Back to Resources
insightsConstruction & Contracting

Selling Your Construction Company: The Bonding Capacity Challenge

Your bonding capacity is one of the most valuable—and most overlooked—assets in a construction company sale.

MR

Maria Rodriguez

Construction Company Builder

December 28, 20235 min read

The Hidden Value in Your Bonding Relationship

When I sold my general contracting business, the buyer was not just buying my equipment and backlog—they were buying my bonding capacity. Here is why that matters.

Understanding Bonding in M&A

Bonding capacity is based on your company's financial strength, track record, and relationship with your surety. New companies often cannot get bonded for large projects, which limits their growth.

When you sell, the buyer typically cannot simply take over your bonds. They need to establish their own relationship with a surety, which can take months and may result in lower initial capacity.

How to Maximize Value

  • **Document your bonding history:** Show the progression of your bonding capacity over time
  • **Maintain surety relationships:** Keep your surety informed about the sale and ask for their support in the transition
  • **Structure the transition:** Consider staying on in a limited role to help maintain bonding during the transition
  • **Clean up your backlog:** Complete or assign problem projects before selling
  • What Buyers Look For

  • Current bonding capacity and utilization
  • Bonding history and claims record
  • Relationship with surety (single or program)
  • Work-in-progress status on bonded jobs

  • Maria Rodriguez grew a general contracting business from $500K to $15M revenue before selling to a regional competitor.

    MR

    Written by

    Maria Rodriguez

    Construction Company Builder

    Book a Consultation

    Be the First to Know

    Join the waitlist to get notified when consultants in your industry are available.

    No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. We'll only email you about our launch.

    Built with v0