BizBuySell Releases Second Quarter Insight Report for Business Sales

Online business-for-sale marketplace announces what businesses are selling for around the country

San Francisco, CA – July 9, 2008 – BizBuySell, the Internet's largest marketplace for buying or selling a small business, announced today the results of its Second Quarter 2008 Insight Report, which tracks trends on for-sale and sold businesses in the U.S.

Despite the current troubled economy, BizBuySell's small business transaction data shows that business prices and valuations are on the rise nationally. The median selling price for a small business jumped to $200,000 for the second quarter, an increase of $14,000 from the same time a year ago. Revenue and cash flow multiples have also risen.

BizBuySell notes that demand for small businesses is growing at a faster rate than the supply of businesses for sale. Mike Handelsman, BizBuySell.com general manager, said there are a few reasons for this outcome.

“Larger businesses with predictable future cash flows are still able to ask for premium valuations, especially in tough economic times like these,” he explained. “They are still in high demand. At the same time, with the rise in unemployment, many individuals who may have severance or savings to invest are looking to become entrepreneurs. So, overall demand for good businesses is very strong.”

Going against the national trend, markets in Chicago, Dallas-Fort Worth, Las Vegas, Minneapolis and New Orleans have seen a drop in business sales prices. BizBuySell attributes this to small business sellers in these markets lowering their asking prices and local business buyers finding it difficult to obtain credit.

More information about local and industry-specific business valuations is available online at www.bizbuysell.com.

About the Insight Reports:
The BizBuySell Insight Report is a nationally-recognized economic indicator that tracks the health of the U.S. small business economy. Each quarter, BizBuySell analyzes sales and listing prices of small businesses across the U.S., based on more than 50,000 businesses for sale and those recently sold. The BizBuySell Insight Reports focus on over 60 major U.S. markets and publish local, regional, state and national data for trending and analysis.

About BizBuySell:
BizBuySell is the Internet's largest and most heavily trafficked business for sale marketplace, with more business for sale listings, more unique users, and more search activity than any other service. BizBuySell currently has an inventory of over 50,000 businesses for sale, and more than 800,000 monthly visits. BizBuySell also has one of the largest databases of sale comparables for recently sold businesses and one of the industry's leading franchise directories.

BizBuySell was founded in 1996 and acquired in 2004 by LoopNet, Inc. LoopNet operates the largest commercial real estate listing service online, with more than $475 billion of property listed for sale and 4 billion square feet of space for lease. With over 2.5 million members, LoopNet attracts the Internet's largest community of commercial real estate.

Media Contact:

Frank Krolicki
Walker Sands Communications
office: (312) 546-4127
email: fkrolicki@walkersands.com

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