A electrical contractor in East Moline is priced on adjusted seller’s discretionary earnings after a buyer compares this book to Moline — not on a statewide rumor multiple. Illinois CBS-1 (10 business days). Iowa buyers still close an Illinois company on Illinois notices. The statewide electrical contractors playbook is on the industry hub; this page is the East Moline file. Confidential sale. No upfront listing fee.
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East Moline market
Selling a electrical contractor in East Moline
A electrical contractor in East Moline is priced on adjusted seller’s discretionary earnings after a buyer compares this book to Moline — not on a statewide rumor multiple. Illinois CBS-1 (10 business days). Iowa buyers still close an Illinois company on Illinois notices. The statewide electrical contractors playbook is on the industry hub; this page is the East Moline file.
East Moline is the Quad Cities’ eastern Illinois industrial city — former farm-implement plants, the East Moline Correctional Center, and river-adjacent industry, not Moline’s Deere headquarters campus.
Plant-service and institutional vendor books may not assign. Iowa-side customers still make a two-state map. Buyers will compare this to Rock Island industry and then ask why it is not Moline. Say what the customer list actually is.
East Moline has about 21,025 residents in Rock Island County, inside the Davenport-Moline-Rock Island area. Nearby markets buyers already compare this book to include Moline, Rock Island, Milan. That comparison changes who shows up: a buyer who will drive from Moline is not the same buyer who will fly in from a coastal platform.
Planning facts
Typical multiple
3x–4.5x SDE
Typical timeline
4–9 months
SBA eligible
Often — confirm
County
Rock Island County
Population
21,025
Metro
Davenport-Moline-Rock Island
Nearby comps
Moline, Rock Island, Milan
Closing clock
Illinois CBS-1 (10 business days). Iowa buyers still close an Illinois company on Illinois notices
Rock Island and Henry County shops sit on a bi-state labor and customer market. Iowa buyers still close an Illinois company on Illinois notices.
CBS-1, municipal licenses, and the lease are the Illinois work even when the trucks already cross the river.
East Moline demand for electrical contractors is the customer list and the license path — not the Census population figure. About 21,025 residents is context for who already lives in the trade area. It is not a sale price.
Electrical Contractor in East Moline
What a East Moline buyer will underwrite on this electrical contractor
East Moline is not a collar-county density play. A electrical contractor here usually sells to an owner-operator who already covers Moline, Rock Island, Milan, not a platform that needs a hired dispatcher and a second licensed person. Municipal registrations still reset on a new entity.
Electrical Contractors statewide typically plan around 3x–4.5x SDE and a 4–9 months process when books and the lease are ready. That is a planning range, not a price for this East Moline shop. Buyers here usually argue licensed electrician count, commercial vs residential mix, backlog of contracts, fleet and equipment.
Closing clock for this East Moline file: Illinois CBS-1 (10 business days). Iowa buyers still close an Illinois company on Illinois notices. License path: Illinois has no statewide electrician license. The industry hub teaches the statewide rule. This URL is the East Moline application of it.
East Moline is a regional market. The first serious call is often an owner-operator from Moline, Rock Island, Milan, not a platform that needs $2 million of earnings to pay for diligence. SBA 7(a) and seller financing usually matter more here than a headline multiple.
Buyer pool
Who buys a electrical contractor in East Moline
Quad Cities buyers — including Iowa capital — show up as often as Chicago buyers. Industrial-service and Deere-adjacent strategics are real. PE is selective.
Illustration: a Schaumburg-area electrical contractor with a Chicago supervising electrician on staff, a suburban service truck, and a backlog of tenant-improvement and service-call work. Not a closed sale.
A electrical contractor whose customers already sit in Moline, Rock Island, Milan is a larger business than one that stops at the East Moline city limit. Tell the truth about the route. Buyers will map it.
