primary NYC office. Blackstone, KKR, Carlyle, Apollo, Warburg Pincus, General Atlantic, Bain Capital, and TPG all run large NYC teams, and every bulge bracket bank M&A group (Goldman, Morgan Stanley, JPM, Citi, BofA) is NYC-based. For LMM sellers, that concentration means direct proximity to the largest deployable sponsor capital pool in the world.

The mega-cap sponsors above rarely buy directly at the LMM level, but their LMM-focused platforms and their portfolio company add-on programs are highly active buyers of $5M to $50M EBITDA businesses. Blackstone Growth, KKR Ascendant, and Bain Double Impact are examples of platforms that regularly compete for LMM deals. At the pure LMM sponsor tier, NYC hosts a dense concentration of firms including Riverside NYC, Palladium Equity Partners, Wafra, and dozens of independent sponsors and family offices working out of Midtown and downtown offices.

On the intermediary side of the middle market, Solomon Partners, Houlihan Lokey NYC, Raymond James NYC, and Duff & Phelps (now Kroll) NYC form the tier of sell-side advisors sitting above the $100M EV threshold. For an LMM owner, the practical value of this ecosystem is that a well-run boutique process gets read by dozens of sponsor associates within 48 hours of teaser distribution. That speed of buyer engagement is the single biggest process advantage NYC has over secondary metros. The PitchBook and Axial databases both index NYC as the dominant sponsor origination hub in the country.

What are the dominant New York City M&A verticals in 2026?

The five dominant NYC LMM M&A verticals in 2026 are financial services and fintech, tech and media, healthcare services, real estate services, and business services. Roll-up activity is concentrated in RIAs, MSPs, insurance brokers, home health, and specialty medical practices. Sellers in these verticals will find the deepest buyer pool in the country working directly out of NYC.

Financial services and fintech. NYC hosts the densest concentration of RIA aggregators (Focus Financial, Hightower, Mercer Advisors), wealth-tech buyers, and insurance brokerage consolidators in the country. RIA multiples in NYC currently run 8x to 10x EBITDA for franchises with $2M+ EBITDA and strong recurring revenue. Insurance brokerage consolidators (Acrisure, Hub, BroadStreet) close NYC-metro deals at 10x to 14x EBITDA for premium property and casualty books.

Tech and media. Vertical SaaS, ad-tech, and B2B information services are the mainstay of NYC boutique M&A. Berkery Noyes, Drake Star, and Progress Partners collectively close a large share of the LMM tombstones in this space. Multiples run 7x to 11x for cash-flow-positive vertical SaaS with net revenue retention above 100%.

Healthcare services. MSO roll-ups in dermatology, ophthalmology, cardiology, and dental have been the dominant LMM healthcare theme through 2025 and into 2026. Home health and hospice consolidation is active, and specialty medical practices with $2M+ EBITDA transact at 7x to 10x.

Real estate services. Property management, tenant services, and commercial brokerage roll-ups are consolidating in NYC and adjacent metros. Multiples run 6x to 9x depending on recurring contract mix.

Business services. MSPs, IT services, marketing services, and specialty distribution are the traditional LMM workhorse verticals in NYC. Multiples run 5x to 8x with process quality driving the top of the range.

Which local law firms and accounting practices handle New York City sell-side deals?

The premium NYC transactional legal bench includes Wachtell Lipton, Skadden Arps, Paul Weiss, Cravath, Simpson Thacher, and Sullivan & Cromwell, all NYC-headquartered and covering LMM to mega-cap M&A. All Big 4 accounting firms (Deloitte, PwC, EY, KPMG) are NYC-headquartered for LMM sell-side quality of earnings and tax structuring, with Grant Thornton and RSM maintaining large NYC offices for LMM sellers.

NYC transactional legal and accounting bench for LMM sellers

Firm	Type	LMM fit
Wachtell Lipton	Law	Premium; usually $50M+ EV
Skadden Arps	Law	LMM to mega-cap
Paul Weiss	Law	LMM to mega-cap
Cravath	Law	Mid-market to mega-cap
Simpson Thacher	Law	Sponsor-heavy LMM to mega-cap
Sullivan & Cromwell	Law	LMM to mega-cap
Deloitte	Accounting	QoE, tax structuring, all LMM
PwC	Accounting	QoE, tax structuring, all LMM
EY	Accounting	QoE, tax structuring, all LMM
KPMG	Accounting	QoE, tax structuring, all LMM
Grant Thornton	Accounting	LMM sell-side QoE
RSM	Accounting	LMM sell-side QoE

For LMM sellers under $30M EV, the premium Wachtell/Cravath tier is usually overkill and unaffordable; a strong LMM-focused firm like Lowenstein Sandler, Loeb & Loeb, or a boutique transactional practice will typically deliver equivalent outcome at 40% to 60% lower cost. The Big 4 QoE providers are worth their fees for any deal over $20M EV: buyers expect them, and having a pre-marketing QoE from Deloitte, PwC, EY, or KPMG accelerates diligence by three to five weeks. Grant Thornton and RSM are strong middle-ground QoE options for the $5M to $20M EV band.

How does selling in New York City differ from selling elsewhere in New York?

Selling in New York City differs from selling in the rest of New York state primarily in buyer competition and process pace. NYC deals draw 3x to 5x the number of initial buyer contacts as comparable upstate deals, and the sell-side timeline runs 30 to 60 days shorter on average. Multiples in NYC run 0.5x to 1.5x higher than comparable Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, or Albany deals for the same vertical and size.

