Calder Capital and its sister company, Small Business Deal Advisors (SBDA), continued their record-breaking trajectory in 2025, closing 48 transactions through September 30, 2025 and achieving 13%+ revenue growth compared to the same period in 2024.
Despite persistent market headwinds, including owner hesitation, geopolitical tensions, tariffs, and tighter credit, the firm’s deal pace remains blistering. Compared to 2024, total new engagements on the sell-side have declined from 44 to 38, while total buy-side engagements have skyrocketed from 31 to 54. Closed deals are up nicely year-over-year, from 35 through Q3 2024 to 48 in Q3 2025.
“This year started out very strong. We continue to press the gas, however, we do feel some of the gears getting harder to turn, particularly on the sell-side” said Calder’s Founder, Max Friar. “We’re thrilled to have hit 48 closings so far this year. It will be awesome to see our own records shattered in Q4. We are honored to be the M&A Advisor of choice for our Buy-Side and Sell-Side clients; we are determined to finish the year strong for our clients and provide them with premium outcomes.”
Q3 2025 Highlights:
The Calder/SBDA Team Closed 48 Transactions through Q3 2025 (sell-side unless otherwise noted):
| Company | Location | Industry |
| Vector/ Northend Gear | OH | Manufacturing |
| Benda Conveyor Solutions | IL | Service |
| Hybrid Book Publisher | TX | Service |
| The Rental Branch | MI | Service |
| Bin There Dump That | MI | Service |
| Thornapple Excavating | MI | Construction |
| Springwise Facility Management | IN | Service |
| Cella Building | MI | Construction |
| Stoutco | IN | Manufacturing |
| CMS Utility Services | KY | Construction |
| Everlast Saw | KS | Manufacturing |
| Mack Pilgrim Packaging | IL | Distribution |
| Freedom Finishing | MI | Manufacturing |
| Sign & Awning Fabrication, Installation, and Maintenance Company (Buy-Side) | PA | Manufacturing |
| Reuland | MI | Service |
| Ace & Sons | MI | Service/ Construction |
| Restorapet | MD | Manufacturing |
| Camp Lawn Care & Snowplowing | MI | Service |
| Griffen Plumbing & Heating | IN | Service |
| Harlo Products | MI | Manufacturing |
| Jackson Tumble Finish | MI | Manufacturing |
| Boulder Landscaping (Buy-Side) | UT | Service |
| Outdoor Living Service Company | FL | Service |
| Hartland Auto Wash | MI | Service |
| Stout Creek Landscapes | MI | Service |
| Commercial Equipment Service Provider | MI | Service |
| Gentry Landscape (Buy-Side) | CA | Service |
| Requarth Co. (Buy-Side) | OH | Construction |
| Midwest Juice | MI | Service |
| EBW Electronics (Buy-Side) | MI | Manufacturing |
| Tarpon Stainless (Buy-Side) | FL | Manufacturing |
| Extra Credit Projects (Buy-Side) | MI | Service |
| Assembly Masters | IN | Manufacturing |
| Crystal Clear Pools | MI | Service |
| Driveshaft Manufacturer | IN | Manufacturing |
| BCU Electric | OH | Construction |
| Chesapeake Technology, Inc. | CA | SaaS/ Technology |
| Tutto Interiors | MI | Service |
| AAA Engineering | IL | Service |
| Glass Doctor of Northern Virginia | VA | Service |
| Quality Electric Motor Service | KY | Service |
| Lake and Pond Management Company (Buy-Side) | GA | Service |
| Breck Graphics (Allegra Marketing) | MI | Service |
| Career Transitions (Buy-Side) | IN | Service |
| Top Cut Lawn | MI | Service |
| Spray Patch (Buy-Side) | MI | Construction |
| DHD Chicago | IL | Service |
While macroeconomic challenges persist, such as tariffs, rate uncertainty, and tighter credit, our team has had a relentless focus on preparing our clients for market or acquisition and executing on their acquisitive or sales objectives. With buyers chasing fewer sellers, our Sell-Side is seeing increased competition and creative structures to get transactions across the finish line.
