Buy the right business.At the right price, with the real estate understood.
JMB represents acquirers, including private equity platforms, strategic buyers and individual operators, in the purchase of owner-operated businesses. The work combines M&A discipline with decades of experience acquiring and developing commercial real estate.
What buy-side representation covers
Target search
Identifying owner-operated businesses that fit your strategy, including off-market owners who are not actively selling.
Valuation & risk review
An independent view of earnings quality, customer concentration, management depth and the intangible assets you are paying for.
Structuring & negotiation
Offers, letters of intent, earnouts, seller financing and transition terms that protect the acquirer.
The real estate underneath
Lease terms, ownership options, sale-leasebacks and site risk, which often decide whether an acquisition works.
Experience on the acquiring side
John Bush led acquisitions for a private institutional real estate capital firm, sourcing and closing more than $430 million in transactions across 20+ states through a national network. He has also carried more than 40 sites through entitlement for a national express car wash operator. Buyers get an advisor who has underwritten, negotiated and closed from the acquirer’s side.
Questions owners ask
Can JMB find businesses that are not for sale?
Yes. Much of the best buy-side work is direct outreach to owners who have not listed their business, approached confidentially and with a credible acquirer behind the conversation.
Does JMB work with private equity roll-ups?
Yes. JMB works with platforms consolidating fragmented, owner-operated industries such as car washes and property management, on both the business and the real estate.
Why does real estate matter in an acquisition?
For many operating businesses, the lease or the land drives margins and long-term risk. Understanding the lease, ownership options and site constraints before signing a letter of intent avoids expensive surprises.
Related services
Start with a confidential conversation
No obligation and no pitch. Tell us about the business, and we’ll tell you honestly what we see.