Evansville, Indiana Business Brokers

Evansville's economy runs on manufacturing — and that shapes its M&A market more than almost any other factor. The city counts roughly 8,000 businesses (2022) across a metro population of approximately 114,812, with a median household income of about $52,094. Manufacturing alone accounts for more than 33,000 jobs, giving Evansville one of the highest industrial employment concentrations in the Midwest relative to its size.

That concentration produces real deal flow. Two 2024 transactions illustrate the range: One Rock Capital Partners made a strategic growth investment in Lewis Brothers Bakeries, a third-generation family-owned wholesale bakery headquartered here, and Relevant Industrial LLC acquired Control Specialists LLC (CSI), an Evansville-based process instrumentation and controls provider. Neither deal was accidental — both reflect a market where established, owner-operated businesses attract outside capital.

Healthcare rounds out the picture as the second-largest employment sector, anchored by Deaconess Health System. Together, manufacturing and healthcare create a two-engine economy that supports business valuations across a wide range of deal sizes.

Broader Indiana economic conditions reinforce the opportunity. Indiana's GDP grew 2.6% in 2024–2025, outpacing most Midwest neighbors, which supports seller asking prices across the region. Evansville's position at the Indiana–Kentucky–Illinois border also expands the effective buyer pool well beyond Vanderburgh County, drawing acquirers and investors from the full Tri-State corridor.

Plastics and Advanced Manufacturing

Evansville's most distinctive economic asset is its plastics manufacturing cluster. Berry Global Group, headquartered here, anchors an internationally recognized hub that draws international firms specifically citing the city's deep industry roots, skilled workforce, and logistics access. The Evansville Regional Economic Partnership documents location quotients in manufacturing that exceed the national average — meaning this sector is far more concentrated here than in a typical U.S. metro. For buyers, that concentration creates a steady pipeline of supplier and sub-tier businesses whose owners are approaching retirement or seeking capital partners.

Alcoa Warrick Operations adds an aluminum and metals dimension to the industrial base, while Toyota Motor Manufacturing Indiana anchors an automotive cluster that generates demand for precision components, tooling, and specialty services businesses. Koch Enterprises, a locally rooted diversified industrial conglomerate, operates in the same orbit and represents the kind of strategic acquirer that can move quickly on well-positioned manufacturing targets.

Health Care and Social Assistance

Health care ranks second in Evansville employment. Deaconess Health System is the area's largest single employer, and its footprint drives consistent demand for ancillary businesses — home health agencies, medical staffing firms, therapy practices, and durable medical equipment providers. The University of Southern Indiana's Stone Family Center for Health Services, combined with Mead Johnson Nutritionals (now part of Reckitt), gives Evansville an above-average life-sciences concentration that sets it apart from comparably sized Midwest cities. Baby Boomer ownership transitions are accelerating across this sector.

Retail Trade and Logistics

Retail Trade is the third-largest employment sector by regional data. Small retail businesses — from specialty stores to food-service operations — change hands regularly as long-tenured owners exit. Logistics and Transportation also appear among Evansville's key industries, supported by the city's Ohio River access and proximity to major interstate corridors. These sectors generate consistent sell-side listings, particularly as owner-operators who built businesses over two or three decades reach succession age.

Selling a business in Evansville carries a compliance layer that sellers in many other states skip entirely. Under Indiana Code IC 25-34.1-3-2, anyone who facilitates the sale, purchase, or transfer of real estate for compensation must hold an active Indiana real estate broker license issued by the Indiana Real Estate Commission (IREC). Since most small-business sales involve real property or a real-property lease, the broker you hire almost certainly needs that license. Confirm it before signing anything.

The process itself follows a familiar sequence: professional valuation, broker engagement, confidential marketing under NDA, buyer qualification, letter of intent (LOI), due diligence, purchase agreement, and closing. Nationally, that arc runs six to twelve months, though asset-heavy manufacturing businesses — a significant part of Evansville's deal mix — often take longer due to equipment appraisals and environmental reviews.