Year to date, Service businesses continue to dominate Calder’s deal activity, accounting for 24 transactions of the 48 closed. Manufacturing follows with 12 closed deals, which is 25% of this year’s closings. Meanwhile, construction firms made up 7 transactions, or roughly 14.6% of total deal volume this year. Distribution has accounted for two deals completed so far this year (4.2%), and there was one SaaS/ technology business closing (2.1%). Two transactions (4.2%) involved companies operating in both the service and construction sectors.
5 of the 13 deals closed in Q3 2025 (38.46%) were service-based businesses, halting the upward trend we have been witnessing (56.25% of deal volume in Q2 and 57.89% in Q1). 4 of 13 deals closed this quarter were manufacturing businesses, 3 of 13 were construction businesses, and we advised in the sale of 1 distribution business.
Buy-Side Update
Calder’s Buy-Side team continues to expand rapidly, fueled by demand for proprietary, off-market opportunities. The group has earned praise from clients featured on the Acquiring Minds podcast, including Yan Vinarskiy and Bryan Houck, further validating the firm’s differentiated model.
“Buy-Side’s Q3 success is a result of years of focused effort on reinvesting in our systems, processes, and team,” shared Buy-Side Managing Director Sam Scharich. He continued, “And we are doubling down on continuing to reinvest. Our growth continues to accelerate, and we have hit records for deals closed, deals under LOI, leads sourced, calls and meetings set, and nearly every other metric.”
In Q3, Buy-Side added several high-quality team members to the team, and despite economic uncertainty, we are well-positioned to help more clients get off-market deals done than ever before. We’re expecting a strong finish to 2025, and momentum is already building for closings in Q1 of 2026.
Sell-Side Update
“Despite sell-side transaction numbers being down across most firms, Calder’s sell-side has its most closings to date in 2025, and our prospect pipeline remains strong,” stated Garrett Monroe, Sell-Side Managing Director. He continued, “But there is definitely still a fair amount of distressed sales making its way through the economy. Perseverance is the name of the game this year!”
As of September 30, 2025, Calder Capital’s Sell-Side closings totaled 27 year-to-date. This marks an increase from the same period in 2024, when 23 Sell-Side deals had closed by the end of Q3. Additionally, Calder Capital has pitched 16% more potential sellers for Sell-Side Advisory engagements compared to the previous year, underscoring continued growth in outreach efforts and deal activity.
Calder Team Update
During Q3 2025, Calder Capital added four professionals to the team:
- Morgan Klinker: People Operations Specialist
- Collin Hicks: Buy-Side Associate
- Tyler Tingley: Buy-Side Associate
- Andy Garza: Buy-Side Associate
We also celebrated the promotions of 4 individuals:
- Parker Schaap: Buy-Side Director
- Garrett Monroe: Sell-Side Managing Director
- Sam Scharich: Buy-Side Managing Director
- Hannelore Jones: Director of Operations
Meanwhile, our Buy-Side and Sell-Side internship programs have continued to grow swiftly, with our Fall 2025 class consisting of 15 exceptional students:
Fall 2025 | Sell-Side Internship Class
– Matthew Wynes – GVSU | Bachelor’s in Finance
– Olivia Petersen – GVSU | BBA in Finance
– Piper O’Rourke – GVSU | Accounting & Finance
– Gerald Schalau – GVSU | BBA, Finance and Accounting, minor in Applied Statistics
– Lauren Miller – Western Michigan University | BBA in Leadership and Business Strategy, BA in Business Analytics and Spanish
Fall 2025 | Buy-Side Internship Class
– Greg Michalopoulos – MSU | BA in Finance
– Abreham Stutzman – Univ. of Nebraska-Lincoln | BSBA in Accounting & Finance
– Ryan Heck – U of M | BBA
– Colin Davis – MSU | BA in Finance
– Andreanna LaRue – GVSU | BBA, Business Administration and Management
– Boston Tuvell – MSU | BBA, Finance
– Emmanuel Palka – MSU | BBA, Finance
– Ian Cesar – University of Wisconsin-La Crosse | BS, Economics
