You didn't build this to watch someone else break it.
If you're starting to think about what happens next for your team, your customers, and your name, you're probably already suspicious of the usual options. You should be. There's a better one.
Start a confidential conversation →It's probably not a crisis that brought you here. More likely, it's a quiet question that won't go away.
You've built something real. A business with a name people trust, a team who've given you their careers, customers who rely on you, systems you've refined for decades. You're not burnt out. Or maybe you are, a little. Either way, you're starting to think about what happens to all of it when you step back.
And when you're honest with yourself, most of the obvious paths feel wrong.
The problem with the obvious options
Uses different fund structures, leverage, governance, investment periods, and operating plans. Review the actual proposal, retained equity, seller obligations, and liquidity assumptions.
May seek customers, capability, people, assets, or operating synergies. Integration, brand, employee, management, and customer plans vary by buyer and transaction.
Can be targeted or broad. Assess the adviser's experience, fees, conflicts, confidentiality controls, buyer qualification, and process design.
Requires willing and capable successors, funding, governance, and a transition plan. Test those conditions rather than assuming the path is available.
The PermaTech option
There is another option.
We buy businesses like yours, profitable, owner-led, industrial or commercial, with a team and a reputation and a track record, and we keep them. Not for a fund cycle. Not until the market improves. Permanently.
Our stated model is decentralised operation with retained company identity and existing management where the proposed transaction supports it. Material intentions and commitments should be tested and documented for the actual business.
Any proposal would depend on verified information, funding, diligence, advice, approvals, structure, and agreed terms. A conversation does not create an offer or commitment.
What we look for
We're not looking for a diamond in the rough. We're looking for businesses that are already excellent.
Revenue between $2M and $50M
The size that gets overlooked, too big for individual buyers, too small for institutional PE. That's our sweet spot.
Healthy margins, 15% EBIT or better
Consistent, growing, proven. Not a hockey stick. Steady and compounding.
Niche industrial or commercial sector
Engineering, trade services, technical distribution, specialist trades, professional services with recurring revenue. If you serve a defined market and do it better than anyone else, that's exactly what we're looking for.
Real management depth
If you've built a team that could run things day-to-day, even if you're still deeply involved, we want to talk.
Owner-operator seller in NZ or AU
We buy directly from owners. We don't buy from PE firms or intermediary vehicles.
Diversified customer base
No single customer representing more than 20% of revenue. If you have a concentration, worth a conversation, but we weigh it carefully.
What it actually looks like
No auction. No data room sent to twenty buyers. No pressure.
A quiet conversation
You reach out. We talk, by phone, video, or coffee. No NDA required at this stage. Nothing formal until you want it to be. You learn about us; we learn about you.
We understand the business
If it feels like a fit, we'll ask to understand your business properly, not to find problems, but to understand what makes it work. We sign an NDA and move at your pace.
A fair, clear offer
We make one offer, clearly. We don't lowball to anchor. We don't renegotiate in due diligence unless something material surfaces you didn't tell us. You'll know where you stand.
A clean close
Lawyers do their work, money moves, the business carries on. With you if you want to stay involved. Without you if you're ready to step back. We follow your lead.
What happens to your business after we buy it
Our stated intention is to retain company identity, support existing management, and hold permanently. Employee, customer, brand, governance, and operating arrangements depend on the business and transaction.
We begin by understanding the company before proposing material operating changes. Circumstances can change, so sellers should verify decision rights, incentives, and documentation rather than relying on slogans.
PermaTech acquired Tubman Heating in 2024. Its experience demonstrates PermaTech's approach to that acquisition only and does not guarantee another transaction's employee, customer, management, or brand outcomes.
"We acquired Tubman Heating in 2024 under PermaTech's permanent-ownership model. That completed transaction informs our approach, but every future acquisition requires its own verified plan and agreed terms."
PermaTech
On Tubman Heating Limited, acquired 2024
Questions we get asked
Is this confidential?
We treat initial contact as confidential and limit access within PermaTech. Legal, regulatory, financing, diligence, or transaction requirements may later require agreed disclosure. We establish confidentiality controls before sensitive information is shared.
Do I need a broker or advisor?
No. You're welcome to have one if you prefer, but you don't need one to talk to us. We work directly with owners.
Will you change the way we operate?
Our stated model is decentralised operation, but no business can be promised that nothing will change. We would explain the proposed governance, management authority, reporting, investment, and operating plan for the transaction.
What happens to my staff?
Our intention is to support continuity, but employee outcomes depend on the transaction structure, employment agreements, statutory process, business needs, and agreed terms. We do not promise employment outcomes before legal review.
How is PermaTech different from PE with a "permanent capital" story?
PermaTech is a private holding company with no external investors and no fund lifecycle. Sellers should still assess our ownership, funding, governance, operating plan, conditions, and transaction documents as they would any buyer.
What multiple will I get?
Our acquisition criteria include a 3-5x EBIT range, but no range is a valuation or offer. Any proposal depends on verified earnings, assets, liabilities, working capital, risk, structure, and agreed terms.
How long does the process take?
There is no standard completion period. Timing depends on preparation, structure, funding, diligence, approvals, consents, employee requirements, and negotiation. We set a written process plan and surface delays directly.
What if I'm not sure I want to sell?
That's fine. Most of the people we talk to aren't sure yet. The first conversation isn't a commitment to anything. It's just information. You'll come away knowing more about whether this is even the right path for you.
Built something you're proud of?
If you're quietly wondering what comes next, not ready to call a broker, not ready to tell anyone, just thinking, we're a good first conversation. Confidential. No obligation. No process until you want one.
Start a confidential conversation →