Selling a Business in Miami
Miami has become one of the most internationally connected M&A markets in the United States. As the gateway between Latin America and North America — and with a growing concentration of family offices, technology companies, and financial services relocating from the northeast — Miami offers business owners access to a buyer pool that is genuinely global in character.
The Miami mid-market M&A landscape in 2026
Miami's mid-market M&A has been reshaped over the past several years by a wave of capital and talent migration that has fundamentally changed the city's buyer ecosystem. The relocation of major family offices, hedge funds, PE firms, and technology companies from New York and California has created a depth of institutional capital in Miami that simply did not exist a decade ago. Brickell Avenue now competes seriously with Midtown Manhattan as a financial services address.
The city's most distinctive characteristic as an M&A market is its international buyer pool. Brazilian, Colombian, Argentine, and Mexican acquirers are consistently active participants in Miami M&A — both as buyers of US businesses and as sellers using Miami as their gateway for US market entry. European buyers, particularly from Spain and Portugal, are also active. Miami's bilingual business environment and overlapping time zones — able to accommodate European morning calls and Latin American afternoon calls — make it a natural center for cross-border transactions.
Florida's tax environment is a genuine advantage for business owners. The absence of a state income tax means that founders who have properly established Florida domicile retain materially more of their sale proceeds than counterparts in high-tax states. This tax advantage has also driven a sustained migration of businesses to Florida, creating a growing pool of mid-market companies across financial services, technology, healthcare, and consumer sectors.
Activity in 2025-2026 has been strong across financial services, technology, and real estate-adjacent businesses. The healthcare sector — benefiting from Florida's favorable regulatory environment and demographic growth — has seen consistent PE consolidation activity. Cross-border deal flow between Latin America and the US remains a structural feature of Miami M&A and continues to generate transactions that purely domestic markets would not see.
Key sectors driving Miami M&A
Miami's economy is defined by its international connectivity, financial services growth, and an expanding technology sector. Here is what buyer appetite looks like across the city's most active M&A segments.
Financial Services & Family Offices
Miami has become one of the most significant financial services hubs in the Western Hemisphere. A sustained migration of family offices, wealth managers, and alternative investment platforms from New York and international markets has created a dense concentration of private capital. Brickell Avenue — Miami's financial district — now hosts major US and international banks, PE funds, and family offices managing hundreds of billions in assets. Financial services M&A here spans RIA acquisitions, specialty finance, insurance distribution, and fintech businesses serving the wealth management ecosystem.
Technology & Venture-Backed Businesses
Miami's technology sector has experienced a genuine transformation over the past several years. The relocation of Founders Fund, the growth of Miami Tech Week, and an influx of founders and venture capital from New York and San Francisco have established Miami as a credible technology hub. Enterprise software, fintech, proptech, and consumer technology businesses based in Miami are increasingly attractive to both US and international acquirers. The city's bilingual talent pool and Latin American market access give Miami tech businesses a distinctive competitive positioning.
Latin American Cross-Border M&A
Miami is the gateway for M&A between Latin America and the United States. Brazilian, Colombian, Argentine, and Mexican acquirers regularly use Miami-based businesses as US platform acquisitions or use Miami as a deal center for cross-border transactions. Equally, US strategic buyers acquiring Latin American businesses frequently structure their transactions through Miami. This cross-border deal flow is a distinctive feature of Miami M&A that creates buyer demand from a genuinely global acquirer pool. Spanish-language due diligence and bilingual transaction management are often required.
Real Estate & Hospitality
South Florida's real estate market — spanning luxury residential, commercial, hospitality, and mixed-use development — generates consistent M&A activity in real estate-adjacent businesses. Property management platforms, hospitality operators, short-term rental businesses, and real estate technology companies attract buyer interest from both domestic and international acquirers. The continued migration of high-net-worth individuals and businesses to Florida drives sustained demand for real estate services and creates exit opportunities for businesses serving this growth.
Healthcare & Medical Tourism
Miami's healthcare sector serves both a rapidly growing domestic population and a significant medical tourism market, particularly from Latin America. Specialty medical practices, ambulatory surgery centers, healthcare technology, and medical tourism platforms attract PE buyer interest and international strategic acquirers. Florida's Certificate of Need (CON) exemptions for many facility types make the state more attractive for healthcare services investment than heavily regulated states, which drives deal activity and buyer interest in Florida healthcare assets.
