How I Bought Two Traditional Businesses with $4m EBITDA at 24 | Ethan Macdonald Interview

Imagine that for a moment…You are 24 years old and want to acquire a business…You pick up the phone and make your first cold call to the founder who owns two companies in the $1-2mm EBITDA rangeThe founder says, "yes, I would be interested in selling my company," four months later you are the new owner of a small holding company with two traditional businesses (First Fleet Maintenance and Northern Diesel, both located in Northern Alberta, Canada) and a combined EBITDA of $4 million.This conversation is amazing. Ethan Macdonald from Macdonald Financial has a wild journey.Show notes:00:00:00 - Intro00:00:43 - Background before these acquisitions00:06:29 - The moment Ethan decided it was the right time to acquire the company00:08:35 - Talking to brokers lead to not wanting to use their services00:11:50 - Deal structure and conversations with the banks00:19:41 - Very asset heavy businesses00:23:30 - The whole transaction was financed by the bank00:32:34 - Unexpected costs in making the deal as he couldn't afford both a lawyer and an accountant00:34:07 - Post-acquisition00:38:26 - "I would like to be an operator for the next transaction"00:41:00 - Growth through M&A versus organic00:44:02 - Challenges so far after less than half a year of business ownershipFollow Mikk/PrivatEquityGuy on Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠https://x.com/PrivatEquityGuy⁠⁠⁠Contact Ethan: ethan at macdonaldfinancial dot netThis podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.