Management & acquisitions

Protect the team.
Respect the legacy.
Build the next chapter.

Mae Management acquires and operates established, service-based businesses for the long term, prioritizing the people, customers, and reputation the founder spent decades building.

M
Mae Management LLC
Mergers · Acquisitions · Exits
HeadquartersAustin, Texas
Established2025
ApproachLong-term ownership
ConversationsPrivate & confidential
No. 01

About Mae Management

Mae exists to carry businesses forward, not to dismantle them.

The Mae philosophy

Mae Management LLC is a management and acquisitions firm focused on acquiring, operating, and growing established, service-based businesses with durable fundamentals and long-term relevance.

Mae specializes in construction, construction management, project management, environmental services, and federal-adjacent industries: sectors defined by real operations, skilled workforces, and critical infrastructure. These are businesses built over decades, often by founders whose identities are deeply tied to what they've created.

Mae is not a short-term investment vehicle or a roll-up driven by financial engineering. The firm takes a long-term ownership approach, prioritizing operational continuity, employee stability, and responsible growth, layering in strategic advantages such as federal certifications and Native ownership where they enhance scale without compromising culture.

Each acquisition is evaluated not only on financial performance, but on leadership integrity, workforce strength, and alignment with Mae's stewardship-oriented philosophy. Mae partners with existing teams, promotes from within wherever possible, and remains actively involved at the strategic level.

No. 02

Primary targets

Sectors with durable demand, contracted revenue, and long-term relevance, especially where federal and municipal positioning creates room to grow.

I.

Construction & project management

CM/PM firms with established pipelines, repeat clients, and capable site leadership already in place.

II.

Environmental services

Remediation, compliance support, and environmental consulting with contracted or recurring work.

III.

Facilities, cleaning & security

Janitorial, maintenance, security, and specialty services with strong retention and operating teams.

IV.

Federal-adjacent services

Government-facing businesses where Native ownership and certifications create durable, defensible positioning.

No. 03

Acquisition criteria

We evaluate every opportunity on financial performance, operational integrity, and cultural alignment, not just headline EBITDA.

For brokers & intermediaries

If you're looking us up before responding to an outreach, good. Here's what you'll find behind the name:

  • Direct principal access. Decisions are made by the owner, not a committee.
  • NDA-ready and respectful of confidentiality from the first exchange.
  • SBA-range transactions with committed capital; creative structures welcome, including seller notes, earn-outs, milestone-based payouts.
  • Underwritten to a comfortable debt-service coverage. We buy what the business can carry.
  • We underwrite to own for the long term, not to flip.

The acquisition mandate

What we look for
  • $250K+ in annual cash flow or seller's discretionary earnings
  • Established operations with a verifiable track record
  • Recurring customers or contracted revenue base
  • Capable management or key operators in place
  • Healthy, explainable margins, market-rate or better
  • Clear path to responsible, scalable growth
  • Clean financials and straightforward operations
No. 04

Strategic advantage

Mae is Native-owned. Its founder is an enrolled member of a federally recognized tribe, and Mae holds full ownership of the businesses it acquires, subject only to seller participation where a founder chooses to stay invested.

That ownership is not a footnote. It is the reason Mae targets federal, state, and municipal work. It is also the answer to a question many sellers never think to ask: what happens to your positioning when you sell?

Much of the value in a construction, environmental, or facilities business is tied to relationships with public-sector buyers and the certifications that open those doors. For most acquirers, that positioning ends at closing. For a Native-owned acquirer, it can be re-established and extended, with programs that many buyers cannot access at all.

Several of these programs are grounded in the political status of tribal membership, not race, which is why they were unaffected by the 2025 changes that removed presumptions from the DBE and 8(a) programs. Where an individualized showing is now required, Mae will make it.

Plain language on timing: certifications are earned after closing, and they take time. Some come within weeks, others six to twelve months. We say eligible, not certified, until they're in hand.
Programs Mae companies are positioned to pursue
  • Buy Indian ActSet-aside authority for Indian Economic Enterprises on Bureau of Indian Affairs and Indian Health Service procurement.Requires 51%+ ownership by members of a federally recognized tribe
  • Indian Incentive ProgramA 5% incentive paid to Department of Defense prime contractors for subcontracts awarded to Indian-owned enterprises. That makes a Mae company a preferred subcontractor, not a charitable one.DFARS 226.1
  • SBA 8(a) Business DevelopmentSole-source and set-aside access for socially and economically disadvantaged owners, via individualized narrative under current rules.
  • HUBZoneWhere an acquired company's location and workforce qualify.
  • DBE & MBETransportation DBE and private-sector MBE (NMSDC) where the business's work warrants it, under the individualized standards now in effect.
No. 05

How a conversation becomes a closing

i

Introduction

A single call

A confidential, pressure-free conversation. We listen first: your goals, your timeline, your people.

ii

Mutual NDA

Days, not weeks

Before sensitive information changes hands, confidentiality goes in writing, both directions.

iii

Review

Focused & efficient

We review financials and operations with focused questions, and we don't waste your time.

iv

Letter of intent

If aligned

A clear, fair proposal in plain terms: price, structure, transition, and what happens to your team.

v

Close & transition

Built for continuity

Diligence, closing, and a handoff designed around your employees, your customers, and you.

“Selling a business is one of the biggest decisions of a founder's life. Our job is to make the path visible, honest, and respectful from the first call.”

Questions sellers ask us →
No. 06

Principal

Brandon Krone, Founder and Principal of Mae Management LLC

Brandon Krone

Founder & Principal · Austin, Texas

Construction upbringing, Division I wrestler, then institutional finance at Fidelity and Charles Schwab. Mae is the convergence of hands-on operating respect and institutional financial discipline, built by someone who has sat on both sides of the table.

The name honors his late mother's middle name, and stands for Mergers, Acquisitions, and Exits.

No. 07

Team

Douglas McArthur, Acquisitions Associate at Mae Management LLC

Douglas McArthur

Acquisitions Associate · Boca Raton, Florida

Douglas sources and vets acquisition opportunities for Mae. With hands-on experience in construction, sales, and real estate strategy, he approaches underwriting with discipline and a strong bias toward action.

For owners

Selling your business

Whether you're twelve months out or just beginning to wonder, we'll help you think through value, taxes, timing, and what happens to your team, confidentially and without pressure.

Start a confidential conversation →
Free tools

Owner resources

A directional valuation calculator built on real-world multiples, plus the exact information packet a buyer will eventually ask you for: fillable, chart-driven, and yours to keep.

Explore the resources →
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Mae Labs

Proprietary products, built in-house

Our testing ground for the tools we design ourselves, currently home to the APEX options terminal, with more in development.

Visit the lab

Confidential conversations welcomed.

If you're considering a transition, or you represent a business aligned with Mae's focus, we'd welcome the conversation. Email first; we'll set up a call from there.

Start here