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Partial-sale calculator: what would selling part of the company put in your pocket?

Enter your EBITDA or seller's discretionary earnings, a multiple range, the percentage you would sell — anything from 10% to 90% — and your interest-bearing debt. The calculator shows an illustrative equity value, cash to the owner before tax, and what you keep.

Your numbers

Earnings measure

SDE adds back the owner’s salary and personal expenses; use it if the owner’s pay is a choice rather than a market rate.

Last full year, or a normalized run rate.

Multiple range

Commonly 3× to 5× at this size; lower when the owner is the business, higher with contracted recurring revenue.

20%

Minority or majority. Owners who stay in charge usually sell 10–35%; a turnaround, a succession or a partner buyout can be 50% or more.

Term loans, equipment finance, shareholder loans. Exclude trade payables.

20%

A holder of less than half cannot force a sale, so a minority stake usually prices below the arithmetic; 15–25% is a common starting point. Selling 50% or more? Set this to zero.

Illustrative cash to the owner, before tax

$104,000 – $200,000

You would keep 80% of the company and stay in control of it.

Enterprise value (EBITDA × multiple)
$900,000 – $1,500,000
Less interest-bearing debt
− $250,000
Equity value
$650,000 – $1,250,000
Your 20% before discount
$130,000 – $250,000
Less 20% minority discount
$104,000 – $200,000
Illustrative only. This is not a valuation, an appraisal, an offer or advice. It ignores tax, working-capital adjustments, normalization of owner compensation, customer concentration, management depth and the quality of your statements — all of which move the real number more than the multiple does. Talk to your accountant before relying on any of it.
Talk to our members about a partial sale Succession without selling 100%

Most owners have never seen the arithmetic of a partial sale written down, and it is simpler than they expect: a multiple of earnings gives enterprise value, subtract interest-bearing debt to get equity value, multiply by the percentage sold.

The slider runs from 10% to 90%, because the size of the stake follows the situation rather than a rule. An owner who is staying in charge normally sells somewhere between 10% and 35% and keeps the majority. An owner handing over a turnaround, planning a succession or funding a partner buyout may well sell 50% or more, and there is nothing wrong with that — it is simply a different conversation, and worth seeing the numbers for before you have it.

What the arithmetic does not capture is everything that actually moves the number — management depth, customer concentration, the quality of your statements, and tax. Use this to get the shape of the decision, then get a real valuation before you negotiate.

This is illustrative only. It is not a valuation, an appraisal, an offer or advice, and it takes no account of tax. A stake below half typically sells at a discount to the arithmetic, because a minority holder cannot force a sale; at 50% or more that discount usually disappears, which is why it is an input you control rather than a number we assume. Talk to your accountant before you rely on any of it.

Want a real number instead of an illustration?

Members will tell you honestly what they think the business is worth and why — before anyone negotiates.

Apply for a conversationSuccession capital, explained

Written by The Blue Ring Venture Capital team. Last reviewed .

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