Off-market deal sourcing for serious acquirers.
The best lower-middle-market businesses never list. We find the owners first — scored against your buy-box and ranked on motivation — and help you reach them directly.
Reach owners before the deal lists.
The best lower-middle-market businesses are off-market and founder-owned — we surface them, score them, and get you to the owner.
Define your buy-box
Sector, size, and geography — the thesis we search against.
We surface scored matches
Matching companies ranked against your buy-box and scored on owner-motivation signals — visible to you continuously.
We qualify and reach out
Our team confirms the owner, deep-qualifies the fit against your buy-box, and runs the outreach directly — no broker, no marketplace.
Why acquirers source with Dealport.
Scored, not just listed
Targets ranked on fit against your buy-box — not a CSV of every company.
Motivation, not just data
We surface owners showing succession and timing signals worth a call.
Exclusive to you
Opportunities we surface for you are exclusive to you — never cross-pollinated to another client. A 30-day hold you renew while you work it.
- 12M+
- US businesses
- 180
- Data points per target
- 9
- Signal categories
- 30-day
- Lead exclusivity
There's no perfect list — and in the lower middle market, that's exactly where the opportunity is. Dealport surfaces the information other platforms miss, and comes closer than any database we've used.
I underestimated how much full-time work a real search is. Finding a name on a list is the easy part — qualifying owners, getting in front of them, and learning who's actually open to selling is a job in itself.
We were spending more on data subscriptions than on our analysts. Replacing four tools with Dealport paid for itself in the first quarter — and the leads were better.
Frequently asked questions
Finding businesses to acquire before they're listed — directly with owners, not through a broker or marketplace. Most quality lower-middle-market companies never list, so off-market sourcing reaches those owners first.
We build the universe of companies that fit your buy-box from public records and operating signals across nine data categories, then score each on fit and owner motivation. On a Dealport Discovery engagement, our team qualifies the owners worth pursuing, runs the outreach, and brokers the warm introductions to you. We use the data to find candidates — we don't sell it.
We score owner-motivation signals — tenure, age, succession indicators, and more — so you start with the owners most likely to engage, not a cold list.
Insights
All insights
Where to Buy a Business Online: Complete Guide to Digital Marketplaces & Platforms
Online marketplaces now drive most lower-middle-market deal flow, but finding the right opportunities requires platform-specific targeting and fast, verified diligence.
Unsecured Business Loans for Acquisitions: Complete Guide
Unsecured business loans can speed lower-middle-market acquisitions by funding down payments and working capital without collateral, relying on credit and cash flow.
Term Loans for Business Acquisitions: Complete Guide
Term loans offer a simple, predictable way to finance lower-middle-market acquisitions, but approval hinges on credit, down payment, and proven deal cash flow.
Tell us your buy-box. We'll find the owners.
Hand us the search. Our team runs sourcing and outreach end to end and brings warm owner conversations to your calendar.