SDE recast
How a buyer will read the books on this East Moline electrical contractor
Electrical buyers recast backlog quality, not last year’s data-center overtime. Add back owner W-2, then haircut bid jobs that will not transfer and any prevailing-wage spike. If the seller is the only person who can pull permits in Chicago or the home-rule suburb that feeds the book, subtract a supervising electrician before you apply 3x–4.5x SDE.
Illustration only — not a quote for any East Moline shop. A electrical contractor whose tax return shows $170,000 of net profit is not worth $170,000 × a rumor multiple.
Add back the owner’s $84,000 W-2 and payroll tax, $8,500 of discretionary benefits, $1,000 of accepted one-time cost, and $6,000 of personal expenses that a buyer will not run. Then subtract $14,000 of replacement labor if the owner still diagnoses, sells, or closes the books.
Adjusted seller’s discretionary earnings are $255,000. At the planning range 3.0x–4.5x, enterprise value is $765,000 to $1,147,500. Mid-range 3.75x is $956,250 before debt, working capital, holdback, and tax. A East Moline buyer will argue the multiple after they ride with the staff and read the lease.
At 3.75 times $255,000 of seller’s discretionary earnings, enterprise value is $956,250 before debt, working capital, holdback, and tax. That is the planning conversation. It is not a listing-site guess.
SDE line items
Reported net profit (tax return, not the marketing P&L)
+ Interest expense
+ Income taxes (not payroll, sales, or property tax)
+ Depreciation and amortization
+ Owner W-2, bonuses, and payroll taxes on the owner
+ Discretionary owner benefits that a buyer will not keep (auto, personal travel, family on payroll with no role)
+ Accepted one-time or non-recurring expenses
− Market-rate replacement labor for owner work that will not transfer
= Seller’s Discretionary Earnings (SDE)
Illustration recast for a East Moline electrical contractor — not a quote
Net profit
$170,000
Owner W-2
$84,000
Benefits
$8,500
One-time
$1,000
Personal
$6,000
Replacement labor (subtract)
−$14,000
Recast SDE
$255,000
Planning EV at 3.75x
$956,250
Recast Seller’s Discretionary Earnings, then apply a planning multiple for electrical contractors.
Replacement labor is subtracted. This is a planning tool, not an appraisal.
Recast SDE—
Planning enterprise value—
Before debt, working-capital peg, holdback, and tax. Educational only.
Enter your annual Seller's Discretionary Earnings (SDE) — your net profit plus owner's salary and any personal expenses run through the business — to estimate a range.
$
1x3.0x8x
Estimated Value Range—to—
This is an estimate for planning purposes only. Actual value depends on lease terms, asset quality, customer concentration, and current market conditions. Request a professional valuation for a precise number.
Rock Island County uses state CBS-1 plus Rock Island, Moline, East Moline, and Milan licenses. Iowa-side (Davenport, Bettendorf) customers and employees create multi-state tax, workers’-comp, and license maps. John Deere vendor numbers do not always assign.
Illinois has no statewide electrician license. Chicago requires a licensed supervising electrician; many suburbs register electrical contractors municipally. Those registrations are not automatic asset transfers. A buyer who cannot put a supervising electrician on the payroll loses the municipal work that justified the multiple.
Labor and lease
What has to keep working on Monday after close in East Moline
For a electrical contractor in East Moline, the first labor question is: A staying supervising electrician for the cities that matter.
I-74 and I-80. Cross-river labor is normal. A Moline book with Iowa techs is a two-state diligence file. Arsenal Island and river flooding appear on some real-estate schedules.
Quad Cities MSA is bi-state. Price the customer and employee map, not “Illinois” as a single market.
Diligence
What a serious electrical contractor buyer will open
Levers that move the multiple in this vertical: A staying supervising electrician for the cities that matter; Service-call mix versus bid construction; Backlog that is contracted, not hoped; Union or open-shop alignment with the buyer’s model; Low GC concentration and transferable property-manager accounts.