Indiana adds specific paperwork at closing. Sellers must obtain a good-standing certificate from the Indiana Secretary of State and file Form IT-966 (notice of dissolution or liquidation) and Form BC-100 (closure of trust tax accounts) with the Indiana Department of Revenue. If your business holds a liquor, beer, or wine permit, the Indiana Alcohol and Tobacco Commission (ATC) must approve a permit transfer or re-issuance before the buyer can legally continue alcohol sales — a step that can add weeks to a closing timeline.

Baby Boomer retirements are the primary driver of sell-side activity nationally and locally. Financial advisors and brokers consistently recommend beginning the sale preparation process twelve to twenty-four months before your target exit date. That runway allows time to clean up financials, address operational dependencies, and attract better-qualified buyers.

Three buyer profiles generate most of the deal activity in the Evansville market, and they behave very differently.

Private equity and strategic acquirers are the most visible in the manufacturing and industrial segment. Two 2024 transactions illustrate the pattern: One Rock Capital Partners made a strategic growth investment in Lewis Brothers Bakeries, a third-generation family-owned wholesale bakery headquartered in Evansville, and Relevant Industrial LLC acquired Control Specialists LLC (CSI), a process instrumentation and control systems firm also based here. These buyers target businesses with defensible niche positions, recurring revenue, or specialized equipment — qualities common in Evansville's plastics and advanced manufacturing cluster, where manufacturing accounts for more than 33,000 jobs.

Individual owner-operators funded by SBA 7(a) loans dominate the sub-$2M retail, food service, and services segment. These buyers are practical, often replacing a job rather than building a portfolio, and they move slower than PE. Sellers in this tier should expect more personal diligence on owner-dependency and cash flow consistency.

Cross-state buyers from Kentucky and Illinois are a meaningful and sometimes overlooked pool. Evansville's position at the Indiana-Kentucky-Illinois tri-state junction means buyers in Henderson and Owensboro routinely browse Evansville listings, particularly for businesses along the U.S. Highway 41 and Interstate 164 corridors. Proximity, shared labor markets, and no state income tax differential that would complicate the deal economics make these buyers genuine candidates.

Indiana's GDP grew 2.6% in 2024–2025, and manufacturing acquisitions rose 15% nationally that same year, with a median sale price of $700,000. That combination makes out-of-market strategic buyers increasingly attentive to Evansville's industrial listings.

Start with the license. Under IC 25-34.1-3-2, a broker facilitating any transaction that includes real property or a lease must hold an active Indiana real estate broker license. Verify the license through the Indiana Real Estate Commission before you sign an engagement agreement. This is not a formality — an unlicensed broker cannot legally earn a commission on most deals, which can unwind an otherwise clean transaction.

Beyond the license, industry fit matters enormously in this market. Evansville's deal flow skews toward capital-intensive manufacturing and industrial businesses — plastics fabricators, aluminum processing suppliers, control systems firms. A broker who routinely handles service businesses or retail strips may not know how to value specialized equipment, negotiate environmental representations, or communicate asset value to industrial acquirers. Ask candidates directly how many manufacturing or industrial deals they have closed, and ask for deal summaries (anonymized is fine).

Tri-State market coverage is a practical differentiator. A broker with active relationships across Vanderburgh, Warrick, Posey, and Gibson counties in Indiana — and into Henderson County, Kentucky — can reach buyers who would never see a listing confined to a single-state network. Ask how they market across state lines.

In a city of roughly 114,812 people, business communities are tight. Confidentiality protocols matter more than in larger metros. Ask specifically how a broker markets confidentially: blind profiles, NDA-gated inquiries, and off-platform outreach to qualified buyers all reduce the risk of employees, customers, or competitors learning a business is for sale before you're ready.