Consumer, Retail & Tourism
Miami's position as a global tourism destination and a gateway for international retail brands entering the US market creates a distinctive consumer M&A segment. Luxury retail, hospitality brands, consumer services, and direct-to-consumer businesses benefit from both domestic Florida growth and the international consumer base that flows through the city. International buyers — particularly from Europe and Latin America — are active acquirers of Miami consumer businesses as entry points into the broader US market.
US and Miami-specific considerations when selling your business
Selling a Miami business involves US deal mechanics and Florida-specific considerations that reward early planning. The city's cross-border deal activity also introduces transaction elements that are uncommon in purely domestic US markets.
Florida Tax Advantages & Business Relocation
Florida has no state income tax — a material advantage for business owners compared to New York (13.3% combined top rate) or California (13.3% state alone). For founders who have relocated their business to Florida ahead of a sale, the tax savings on capital gains from a transaction can be substantial. However, proper establishment of Florida domicile — including time spent in state, change of voter registration, Florida driver's license, and other domicile indicators — must be genuine and well-documented to withstand IRS scrutiny. Buyers and their counsel will examine the substance of any pre-sale state relocation carefully.
Cross-Border Deal Mechanics
Miami's significant volume of cross-border transactions — particularly with Latin American buyers and sellers — introduces deal mechanics not common in domestic US deals. Currency risk management, international wire transfer compliance, OFAC sanctions screening for certain jurisdictions, and foreign investment review under CFIUS for transactions involving US businesses in sensitive sectors all require attention. Purchase agreements in cross-border deals often include specific provisions for currency denomination, FX rate references, and international closing conditions. Advisors with cross-border M&A experience specific to the Latin America-US corridor add meaningful value in these transactions.
Quality of Earnings Report
A Quality of Earnings (QoE) report is a standard requirement for Miami mid-market transactions, particularly where US PE buyers are involved. For businesses with significant international revenue — Latin American customers, tourism-driven revenue streams, or cross-border service arrangements — the QoE process is more complex and requires accountants familiar with international revenue recognition, foreign currency translation, and the normalization of revenues that may be seasonal or event-driven. A sell-side QoE prepared before going to market compresses buyer diligence timelines and reduces re-trading risk.
Rep & Warranty Insurance & LOI Exclusivity
Representation and warranty insurance is standard in US mid-market transactions and expected by institutional PE buyers active in Miami. It limits the seller's post-closing indemnification exposure and provides buyers with a creditworthy recovery source. Separately, LOI exclusivity periods in US deals are typically 45-60 days — the period during which the seller agrees not to engage other buyers while the signed buyer completes due diligence and finalizes documentation. Managing the exclusivity period carefully — with a well-prepared data room and responsive diligence management — is one of the most important execution tasks in a US sale process.
What Miami buyers are looking for right now
The Miami buyer market in 2026 is internationally diverse and growth-oriented. Domestic PE buyers apply the same disciplined diligence standards as their New York counterparts. International buyers — particularly from Latin America — bring strategic logic that domestic buyers may not see, and often assign premium value to businesses with established relationships, licenses, or infrastructure in markets they want to enter. For Miami sellers, the ability to run a process that credibly reaches both domestic and international buyers is a meaningful competitive advantage.
Latin American market access and relationships
For many Miami businesses, their most distinctive asset in the eyes of international buyers is existing relationships, distribution, or operations in Latin American markets. Quantifying and presenting this strategic value — and identifying the buyers for whom it is most relevant — is a key part of positioning a Miami business for a competitive process.
Revenue quality in an international context
Miami businesses with significant international revenue require careful normalization for US buyers. Currency exposure, payment terms in different markets, country-specific credit risk, and the stability of revenue from different geographies all affect how buyers model normalized earnings. Sell-side preparation that addresses these questions proactively reduces diligence friction and re-trading risk.
Florida domicile and tax position
Buyers — particularly PE funds modeling seller net proceeds to structure rollover equity and earnout negotiations — will examine the tax position of the business and its owners. Florida domicile should be genuine, well-documented, and legally established before a process begins. Sellers who attempt to establish Florida domicile immediately before a transaction invite IRS scrutiny and buyer concern.
Management depth for an international platform
Buyers acquiring Miami businesses as Latin America or US market entry platforms place particular emphasis on management teams that can operate across cultures and languages. Bilingual leadership, established international relationships, and documented processes for managing cross-border operations are viewed as genuine value drivers, not just nice-to-haves.
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