Have these ready before anyone hears the name of the East Moline business: Who can pull permits in each municipality the company actually works; Contract backlog, bid-vs-negotiated mix, and retainage aging; Licensed electrician count versus helpers and the seller’s own hours; Fleet, benders, testers, and whether tools are owned or on the truck as personal property; Union vs open-shop reality and any PLA exposure; Customer concentration among GCs, property managers, and municipalities.
Buyer tool
SBA payment sketch for a East Moline electrical contractor buyer
Most Illinois owner-operator acquisitions use SBA 7(a). This is a payment sketch, not an approval.
SBA 7(a) loans are the most common financing for business acquisitions. Estimate your monthly payment and required down payment based on the purchase price.
$
%
%
yrs
Down Payment Required—
Loan Amount—
Est. Monthly Payment—
This calculator provides estimates for planning purposes only. Actual SBA loan terms depend on your credit profile, the specific lender, and current market conditions. Contact us to connect with SBA-approved lenders in Illinois.
Sale steps
How to prepare a East Moline electrical contractor for sale
Recast this East Moline electrical contractor. Start with the tax return. Add owner pay. Subtract replacement labor if the seller still does the work a East Moline buyer must hire. Do not treat a spike year as the new normal.
Name who can operate on Monday. List every credential that lets this electrical contractor pull a permit or see a patient in East Moline, and whether that person stays. Personal licenses do not transfer with the assets.
Tell the truth about the East Moline trade area. Map customers against neighboring towns. Buyers will. A book that already covers those towns is larger than a book that stops at the East Moline limit.
Open the lease and the labor file. Remaining term and assignment in Rock Island County. Whether the crew can run without the seller living eight minutes away.
Calendar the notices that apply here. Illinois CBS-1 (10 business days). Iowa buyers still close an Illinois company on Illinois notices. Start them at letter of intent, not the week of funding.
Read the statewide playbook, then talk. The Illinois electrical contractors hub is the statute and recast teaching. This page is the East Moline file. Confidential consult — no upfront listing fee.
Continue
Related East Moline and electrical contractors pages
Questions about electrical contractors in East Moline
Answers for owners and buyers in Rock Island County, including local closing steps.
Illinois electrical contractor businesses typically sell for 3x–4.5x SDE. Businesses with commercial contract backlogs, multiple licensed electricians on staff, and low customer concentration tend to command the higher end.
No. Electrical licenses are personal credentials — they do not transfer. Buyers need to either hold their own license or hire a licensed master electrician. This is a standard deal point we plan for early in every transaction.
Buyers include PE-backed trades platforms, larger electrical contractors looking to grow their geographic footprint, and licensed electricians ready to own their own operation. Illinois's active construction market keeps buyer demand strong.
There is no hard minimum, but businesses generating $500,000 or more in annual revenue tend to attract the largest buyer pools, including institutional buyers. Smaller businesses still sell well to individual buyers.
In most sales, buyers want to retain the existing team. Experienced, licensed electricians are a core part of the business's value. We structure transitions to protect your team and maintain continuity.
Most East Moline asset sales file Illinois Form CBS-1 at least 10 business days before closing. Rock Island County does not use Chicago’s 45-day city notice unless the business also operates there. Municipal licenses and the lease still need their own calendar.
The first serious call in East Moline is usually an owner-operator or a neighboring shop, not a coastal fund. Rock Island County buyers already know the trade area. Seller financing and a clean lease matter more than a headline multiple.
No. The planning multiple for electrical contractors is a statewide starting point, not a East Moline appraisal. Buyers in Rock Island County still adjust seller’s discretionary earnings, then argue the lease, licenses, labor, and owner dependency.
Service Area
Electrical Contractor Brokerage Near East Moline
We serve electrical contractors owners and buyers across Rock Island County and the surrounding region.
Talk through your East Moline electrical contractor
Confidential consult. We will walk the books, Rock Island County closing notices, licenses, and the lease — then give you a planning range, not a slogan.