Valuations & Acquisitions: Sharks Are Circling, Blood’s in the Water

On the face of it, there’s never been a better opportunity for buyers of multichannel merchants. The blood’s in the water.

While this past summer’s multiples have held steady for most marketers with sales of less than $75 million, the multiples have come down for the best-run companies, according to Stuart Rose, managing director of Wellesley, Mass.-based investment banking firm Tully & Holland. The fact that multiples have shrunk to eight times earnings, down from 10 times earnings, only bolsters the case for buyers. But the sharks aren’t biting — at least not yet.