– Sebastian De Cordova – MSU | BA, Business and Finance
– Dimitri Dimovski – MSU | BA, Finance
Awards & Recognition in Q3 2025
- Chicago’s Best and Brightest Companies to Work For
- Axial Top 10 Lower Middle Market M&A Advisor (1H 2025)
- Inc. 5000 Fastest-Growing Private Companies
- Crain’s Grand Rapids Notable Leader in Finance – Max L. Friar
- 24th Annual M&A Advisor Awards: Calder Capital Named Finalist for Investment Bank of the Year – Middle Market
- 24th Annual M&A Advisor Awards: Calder Capital Named Finalist for Materials Deal of the Year – Under $100MM
- 24th Annual M&A Advisor Awards: Calder Capital Named Finalist for Industrials Deal of the Year – $10-$25MM
- 24th Annual M&A Advisor Awards: Calder Capital Named Finalist for Industrials Deal of the Year – $25-50MM
- 24th Annual M&A Advisor Awards: Calder Capital’s Patrick Robey Named Finalist for Investment Banker of the Year
- 24th Annual M&A Advisor Awards: Calder Capital Named Finalist for Private Equity Deal of the Year
- 24th Annual M&A Advisor Awards: Calder Capital Named Finalist for Corporate/Strategic Deal of the Year – $10MM–$25MM
- 24th Annual M&A Advisor Awards: Calder Capital Named Finalist for Cross-Border Deal of the Year
Q3 2025 Company Meeting
On Friday, August 8, our team met in person at our National Headquarters in Grand Rapids, Michigan, for our quarterly company-wide meeting.
The meeting began with a firm-wide update from Max Friar, an operations update from Hannelore Jones, a Sell-Side update from Garrett Monroe, and a Buy-Side update from Sam Scharich. The formal portion of the meeting concluded with a marketing team presentation by Brandon Sinclair.
After presentations, we held a Euchre tournament (congratulations to our winners, Max Friar and Sam Scharich, as well as our second-place winners, Hannah Nabhan and Cade Peterson)!
The evening concluded with a Whitecaps baseball game at LMCU Ballpark, where the extended Calder team (family members and significant others) joined for food, fun, drinks, and camaraderie.
Reflecting on the year so far and what we expect next, Calder Capital’s Max Friar noted: “2025 has not been an easy year. Despite the fact that we smashed our records once again, this year has tested the resilience of the team. We have hired so many wonderful new faces. On the flipside, we have let go of a fair number of folks, which is necessary, but difficult. We have also promoted a management team. This brings a new flavor of leadership to Calder. I have learned so much this year and so much from our team. Perhaps the hardest thing is the personal change and role shift that has been required of me. It can be unnerving to let go and recognize that growth requires you to change as well. There are seasons in life and business and nothing grows if it’s stifled. My number one goal for Calder is that it grows and flourishes long after I am gone. My actions need to continue to follow my words.”
“In closing, we’ve never closed deals at this pace, and our pipeline going into Q4 is strong. Our focus now is on disciplined execution, creativity in winning deals, and continuing to deliver outstanding outcomes for business owners and buyers. We’re energized to close out the year closing 50+ deals for the first time in history, and to carry this momentum into 2026.”
We are hiring! Click here to explore career opportunities. For a closer look at life inside Calder, watch this video interview where Sell-Side Director Garrett Monroe and Analyst Nick Browning discuss “A Day in the Life” on the Sell-Side team.
About Calder Capital
Founded in 2013, Calder Capital is a cross-industry mergers and acquisitions advisory firm with offices across the United States. Calder provides valuation, sell-side, and buy-side services. We are nationally recognized for excellence in advising $1-100M enterprise value transactions in manufacturing, construction, distribution, and business services. Calder serves business owners, entrepreneurs, family offices, financial buyers, and investors. Learn more at www.CalderGR.com.