What’s Driving Acquisitions in the Jan-San Sector in 2025
Understanding the Active Janitorial Supply M&A Market in 2025
The janitorial supplies distribution and wholesale sector has seen remarkable M&A activity in recent years. For business owners in this space, understanding the dynamics of mergers and acquisitions has become increasingly important, whether you’re contemplating selling, exploring growth through acquisition, or simply positioning your company for long-term success.
Notable transactions involving private equity-backed firms like Imperial Dade and BradyIFS, as well as strategic buyers such as Veritiv, highlight the active nature of the market. For business owners approaching retirement, this heightened activity presents viable exit options so you can realize the value you’ve built over the years.
Key Drivers of Jan-San M&A Activity
Market Fragmentation and Consolidation Opportunities
The janitorial supplies industry remains highly fragmented, with the vast majority of companies operating with less than $10 million in revenue. This fragmentation creates significant opportunities for larger entities to pursue acquisitions as a means of rapidly expanding their footprint and gaining market share. Many small to mid-sized distributors find themselves competing in a market where scale increasingly matters, making strategic combinations an attractive path forward.
Strong Private Equity Interest
Private equity firms have demonstrated consistent interest in the janitorial sector, and it’s easy to understand why. These investors are attracted by the predictable revenue patterns that characterize the industry, along with the market fragmentation that creates natural roll-up opportunities. The strong margin profiles typical of well-run Jan-San distributors make them ideal candidates for platform investments, with subsequent add-on acquisitions to build scale and create operational synergies.
We’ve seen this strategy play out with PE-backed companies like Imperial Dade (an Advent portfolio company) and BradyIFS (initially backed by Kelso), both of which have been particularly active in acquiring smaller competitors to build national footprints.
Strategic Growth Initiatives
Beyond private equity, established distributors and wholesalers are actively pursuing M&A as a growth strategy. These strategic buyers are looking to expand their geographic reach into new territories, broaden their service offerings and product portfolios, and access new customer segments. Many find that acquisitions offer a faster and sometimes more cost-effective path to growth than organic expansion alone.
The integration of acquired businesses often yields cost efficiencies through combined purchasing power, streamlined logistics, and elimination of redundant overhead. For companies with strong integration capabilities, this can create significant value beyond the simple addition of revenue streams.
Technology and Efficiency Focus
The Jan-San industry is experiencing an increased emphasis on technology adoption and operational efficiency. Modern distribution businesses are embracing automation in janitorial equipment, developing IoT-enabled maintenance tools, and investing in sophisticated e-commerce capabilities. Those with integrated inventory management systems can deliver superior customer experiences while optimizing working capital.
Companies that have made these technological investments often become attractive acquisition targets for buyers looking to leapfrog their own digital transformation efforts. Rather than building these capabilities from scratch, many acquirers find it more efficient to purchase companies that have already successfully navigated the technology curve.
Succession or Exit Planning
One of the most persistent drivers of M&A activity is the aging demographic of business ownership. As founders and family business owners approach retirement, many find that selling provides the most viable succession solution. This approach allows them to realize the full value they’ve created, ensure business continuity for employees and customers, and preserve the legacy they’ve built over decades of work.
For many owners without family members interested in taking over the business, a strategic sale offers the best path to monetize their life’s work while ensuring the business continues to thrive under new ownership.
Stable Demand Post-Pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic fundamentally changed attitudes about cleanliness and hygiene in commercial and public spaces. This heightened awareness has sustained demand for janitorial supplies well beyond the initial crisis period, making businesses in this sector particularly appealing to acquirers. Companies that demonstrated resilience and adaptability during the pandemic are especially attractive targets, as they’ve proven their ability to navigate significant market disruptions.
Valuing Your Janitorial Supply Company: Understanding Value Drivers
Understanding what drives value in janitorial supply businesses is crucial whether you’re preparing to sell or simply building long-term value. Buyers evaluate several key factors when determining what they’re willing to pay for a Jan-San distribution business. For information on valuation multiples for Jan-San companies, please see our article How to Value a Janitorial Supply Company in 2025.
Revenue Quality and Stability
The stability and predictability of your revenue streams significantly impact valuation. Buyers place substantial value on businesses with consistent, recurring revenue backed by long-term customer contracts or relationships. Strong customer retention rates demonstrate the stickiness of your relationships and the quality of your service model.
A diversified customer base with limited concentration risk is particularly valuable, as it reduces the potential impact of losing any single client. Conversely, businesses with high customer concentration typically face more challenging valuations and often more complex deal structures designed to mitigate this risk for the buyer.
