Arx Business Brokers Research
Advisory Approach
Arx Business Brokers is a modern sell-side business brokerage and M&A advisory firm that exclusively represents business owners in the $1M-$25M revenue range. Founded by Brecht Palombo, an entrepreneur who built and sold his own software company over 13 years, Arx was created to address a gap in the market: businesses too sophisticated for traditional business brokers but too small for investment banks. The firm operates on a simple but powerful thesis—seller-only representation with no dual agency, combined with proactive buyer outreach to 250+ targeted acquirers per engagement.
The firm's approach rejects the traditional "post and pray" model used by most business brokers. Instead of listing businesses on marketplaces and waiting for inbound inquiries, Arx conducts systematic research-driven outreach to identify and qualify potential buyers, including strategic acquirers, private equity firms, competitors, and individual operators with financing. This creates competitive dynamics that typically yield 50-150 signed NDAs and 5-15 letters of intent per engagement.
Sector Focus
Arx maintains broad industry expertise across the lower middle market, with particular depth in manufacturing, business services, construction trades, and technology. The firm's deal history demonstrates successful outcomes in biotechnology manufacturing, industrial services, sewer and drainage contracting, electrical contracting, solar energy installation, SaaS businesses, retail operations, and vegetation management.
Within manufacturing, Arx has specific experience with biotechnology and chemical products, e-commerce-enabled manufacturing businesses, and precision manufacturing operations. The firm's construction/trades expertise spans electrical contracting, excavation and logging support services, and specialized trades like sewer and drain services. On the technology side, Palombo's background building and selling a SaaS company gives the firm particular insight into software businesses, subscription models, and technology-enabled services.
Deal Track Record
Arx Business Brokers has completed multiple transactions across diverse industries, with verified sales including:
Manufacturing & Biotech: In September 2024, Arx sold a high-margin biotechnology manufacturing and e-commerce business in Lane County, Oregon for $3,000,000. The 2011-vintage company had 2 employees and $535,000 in seller discretionary earnings, demonstrating Arx's ability to value and sell specialized manufacturing businesses with strategic value.
Construction Trades: In January 2025, Arx completed the sale of a fast-growing sewer and drain business in Washington County, Oregon for $1,800,000. This 2019-vintage company had grown to $3.28 million in revenue with $600,000 in EBITDA and 10 employees, illustrating the firm's capability with rapidly scaling trades businesses.
Industrial Services: In 2024, Arx represented Huston Walter in the sale of Industrial Applied Electric, a Bend, Oregon-based electrical services business serving the construction, excavation, logging, and trucking industries. After 50 years of ownership by Walter, the business was sold to Dan Drake, an individual searcher, demonstrating Arx's ability to facilitate generational transitions and match businesses with appropriate individual buyers.
Energy & Sustainability: Arx represented E2 Solar, an Oregon-based solar installation provider, in its acquisition by Idaho-based EGT Solar. This cross-border transaction expanded EGT Solar's reach into Deschutes County and demonstrated Arx's capability with strategic buyer identification in the renewable energy sector.
Auction & Competitive Bidding: The firm has successfully executed competitive auction processes, including a notable biotechnology transaction where the winning offer came in 50% higher than the next-closest bid and double the original financial valuation. For a small SaaS business sold by auction, Arx generated 6 bids within 10% of each other, effectively discovering market price through competition.
Process & Fee Structure
Arx operates on a pure success-fee model with no retainers, upfront costs, or monthly charges. The firm's compensation is entirely contingent on successful closing, aligning incentives completely with seller outcomes. Fee structure is transparent: for transactions under $5M, the effective rate runs 6-10%; for transactions over $5M, the rate drops to 1.5-5% as deal size increases. Sellers who bring their own buyers receive up to 20% fee discounts.
The typical engagement timeline spans 6-9 months from valuation to closing. The process begins with a free, no-obligation evaluation that provides honest assessment of business value and marketability—even if that means recommending the owner wait or pursue a different direction. Within four weeks of engagement, Arx launches active outreach to 250+ qualified buyers, conducting systematic research rather than passive listing. The firm handles all buyer qualification, ensuring sellers only engage with financially qualified and genuinely interested parties, managing due diligence, legal coordination, and deal structure through closing.
Buyer Network
Arx maintains access to a broad network of potential acquirers across multiple buyer categories. For each engagement, the firm identifies and contacts 250+ targeted prospects including competitors seeking market share, strategic acquirers needing specific capabilities, private equity firms seeking platform companies, and roll-up acquirers building industry positions. The firm's research team, led by Wileandro Dela Cruz, conducts AI-powered buyer identification and global research to find appropriate acquirers rather than relying on generic marketing.
This systematic approach delivers tangible results: typically 50-150 signed NDAs per engagement, serious buyer interest from qualified acquirers, and 5-15 letters of intent. The firm has facilitated sales to individual searchers like Dan Drake (Industrial Applied Electric), strategic buyers like EGT Solar (E2 Solar acquisition), and institutional buyers through competitive auction processes.
Competitive Positioning
Arx differentiates from traditional business brokers through three key advantages: (1) exclusive seller representation with no dual agency—eliminating conflicts of interest that plague brokers who represent both sides; (2) proactive buyer outreach to 250+ targeted prospects versus the industry standard of posting listings and waiting for inbound inquiries; and (3) sophisticated transaction capability with in-house CPAs and Certified Financial Valuation Analysts who build models and documentation that withstand buyer and lender scrutiny.
The firm also distinguishes itself through founder experience. Unlike most brokers who have never built, grown, or sold businesses themselves, Palombo built a software company over 13 years, ran his own sale process when traditional brokerage options proved inadequate, and secured six letters of intent through direct strategic buyer outreach. This entrepreneur-to-entrepreneur perspective informs Arx's approach and resonates with business owners who have built their companies through decades of operational effort.
Not a Fit If
Arx is selective about engagements, turning down approximately 85% of inquiries. The firm declines businesses under $1M in revenue or $300K in EBITDA, referring these to Main Street brokers. For businesses over $25M in revenue, Arx recommends investment banks with institutional buyer access. The firm also avoids pure asset sales, focusing exclusively on going-concern enterprises where operational value and future cash flow drive valuation.
Team
Brecht Palombo – Founder and Managing Director. Palombo built and sold a software company over 13 years, generating six letters of intent through his own sale process after finding traditional broker options inadequate. His prior career in commercial real estate brokerage and auctioneering involved closing over $250 million in commercial assets. Boston-raised and Bend-based for over a decade, he holds an Oregon real estate broker's license.
Anthony Taplacido – Financial Analyst, CPA, FMVA®. Taplacido handles complex financial work including multi-entity combinations, business unit separations, and financial modeling that withstands buyer and lender scrutiny. He focuses on deals with structural complexity beyond straightforward asset sales.
Wileandro Dela Cruz – Research Project Manager. Dela Cruz has led research operations for Palombo for nearly a decade, first for the software company and now for Arx. His team identifies, researches, and tracks hundreds of potential buyers per deal, enabling proactive outbound rather than passive listing.
Geographic Coverage
Arx is headquartered in Bend, Oregon with a second office in Lake Oswego (Portland metro). The firm serves businesses nationwide with particular focus on the Pacific Northwest and Oregon markets. Offices are located at 2900 NW Clearwater Drive, Suite 200-62, Bend, OR 97703 and 525 3rd Street, Suite 200, Lake Oswego, OR 97034.