A $25M EV manufacturing business in Buffalo will draw a strong regional buyer pool but a relatively thin sponsor bench; the same business in Long Island City will draw the regional buyers plus 20 to 40 NYC-based sponsors and strategics that never look at Buffalo teasers. That difference translates directly into competitive tension and price. Owners in Westchester, Nassau, and Suffolk counties usually get the NYC buyer pool automatically; owners upstate often need to explicitly route their sell-side through an NYC-office advisor to get access.

The other difference is diligence intensity. NYC buyers, especially the sponsor tier, run more rigorous QoE, legal, and commercial diligence than regional buyers. Owners should be prepared for a data room that will get scrutinized by three to five diligence workstreams simultaneously. That intensity is why a pre-marketing sell-side QoE is close to non-negotiable in NYC. For a broader statewide view including upstate metros, see our New York state M&A advisor page.

What questions should you ask a New York City M&A advisor?

Before signing an engagement letter with a New York City M&A advisor, owners should ask about deal count and closed-deal ratio in the last 24 months, vertical fit, buyer list construction, fee structure and minimums, tail period, expense reimbursement, and staffing seniority. The right advisor should answer each question in specifics, not generalities, and should be willing to share redacted references.

1. How many LMM sell-side deals have you closed in the last 24 months, and in my vertical? Deal count is the single strongest predictor of process quality.
2. Who will actually run my process day-to-day? Boutique advisors sometimes pitch senior partners and staff associates. Get the actual staffing.
3. What is your fee structure, and is there a minimum success fee? Minimums can turn a stated 3% fee into an effective 6% fee on smaller deals.
4. What is the tail period? A 12 to 24 month tail is standard; anything longer is negotiable.
5. How do you build the buyer list? A specific answer citing sponsor CRM tools (Axial, SourceScrub, PitchBook) is a good sign; a hand-wave is not.
6. Will you agree to a walk-away right if IOI values fall below a threshold? Owners should have an out if the market doesn’t clear.
7. What is your expense reimbursement policy? Uncapped expenses can add 1% to 2% to effective fees.
8. Can I speak with three recent seller references, including one deal that didn’t close? The unclosed reference tells you more than the closed one.

Related CT Acquisitions guides

These companion guides cover the sell-side process end to end. Read alongside this page for the full picture on fees, timelines, and buyer archetypes.

• M&A Advisory Pillar Guide (2026)
• Buy-Side M&A Advisory
• Lower Middle Market M&A Advisor
• Business Appraisal Cost 2026
• Investment Bank Fees LMM 2026
• Quality of Earnings (QoE) Guide
• M&A Advisor for HVAC Business
• M&A Advisor for Plumbing Business
• M&A Advisor for Orthopedic Practice

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a New York City advisor if my business is in the outer boroughs or Long Island?

For businesses in the outer boroughs, Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester, a Manhattan-office advisor gives you the same buyer pool access as a Manhattan-based seller. The office location matters less than the advisor’s vertical fit and process discipline.

Are NYC advisor fees really higher than in other metros?

Marginally. Retainers run 25% to 50% higher than in secondary metros, but success fee percentages are usually equivalent or slightly lower for premium franchises because the auction dynamic is more competitive.

How long does an NYC sell-side process take?

Typical NYC LMM sell-side runs 5 to 8 months from engagement to close, with 3 to 5 months in market and 2 to 3 months from LOI to close. Larger or more complex deals run longer.

What is a modified Lehman fee structure?

Modified Lehman is a tiered success fee scale, often 5% on the first $5M of EV, 4% on the next $5M, 3% on the next, and so on. Double Lehman uses double each tier. Ask your advisor for a written fee grid with worked examples at your expected EV.

Should I run a pre-marketing quality of earnings in NYC?

For any deal above $15M EV, yes. NYC buyers, especially sponsors, expect a Big 4 or top-tier LMM QoE. It compresses diligence by weeks and closes the negotiation gap on working capital and EBITDA adjustments.

Can I run a limited process instead of a broad auction?

Yes. Targeted processes to 5 to 15 pre-qualified strategics work well for owners who prioritize confidentiality or have a clear buyer in mind. A boutique advisor will run a targeted process at the same fee structure as a broad auction.

What is the tail period, and why does it matter?

The tail period is the window after termination during which the advisor still earns a success fee if you close with a buyer they introduced. Standard is 12 to 24 months. Push back on anything above 24 months.

How do I compare NYC boutiques against a bulge bracket bank for a $75M EV deal?

At $75M EV you are at the low end of bulge bracket coverage and the top end of LMM boutique coverage. A boutique like Solomon Partners or MidCap Advisors will usually run a more attentive process at a lower fee than the bulge, with equivalent buyer access. Bulge banks are worth the premium at $150M+ EV.

Next step

If you are an owner researching an M&A advisor in New York City for a 2026 or 2027 exit, the highest-value next step is a private conversation with a boutique that has closed multiple deals in your vertical in the last 24 months. Start with a shortlist of two or three firms from the verified list above, request references, and get written fee grids before signing anything. For the broader picture across the state including upstate metros, review our New York state M&A advisor guide. For the national perspective on 2026 LMM conditions, see our 2026 LMM M&A market report, and for buyer-side context, see the CT Acquisitions buy-side pillar.