Financial Performance
When determining how to value a janitorial supply company, acquirers will thoroughly analyze your financial performance. EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) serves as the primary valuation metric, but buyers look beyond the raw numbers to understand the quality of those earnings.
They’ll examine profit margins and their stability or growth over time, cash flow generation patterns, and the sustainability of reported profits. Companies with stable or expanding margins typically command premium valuations as they demonstrate both operational efficiency and pricing power in the marketplace.
Management Team Strength
The depth and quality of your management team significantly impacts valuation, particularly for buyers who want to ensure business continuity post-acquisition. An experienced management team willing to stay after the transaction provides valuable continuity and institutional knowledge transfer.
Businesses that are overly dependent on the owner for key relationships and day-to-day operations may be viewed as higher risk acquisitions. In contrast, well-structured organizations with clear roles and responsibilities distributed across a capable team tend to command higher valuations and attract more buyer interest.
Operational Efficiency and Technology
Modern, efficient operations enhance business value by demonstrating scalability and future growth potential. Companies that have invested in e-commerce capabilities, integrated inventory management systems, and streamlined logistics networks are positioned to grow more efficiently.
Adoption of industry innovations and automation not only improves current profitability but signals to buyers that the business is forward-thinking and adaptable. These operational advantages often translate directly into higher valuations, as buyers recognize the embedded value of these investments.
Strategic Fit with Potential Buyers
The value of your business may vary significantly depending on the specific buyer. Strategic buyers might pay premiums for geographic expansion opportunities that complement their existing footprint. Private equity firms often value strong regional presence or defined market niches that can serve as platforms for further growth.
Complementary product lines can enhance your attractiveness to specific acquirers looking to round out their offerings. Understanding these strategic fit considerations helps position your business for optimal valuation with the right buyer pool.
Navigating the M&A Process: A Roadmap for Sellers
The M&A process involves several critical stages that janitorial supply business owners should understand to achieve optimal outcomes. While each transaction is unique, having a clear roadmap can help you navigate this complex journey more successfully.
Preparation: Positioning Your Business for Maximum Value
Before entering the market, thorough preparation is essential to maximize your company’s value and appeal. This preparation phase involves ensuring your financial statements are accurate and up-to-date, organizing customer and operational data, and populating a virtual data room with all the information a buyer will need during due diligence.
Understanding Your Business Value
A proper valuation of your business that will stand up to scrunty by a sophisticated buyer requires a comprehensive assessment that considers many factors unique to the Jan-San sector. Beyond the EBITDA multiples typical for distribution businesses, a thorough valuation will assess your company’s risk profile, examine customer retention history, analyze revenue concentration, and evaluate revenue and margin trends.
This valuation process not only provides you with a realistic price expectation but also identifies the value drivers within your business that can be emphasized during the marketing and negotiation phases. It also highlights areas that might need attention before taking the business to market.
Building Your Transaction Team
Successful transactions rarely happen without experienced advisors guiding the process. Your transaction team should include investment bankers with industry expertise who can identify and approach potential buyers while maintaining confidentiality. An M&A attorney familiar with your business can structure the transaction to protect your interests, while your CPA can provide essential accounting and tax guidance. The right advisory team not only maximizes transaction value but also significantly reduces the stress and uncertainty of the process.
Strategic Positioning and Marketing
Effectively presenting your business to potential buyers requires thoughtful preparation and positioning. This begins with developing compelling marketing materials that articulate your unique value proposition and growth potential. Identifying and proactively addressing potential buyer concerns helps maintain momentum throughout the process.
Your positioning strategy should emphasize the aspects of your business that will be most attractive to your likely buyer pool, whether that’s your customer relationships, operational efficiency, technological advantages, or geographic presence. This targeted approach helps buyers quickly recognize the strategic value your business offers.
Buyer Identification and Outreach
Identifying the right strategic and financial buyers requires working with an investment banker with experience in the Jan-San sector. Your investment banker will conduct targeted outreach to a targeted list of strategic and financial buyers that you approve to pitch a possible transaction and manage the flow of information to potential buyers, gradually providing more detailed information as buyers demonstrate serious interest and capability. This measured approach helps maintain competitive tension while protecting sensitive business information.
Deal Negotiation and Structuring
As interested buyers emerge, negotiations focuses not only on the purchase price but on the overall deal structure. Critical considerations include payment terms (cash at closing versus deferred payments), potential earn-out provisions, and the tax implications of different transaction structures.
The choice between an asset sale and a stock sale carries significant tax and liability implications that must be carefully evaluated. Your advisory team plays a crucial role in these negotiations, helping you understand the true economic value of different offers and structures.