Credentials such as the Certified Business Intermediary (CBI) designation from the IBBA or the M&AMI from M&A Source signal training in deal structure, valuation, and ethics. Listing affiliation with platforms like BusinessBrokers.net broadens listing reach to national and out-of-state buyers.

Business broker commissions in Indiana typically run 8–12% of the sale price for Main Street deals under $1 million. Larger lower-middle-market transactions often use a modified Lehman Formula — 5% on the first million, 4% on the second, 3% on the third, and so on — which produces a lower blended rate as deal size grows.

Most brokers working the Main Street segment charge a success fee only, meaning no money changes hands until a deal closes. Larger or more complex engagements — particularly asset-heavy industrial businesses common in Evansville — may include a modest upfront engagement fee or a standalone valuation fee to cover the additional work required to assess specialized equipment and real property. That fee is sometimes credited back at closing.

Engagement agreements typically run six to twelve months with an exclusivity clause. Read that clause carefully: it defines whether you owe a fee if a buyer you found independently closes after the agreement expires.

Beyond the broker's commission, budget for closing costs that are specific to Indiana transactions. Obtaining clearance letters from the Indiana Department of Revenue confirming no outstanding sales-tax or withholding-tax liability, filing Forms IT-966 and BC-100, and — for hospitality businesses — paying Indiana ATC permit transfer fees all add to the total. Legal and accounting fees across the full process commonly add another 1–3% to total transaction costs.

Dual representation — one broker acting for both sides — is legally permissible but requires full disclosure. Exclusive seller representation generally produces better outcomes for the seller in price negotiation.

Several organizations in Evansville provide direct, deal-stage support for business sellers and buyers — no membership pitch required.

• [Southwest Indiana Small Business Development Center (SBDC)](https://www.evansvilleregion.com/) — Located at 318 Main Street, Suite 401, Evansville, and hosted by the Evansville Regional Economic Partnership, the SBDC offers free business valuation guidance and pre-sale financial advisory services. This is a practical first stop before you engage a broker, particularly if your books need cleanup.

• [SCORE Evansville Chapter](https://evansville.score.org/) — Free one-on-one mentoring from retired executives and business owners. Especially useful for first-time sellers working through financial restatements, transition planning, or buyer presentation materials.

• [Southwest Indiana Chamber](https://www.evansvillechamber.com/) — The Chamber's business network can help sellers and buyers identify qualified local advisors — attorneys, accountants, and brokers — with verified track records in the Tri-State market.

• [SBA Indiana District Office](https://www.sba.gov/district/indiana) — Administers SBA 7(a) loan programs that many Evansville buyers use to finance acquisitions. Sellers who understand buyer financing timelines and requirements can structure deals that close faster.

• [Inside INdiana Business](https://www.insideindianabusiness.com/) — The go-to regional business news source for tracking M&A activity, economic development announcements, and sector trends relevant to Evansville sellers monitoring market timing.

Brokers operating in Evansville typically cover a footprint that extends well beyond the city limits — and the Tri-State geography is a defining feature of this market.

Within Evansville, the urban core — Downtown, the West Side, and the East Side — holds the highest concentration of retail, hospitality, and professional-services businesses that come to market. The North Side industrial corridors, along with the area near the Port of Indiana–Mount Vernon in neighboring Posey County, serve plastics manufacturers, metals operations, and logistics businesses whose buyers often come from outside the region.

Suburban communities like Newburgh and Boonville attract service-business buyers drawn to lower overhead costs and growing residential demographics. Across the state line, Henderson, KY and Owensboro, KY fall squarely within the Tri-State market that Evansville brokers routinely serve — deals in those communities frequently run through advisors credentialed on the Indiana side.

Most brokers listed on BusinessBrokers.net for this market cover all of Vanderburgh, Warrick, Gibson, and Posey counties as their standard service area. Sellers in any of these counties, or buyers targeting the broader Tri-State corridor, will find that Evansville-based advisors are the natural starting point.