A Business for Sale update
We first ran The American Dream: Business For Sale in November 1990. The company featured was a San Francisco restaurant/pub with an asking price of $750,000. Though the restaurant received 100 queries, it eventually was pulled off the market. That was true of about a third of the 61 companies featured through November 1995. One of those, a Wyoming dude ranch, received more than 500 queries, a record for the American Dream. Asking prices of companies pulled off the market ranged from $110,000 for a Michigan airplane brokerage to $5 million for a North Carolina golf resort.
Just over a third of the companies we featured were sold. (See chart, below.) The Nevada casino was on the market for the shortest length of time: two months. Thirteen of the 23 companies sold were on the market for a year or more. The only company that sold for its asking price, $40,000, was the Wisconsin chocolate shop.
Sales are pending for 2 of the American Dream companies; 4 are out of business.
* * *Twelve, listed below with the dates they appeared in the magazine, are still for sale.
Vermont Country Inn (January 1991)
Idaho Up-Country Ranch (June 1991)
Family-run Child-care Center (September 1991)
South Carolina Miniature Golf Course (May 1993)
Southern Short-line Railroad (January 1994)
Maine Homemade-Ice-cream Parlor (September 1994)
750-acre Theme Park (November 1994)
Nebraska Christmas-tree Farm (December 1994)
New England Country Store (May 1995)
Utah Natural- and Gourmet-foods Market and Cafe (July 1995)
Massachusetts Garden Center (October 1995)
California Architecture Firm (November 1995)
| Company (issue it was featured in) | Asking price | Selling price | Real estate included? | Asking price as a multiple of earnings | Asking price as a % of sales | # of inquiries | How long on the market |
| California Vineyard/Winery (April 1991) | $5.9 mil. | $4 mil. | Yes | 3.0 | 137% | 25-30 | 1.5 yrs. |
| Seattle Bookstore (August 1991) | $62,000 | $8,500 [a] | No | 8.8 | 62% | 50 | 1.5 yrs. |
| Maine Model-Ship Maker (October 1991) | $365,000 | $331,000 | No | 5.0 | 129% | 200+ | 5-6 mos. |
| Arizona AM-Radio Station (November 1991) | $650,000 | Unknown | Yes | 7.7 | 192% | 50 | 2-3 yrs. |
| New Hampshire Country Store (December 1991) | $325,000 [b] | $345,000 c | Yes | 6.5 | 79% | 30 | 1 year |
| Minor-League Baseball Franchise (January 1992) | $3 mil. | $2.5 mil. | No | Unk. | 208%- 250% | 60 | 6 mos. |
| Washington Ski Mountain (May 1992) | Best offer | Unknown | Yes | NA | NA | 6 | 5 mos. |
| Texas Drag Strip (July 1992) | $500,000 | Unknown | Yes | 3.5 | 161% | 24 | 9 mos. |
| Vintage Idaho Movie Theater (August 1992) | $135,000 | $100,000 | Yes | 7.3 | 180% | 12 | 1 year |
| Island Crafts Cataloger (January 1993) | $150,000 | $127,500 | No | 1.9 | 52% | 250+ | 1 year |
| Florida Billiards Room (March 1993) | $190,000 | $60,000 | No | 3.5 | 74% | 100+ | 6 mos. |
| North Carolina Motorcycle Dealership | $1.1 mil. | $900,000 | No | 3.7 | 41% | 4 | 14 mos. (April 1993) |
| Arizona Bowling Center (June 1993) | $3.6 mil. | $1.3 mil. | Yes | 7.5 | 279% | 15-20 | 9 mos. |
| Florida Travel Agency (July 1993) | $150,000 | $105,000 | No | 1.2 | 9% | 15-20 | 2-3 mos. |
| New England Rowing-Equipment Manufacturer | $550,000 | $440,000 [d] | No | Unk. | 65% | 200 | 6 mos. (August 1993) |
| Nevada Casino (November 1993) | $2.3 mil. | $1.5 mil. | Yes | 6.4 | 126% | 35-40 | 2 mos. |
| Midwest Record-Store Chain (December 1993) | $1.5 mil. | $500,000 | No | 3.8 | 41% | 15+ | 2 yrs. |
| Virginia French Bakery (February 1994) | $275,000 | Unknown | No | 3.4 | 122% | 40 | 2 yrs. |
| Alaska Charter-Fishing Service (July 1994) | $586,000 | Unknown | Yes | 5.9 | 64% | 12 | 1 year |
| California Diving Magazine (October 1994) | $500,000 | $110,000 [e] | No | 10.0 | 154% | 50 | 2 yrs. |
| California Comedy Club (January 1995) | $350,000 | $110,000 | No | 3.6 | 48% | 8 | 1 year |
| Wisconsin Chocolate Shop (February 1995) | $40,000 | $40,000 | No | 2.7 | 75% | 200-300 | 8 mos. |
| Oklahoma Fitness Center (June 1995) | $185,000 | $92,500 | No | 172.7 | 382% | 20 | 1 year |
[a]for a partial stake; [b]without inventory; [c]with inventory; [d]for an 80% stake; [e]for a 51% stake
-- Compiled by Christopher Caggiano and Robina A. Gangemi
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