A pharmacy in McHenry is priced on adjusted seller’s discretionary earnings after a buyer compares this book to Crystal Lake — not on a statewide rumor multiple. Illinois CBS-1 (10 business days). No Chicago 45-day city notice unless the business also operates in Chicago. The statewide pharmacies playbook is on the industry hub; this page is the McHenry file. Confidential sale. No upfront listing fee.
Confidential • No upfront fees • Illinois statewide
McHenry market
Selling a pharmacy in McHenry
A pharmacy in McHenry is priced on adjusted seller’s discretionary earnings after a buyer compares this book to Crystal Lake — not on a statewide rumor multiple. Illinois CBS-1 (10 business days). No Chicago 45-day city notice unless the business also operates in Chicago. The statewide pharmacies playbook is on the industry hub; this page is the McHenry file.
McHenry is a Fox River and Chain O’Lakes city in McHenry County — waterfront recreation plus a working downtown, not Crystal Lake’s larger commercial core.
Boating-season hospitality needs a winter story. Route density thins toward the Wisconsin line. Owner-operators from Crystal Lake and Wisconsin-border towns are more likely than Chicago PE. Seller financing is more common here than on the North Shore.
McHenry has about 26,992 residents in McHenry County, inside the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin area. Nearby markets buyers already compare this book to include Crystal Lake, Algonquin, Woodstock. That comparison changes who shows up: a buyer who will drive from Crystal Lake is not the same buyer who will fly in from a coastal platform.
Planning facts
Typical multiple
2x–4x SDE
Typical timeline
9–18 months
SBA eligible
Often — confirm
County
McHenry County
Population
26,992
Metro
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
Nearby comps
Crystal Lake, Algonquin, Woodstock
Closing clock
Illinois CBS-1 (10 business days). No Chicago 45-day city notice unless the business also operates in Chicago
DuPage, Lake, Kane, Will, McHenry, Kendall, and neighboring collar shops sell on household density and the I-88, I-90, I-94, and I-55 corridors.
There is no Chicago 45-day city notice unless the business also operates in Chicago. Buyers still compare this suburb to the next one on the same highway.
McHenry demand for pharmacies is the customer list and the license path — not the Census population figure. About 26,992 residents is context for who already lives in the trade area. It is not a sale price.
Pharmacy in McHenry
What a McHenry buyer will underwrite on this pharmacy
A pharmacy in McHenry is a personal license plus a panel that will still drive here after the seller leaves. Parking, payer mix, and who can own the clinical entity are Illinois rules; the trade area is McHenry versus Crystal Lake, Algonquin, Woodstock. We will not invent a ZIP premium.
Pharmacies statewide typically plan around 2x–4x SDE and a 9–18 months process when books and the lease are ready. That is a planning range, not a price for this McHenry shop. Buyers here usually argue script count per day, third-party payer mix, clinical service revenue, compounding capabilities.
Closing clock for this McHenry file: Illinois CBS-1 (10 business days). No Chicago 45-day city notice unless the business also operates in Chicago. License path: IDFPR licenses the pharmacy premises and the pharmacist-in-charge personally. The industry hub teaches the statewide rule. This URL is the McHenry application of it.
In a suburb like McHenry, independent pharmacists, pharmacy chains, pe groups are the names that usually appear on the NDA list. A buyer who will drive from Crystal Lake is not the same buyer who will fly in from a coastal platform.
Buyer pool
Who buys a pharmacy in McHenry
Owner-operators and neighboring DuPage/Lake strategics. PE is selective — they want enough EBITDA to justify the drive from the city. Seller financing is more common than on the North Shore.
Illustration: an independent community pharmacy in Springfield with 180 scripts a day, a selling PIC, a thin immunization program, and a PBM mix that has been compressing margin. Not a closed sale.
A pharmacy whose customers already sit in Crystal Lake, Algonquin, Woodstock is a larger business than one that stops at the McHenry city limit. Tell the truth about the route. Buyers will map it.
SDE recast
How a buyer will read the books on this McHenry pharmacy
Pharmacy recasts on script-count contribution after DIR and PBM clawbacks, not top-line drug rings. Add back owner-pharmacist W-2, then isolate a one-time COVID or compounding spike and any front-end that is really a gift shop. Inventory is working capital and dated legend stock is not cash. A 2x–4x SDE band assumes a PIC and payer contracts a buyer can keep.
Illustration only — not a quote for any McHenry shop. A pharmacy whose tax return shows $173,000 of net profit is not worth $173,000 × a rumor multiple.
Add back the owner’s $136,000 W-2 and payroll tax, $20,000 of discretionary benefits, $16,000 of accepted one-time cost, and $15,000 of personal expenses that a buyer will not run. Then subtract $25,000 of replacement labor if the owner still diagnoses, sells, or closes the books.