Due Diligence Management
Once you’ve reached an agreement on basic terms, buyers will conduct comprehensive due diligence to verify their assumptions about your business. This process typically includes a detailed review of financial performance and projections, customer relationships and contracts, vendor agreements, employee matters, operational processes, and legal compliance.
Preparing for due diligence in advance helps the process proceed smoothly and minimizes the risk of issues arising that could impact the deal terms. A well-managed due diligence process maintains deal momentum while satisfying buyer requirements for verification.
Closing and Transition
The final stages of the transaction require attention to numerous details, from definitive agreement negotiation to working capital adjustments and transition service arrangements. Careful planning for employee communication and customer relationship transfers helps ensure business continuity throughout the ownership change.
A thoughtful transition plan addresses not only the legal and financial aspects of the deal but also the human and operational elements that will determine its ultimate success.
Beyond Price: Key Considerations When Selling
While maximizing value is important, successful Jan-San business owners consider multiple factors beyond the headline purchase price when evaluating potential transactions.
Financial Considerations
The structure of payment—upfront cash versus deferred consideration—can significantly impact the true value of an offer. Different deal structures carry varying tax implications that affect your after-tax proceeds. Potential ongoing financial ties to the business, such as seller financing or earn-outs, introduce risks that must be carefully evaluated against the potential upside they offer.
Your personal financial objectives and risk tolerance should guide these decisions, which is why it is so important to integrate your transaction planning with your overall wealth management strategy.
Operational Impact
The sale of your business will inevitably bring changes for your employees and operations. Understanding buyers’ integration plans and evaluating cultural compatibility helps ensure a smooth transition. Consider how potential changes to operations, branding, and customer relationships align with your vision for the business you’ve built.
Many sellers find that the treatment of long-time employees is a particularly important consideration in choosing the right buyer, even when it might come at the expense of maximizing sale price.
Risk Evaluation
Your business’s risk profile significantly influences both valuation and deal structure. Companies with high customer concentration typically receive lower multiples and more complex structures that shift some risk back to the seller through earn-outs or similar mechanisms.
Conversely, businesses with strong management teams independent of the owner and stable, growing revenue streams command premium valuations and more favorable terms. Understanding how buyers perceive your risk profile helps set realistic expectations and identifies opportunities to mitigate these risks before going to market.
Legacy Preservation
For many family-owned businesses, preserving the legacy they’ve built over decades is a primary concern. This often includes consideration of how the buyer will continue the business values and culture, treat long-term employees, and maintain the company’s reputation and community relationships.
While these factors may be difficult to quantify, they often prove decisive in selecting the right buyer from among multiple offers. Articulating these priorities early in the process helps your advisory team identify buyers whose vision aligns with yours.
Conclusion: Understanding Your Options Leads to Success
Whether your exit timeline is measured in months or years, understanding the M&A landscape allows you to make informed decisions. By focusing on the factors that drive value, building a strong advisory team, and carefully considering both financial and non-financial objectives, you can navigate the M&A process successfully.
As we’ve outlined above, the current environment presents significant opportunities for well-positioned janitorial supply distributors and wholesalers. If you work with an investment banker with Jan-San sector experience, like Jackim Woods & Co., you can achieve your business and personal goals while ensuring the continued success of the business you’ve built.
Jackim Woods & Co. provides investment banking and M&A advisory services to janitorial supply distributors and wholesalers throughout the United States. Our team of experienced professionals can help you navigate the complexities of selling your business or exploring acquisition opportunities in this dynamic market. Contact us to learn how we can help you achieve your strategic objectives.
About the Author and Jackim Woods & Co.
Rich Jackim is an janitorial supplies investment banker, entrepreneur, and former mergers and acquisitions attorney.
For the last 25 years, Rich has been providing boutique investment banking services to middle-market companies in a wide range of industries. He began focusing on the janitorial supply sector in 2020.
Rich also founded a successful training and certification company called the Exit Planning Institute, which he sold to a private equity group in 2012.
Rich is also the author of the critically acclaimed book, The $10 Trillion Dollar Opportunity: Designing Successful Exit Strategies for Middle Market Businesses.
Jackim Woods & Co offers skilled mergers and acquisitions advisory services to privately owned janitorial supply and building services companies in both sell-side and buy-side transactions. Jackim Woods & Co has arranged over 100 successful transactions, ranging from less than one million to more than eighty million dollars in value.
If you own a janitorial supply or building services business and would like to explore your options, I would welcome an opportunity to speak with you.
Feel free to contact me at 224-513-5142 or rjackim@jackimwoods.com.
