Find out what a buyer would actually pay for your MSP
MSP valuation is what a buyer would pay for a managed service provider, usually expressed as a multiple of adjusted EBITDA. In verified transactions, owner-run MSPs mostly close at 2 to 4x adjusted EBITDA; the 8 to 11x headline multiples come from deals with a median size of $38.5m, and part of any price often sits in earn-outs that never pay in full. The benchmark shows you where you sit today, and what moves you up.
- Your realistic range, from verified MSP transactions, not a calculator’s guess
- Reviewed personally by a private equity trained operator, in your inbox within 24 hours
- Then an optional 30-minute call on the gaps capping your number
What do owner-run MSPs actually sell for?
The multiple you’ve heard about is not the multiple you’ll be offered. We reviewed the published benchmarks and dozens of verified transactions. The pattern is consistent: size drives the multiple, structure decides how much of it you ever receive, and a handful of fixable factors decide which step of the ladder you’re on.
What owner-run MSPs actually close at, on adjusted EBITDA. A run process with the right preparation adds roughly a full turn.
Verified small-deal rangeMedian size of the disclosed deals behind the 8 to 11x headlines. Those numbers describe a market most owners never sell into.
Disclosed-deal medianWhat a “6x deal” becomes when half sits in an earn-out that pays 60%. Structure quietly decides your real outcome.
The earn-out effect| Deal profile | Multiple of adjusted EBITDA |
|---|---|
| Owner-run MSP, unprepared sale | 2 to 4x |
| Prepared MSP in a run process | Roughly one turn higher |
| PE platform entry (you are the platform) | 13.6x median |
| PE add-on (tuck-in to a consolidator) | 7.8x median |
| Strategic trade buyer | 7.8x median |
| “6x deal” with half in an earn-out paying 60% | 4.8x effective |
Source: NUOPTIMA’s verified MSP transaction set: 36 usable EBITDA multiples across the US, UK and Oceania (2021 to 2026), screened from 750+ PitchBook deal records and verified company by company, plus published broker and practitioner data. Buyer type and scale move the number more than geography does.
How does the MSP Value Benchmark work?
Your number first, then a buyer’s eye view. No forms that go nowhere, no 40-page PDF. A real range from real transactions, then the person who did the analysis on a call.
Tell us where you are
Seven quick questions: revenue, profitability, contracted recurring share, largest client share, and your exit timeline. Two minutes, fully confidential.
Your benchmark range, within 24 hours
Not an instant widget. Your answers are reviewed against verified MSP transactions and you get a realistic range by email, with where MSPs like yours actually closed, and times for the call.
The assessment call
30 minutes with Alexej. Which end of the range you sit on, the three biggest gaps capping your number, and a short written summary to keep whatever you decide next.
Built for owners who want to sell from strength
- ✓You own an MSP doing roughly $1m to $20m revenue
- ✓An exit in the next 1 to 3 years is on your mind, even loosely
- ✓You want a real number, not a broker’s teaser or a calculator’s guess
- ✓You’d rather fix the value gaps before a buyer prices them against you
- ×You’ve already signed a deal or an exclusive mandate
- ×Your MSP is below roughly $500k revenue
- ×You’re looking for someone to buy your MSP: we don’t invest, we advise
A private equity trained operator, not a broker
Your benchmark is reviewed by Alexej Pikovsky. Ten years across investment banking, a family office and private equity, involved in over $7bn of M&A, then a decade as an operator: he acquired and scaled consumer brand 96 North 8x and today advises MSPs on value, including an 8-figure MSP. He publishes on how businesses get bought and sold at youtube.com/@alexejpikovsky.
This is pure advisory. NUOPTIMA doesn’t invest, doesn’t broker, and has no success fee riding on pushing you to sell. The only agenda is your number and how to raise it.
- Finance pedigree 10yr IB · family office · PE
- M&A involvement $7bn+
- Operator proof 96 North, scaled 8x
- MSP advisory 8-figure MSP
- Publishes at YouTube @alexejpikovsky
Asked before every benchmark
Is this a pitch for you to buy my MSP?
No. NUOPTIMA does not invest and does not buy companies. The benchmark and the assessment call are pure advisory. They exist because most owners walk into their first buyer conversation without knowing their real number, and it costs them badly.
What does it cost?
Nothing. The benchmark range, the assessment call, and the written summary are free. If you want help closing the gaps afterwards, that is a separate conversation, and only if you ask for it.
What do I need to prepare?
Roughly your last 12 months of revenue and profit, your contracted recurring share, and your largest client’s share of revenue. Estimates are fine; the process works with what you have.
Will you share or use my numbers?
No. Everything you share stays confidential and is used only to prepare your benchmark and assessment. No lists, no benchmarking database with your name on it, no passing details to buyers.
I’m not planning to sell for years. Too early?
It’s the best time. The factors that move an MSP up the multiple ladder (contracted recurring revenue, owner independence, client concentration) typically take a year or two to fix. Owners who start when the exit is "someday" are the ones who sell from strength.
Who reviews my answers and runs the call?
Alexej Pikovsky, NUOPTIMA’s founder: private equity trained, over $7bn of M&A involvement, an operator who scaled a consumer brand 8x, currently advising MSPs including an 8-figure one. Not a junior analyst reading a script.
Know your number before a buyer decides it for you
Seven answers. Your benchmark range lands in your inbox within 24 hours, reviewed personally, with times for the call. If your MSP is exactly where it should be, you’ll leave with that confirmed and nothing sold to you.