Adjusted seller’s discretionary earnings are $335,000. At the planning range 2.0x–4.0x, enterprise value is $670,000 to $1,340,000. Mid-range 3.00x is $1,005,000 before debt, working capital, holdback, and tax. A McHenry buyer will argue the multiple after they ride with the staff and read the lease.
At 3.00 times $335,000 of seller’s discretionary earnings, enterprise value is $1,005,000 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 McHenry pharmacy — not a quote
Net profit
$173,000
Owner W-2
$136,000
Benefits
$20,000
One-time
$16,000
Personal
$15,000
Replacement labor (subtract)
−$25,000
Recast SDE
$335,000
Planning EV at 3.00x
$1,005,000
Recast Seller’s Discretionary Earnings, then apply a planning multiple for pharmacies.
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.
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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.
McHenry County uses state CBS-1 and municipal licenses in Crystal Lake, McHenry, Woodstock, and Algonquin. Rural and village zoning can restrict contractor yards and outdoor storage. No Chicago/Cook 45-day local bulk sale.
IDFPR licenses the pharmacy premises and the pharmacist-in-charge personally. DEA and Illinois controlled-substance registrations sit with the named PIC and the location. Medicare Part D and PBM contracts are enrollments, not automatic assignments. A buyer without a PIC and a DEA path cannot legally open the gate. The license stack is the deal.
Labor and lease
What has to keep working on Monday after close in McHenry
For a pharmacy in McHenry, the first labor question is: Script count and a payer mix that still prints after DIR.
Route density drops north and west of Crystal Lake. Winter home-services volume is real; summer landscaping books need snow or other off-season work or buyers will haircut. Huntley and Algonquin lean toward Kane/Cook overflow.
Northwest exurb: growing rooftops, still a farm-and-lake county in the western townships. Do not assume Chicagoland PE interest on a two-truck shop.
Diligence
What a serious pharmacy buyer will open
Levers that move the multiple in this vertical: Script count and a payer mix that still prints after DIR; A PIC path and clean DEA / IDFPR file; PBM contracts a buyer can remain in; Clinical services that are not a one-time spike; Inventory that is salable and counted.
Have these ready before anyone hears the name of the McHenry business: Scripts per day, payer mix, and DIR / clawback history; IDFPR pharmacy license, PIC, DEA, and controlled-substance file; PBM contracts and any termination or audit letters; Inventory quality, dated legend, and controlled-substance counts; Clinical services (immunization, MTM, compounding) that are real; Lease, drive-through, and front-end contribution.
Buyer tool
SBA payment sketch for a McHenry pharmacy 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.
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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 McHenry pharmacy for sale
Recast this McHenry pharmacy. Start with the tax return. Add owner pay. Subtract replacement labor if the seller still does the work a McHenry 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 pharmacy pull a permit or see a patient in McHenry, and whether that person stays. Personal licenses do not transfer with the assets.
Tell the truth about the McHenry 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 McHenry limit.
Open the lease and the labor file. Remaining term and assignment in McHenry 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). No Chicago 45-day city notice unless the business also operates in Chicago. Start them at letter of intent, not the week of funding.
Read the statewide playbook, then talk. The Illinois pharmacies hub is the statute and recast teaching. This page is the McHenry file. Confidential consult — no upfront listing fee.
Answers for owners and buyers in McHenry County, including local closing steps.
Illinois independent pharmacies typically sell for 2x–4x SDE. Script volume, third-party payer contracts, compounding revenue, and the strength of the pharmacist-patient relationship are the primary value drivers.
Yes. Most independent pharmacy sales are structured with a transition period during which the selling pharmacist remains to introduce patients to the new owner. Patient retention is the top priority in every transaction.
Buyers include individual pharmacists, regional independent pharmacy groups, and PE-backed pharmacy platforms. Corporate chains (Walgreens, CVS) are generally not active buyers of small independent pharmacies.
Compounding capabilities add value by diversifying revenue and differentiating the practice from commodity retail pharmacy. Buyers willing to maintain compounding operations will pay a premium for these capabilities.
PBM (Pharmacy Benefit Manager) contracts are business-level agreements that typically transfer with the ownership change. The buyer will need to notify PBMs and complete provider enrollment updates.
Most McHenry asset sales file Illinois Form CBS-1 at least 10 business days before closing. McHenry 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.
Buyers in McHenry are often SBA owner-operators and neighboring operators along the same corridor. Larger recurring books can draw a platform. They will compare this suburb to the next town in McHenry County.
No. The planning multiple for pharmacies is a statewide starting point, not a McHenry appraisal. Buyers in McHenry County still adjust seller’s discretionary earnings, then argue the lease, licenses, labor, and owner dependency.
Service Area
Pharmacy Brokerage Near McHenry
We serve pharmacies owners and buyers across McHenry County and the surrounding region.