A&B Aerospace, a CNC machine shop in Azusa, California, sold for a base price of $4,500,000 in cash. On the figures in the buyer’s release, that is 7.4× management-adjusted EBITDA and about 0.9× revenue; both multiples are Bankerly’s arithmetic, because neither company states one. The buyer, PMGC Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq: ELAB), announced the completed purchase on May 13, 2026.
What sold, and to whom
A&B was founded in 1948 and does precision CNC machining for the aerospace and defense industries. The release says it runs more than twenty CNC machines and is AS9100D and ISO 9001:2015 certified. PMGC, a diversified holding company, bought 100% of the shares from the selling shareholders on a cash-free, debt-free basis, and counts the deal as its fifth acquisition in twelve months and part of a roll-up strategy.
A&B’s president stays on under an employment agreement, and the shop keeps operating from its Azusa facility under a lease entered into at closing.
How the price splits, and where 7.4× falls
The base price breaks into $4,275,000 (95%) paid at closing and a $225,000 (5%) indemnification holdback that PMGC retained. A customary post-closing adjustment for the final cash balance and net working capital against a target can change it. The release gives neither the target nor the length of the holdback.
The earnings are for the trailing twelve months ended February 28, 2026: approximately $5.0 million of revenue and approximately $610,000 of management-adjusted EBITDA. PMGC calls that a non-GAAP measure reflecting customary adjustments, including normalizations for non-recurring items and owner-related compensation and benefits. The release calls the figures preliminary and unaudited, for a period that need not match A&B’s fiscal year. Divide the base price by $610,000 and you get 7.4×; divide it by $5.0 million of revenue and you get 0.9×.
A&B counts among the 18 deals behind the quartiles below, with its $4.5 million base price treated as enterprise value. Basis: trailing EV/EBITDA, disclosed deals with targets at or below $25M of EBITDA, Bankerly’s transaction database, as of October 2026.
| Group | 25th percentile | Median | 75th percentile | Deals (n) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All Aerospace & Defense deals | 9.3× | 10.5× | 13.0× | 18 |
| Targets with EBITDA of $5M to $25M | 9.4× | 11.8× | 13.3× | 11 |
At 7.4×, A&B sits below the sector’s 25th percentile of 9.3×. It is one small deal, with EBITDA well under $1 million: not a market rate, and not what any other company is worth. No band is published for targets under $5M of EBITDA, because fewer than eight deals fall there. Disclosed deals skew larger and better run than a typical owner-operated company, so the quartiles are a reference point, not a price. The Aerospace & Defense multiples page lists the deals.
Why PMGC said it bought
PMGC’s release says it believes A&B has what it wants in a precision manufacturing platform: high technical barriers to entry, mission-critical applications, an established blue-chip customer base and direct exposure to U.S. industrial and defense supply chain demand. It also believes that once a precision machining supplier is qualified on a customer program, the requalification and first article inspection needed to change manufacturers reinforce customer retention. It cites A&B’s 76 years of operation, its certifications and its Tier 1 customers, and aims for a platform of AS9100D-certified CNC machining businesses. What else buyers in this sector check is covered in how to sell an aerospace or defense supplier.
What a shop owner can take from it
- The headline price is not what arrives at closing. Here 95% was paid at closing and 5% was held back (how holdbacks work), and cash and working capital can still move the final figure (the working-capital peg).
- A multiple is only as comparable as the EBITDA under it. Change the adjustments and the same price gives a different multiple.
- A shop this small has no size band of its own. A&B’s adjusted EBITDA was about $610,000, and the sector’s one published size band starts at $5M. Why multiples differ by size covers the general pattern, and the release does not say why this price landed where it did.
- A letter of intent is not a closing. PMGC announced a non-binding one on June 24, 2025; the completion release is dated May 13, 2026, more than ten months later.
To set your own earnings beside comparable deals, the valuation calculator opens with Aerospace & Defense selected and returns an educational estimate, not an appraisal. This is general education about one disclosed deal, not advice about yours.
Sources
Frequently asked questions
- What multiple did A&B Aerospace sell for?
- By Bankerly's arithmetic, 7.4× management-adjusted EBITDA: the $4.5 million base price divided by approximately $610,000 of EBITDA for the twelve months ended February 28, 2026, as PMGC Holdings' release reports it. On approximately $5.0 million of revenue the price is about 0.9×. Neither company states a multiple, and the EBITDA is an unaudited, non-GAAP figure.
- How much of the $4.5 million did A&B's sellers get at closing?
- The release says $4,275,000 of the base price was paid at closing and $225,000 was retained by PMGC as an indemnification holdback, which is 95% and 5%. The price is also subject to an adjustment for the final cash balance and net working capital against a target, so the final amount can differ from $4.5 million. The release does not say what the sellers netted after debt, taxes and costs.
- Can I use 7.4× to value my own machine shop?
- Not on its own. A&B is one small deal, and one deal is not a market rate. Bankerly's 18 disclosed Aerospace & Defense deals show a median trailing EV/EBITDA of 10.5× (targets at or below $25M of EBITDA, as of October 2026), but disclosed deals skew larger than a typical owner-operated company and no band is published below $5M of EBITDA. What a shop sells for depends on its own earnings, customers and certifications.
Considering a sale in the next few years? See what a prepared process looks like.
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