Listed Indian companies traded at sector median EV/EBITDA multiples from about 6x to 27x on 30 June 2026. Published guides put small and mid-sized private businesses at roughly 2x to 8x, and the guides overlap at about 3x to 6x for a profitable owner-run business. None of those private ranges comes from a published transaction database, so treat them as a starting range, not a market price.
- An EBITDA multiple is a business's enterprise value divided by its yearly operating profit before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation. At 5x, a business with ₹4 crore of EBITDA has an enterprise value of ₹20 crore.
- There is no single "India multiple". Listed Indian companies had sector medians from about 6x (energy) to about 27x (health care facilities) on 30 June 2026. Those are prices for large, liquid public companies, not for a private business.
- For small and mid-sized private companies, published ranges sit mostly between 2x and 8x and disagree with each other. Most come from advisers and marketplaces, and private deal terms in India are rarely disclosed.
- The earnings figure matters as much as the multiple. A ₹40 lakh add-back that a buyer rejects can move the price by ₹2 crore at 5x.
- Multiples move. Between December 2025 and June 2026, the median for listed Indian application software fell from 24.2x to 18.2x while pharmaceuticals rose from 19.0x to 22.4x. A number from last year may already be stale.
What Is an EBITDA Multiple?
EBITDA stands for earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation. It is a rough measure of the cash a business earns from its operations, before the effects of how it is financed, how it is taxed and how it accounts for its assets.
An EBITDA multiple, written EV/EBITDA, divides enterprise value by EBITDA. Enterprise value is the value of the operating business before it is split between lenders and owners. To get from there to the price for the owners' shares, you subtract debt and add cash. In simple terms: enterprise value = EBITDA x multiple, and equity value is roughly enterprise value minus debt plus cash.
Buyers and advisers like the measure because it lets them compare a debt-heavy manufacturer with a debt-free software company on the same footing. It is the standard shorthand in private equity and M&A.
Very small, owner-run businesses are often priced on a related measure called seller's discretionary earnings (SDE), which adds back the owner's full pay. EBITDA is used once a professional management team is in place. The distinction matters in India, where many small companies are run by the promoter and family members.
A multiple is really shorthand for risk and growth. A higher multiple means the buyer expects growth or sees lower risk. A lower one means weaker performance or more risk.
Why the Numbers You Find Online Disagree
Most India-specific multiples published online come from advisory firms, valuation tool sellers and deal marketplaces. That does not make them wrong, but all of them benefit when more deals get done, so treat confident headline numbers with some care.
There is also a data problem. One Indian marketplace guide notes that most SME deals do not publicly disclose EBITDA, deal value, debt or the final price. EY reports that India's total deal value rose 18 percent to US$123.8 billion in 2025 while deal volume fell 3 percent, so the public record leans towards large transactions.
The result is that three Indian guides give three different answers for the same kind of company, as the private-business table below shows.
What Listed Indian Companies Trade At
The most reliable public benchmark is Kroll's Industry Multiples in India report. Its 29th edition covers 30 June 2026 and uses constituents of the BSE large-cap, mid-cap and small-cap indices with a market capitalisation above ₹500 crore. It removes outliers and excludes private companies.
The spread is wide. Energy sits near 6x because it is capital-heavy and cyclical. Health care facilities, industrial machinery and pharmaceuticals sit above 22x because investors expect sustained growth. Even inside one sector the range is large: in chemicals, the middle half of companies ran from 9.8x to 21.8x.
Public multiples move with the market
Between the end of 2025 and mid-2026, Kroll reports that the BSE Sensex fell 10.3 percent and the Nifty 50 fell 8.7 percent. The BSE IT index fell about 29.8 percent, which market commentary linked to concern about the effect of generative AI on traditional IT services. Pharmaceutical market capitalisation rose 18.6 percent over the same period. The medians followed.
| Sector (listed India) | Median, Dec 2025 | Median, Jun 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Application software | 24.2x | 18.2x |
| Internet services and infrastructure | 14.8x | 11.9x |
| Pharmaceuticals and biotechnology | 19.0x | 22.4x |
| Industrial machinery | 23.1x | 25.6x |
| Chemicals | 13.4x | 14.3x |
| Apparel | 12.8x | 14.2x |
| Construction and engineering | 11.5x | 12.0x |
| Energy | 6.3x | 5.8x |
| Health care facilities and services | 27.2x | 27.2x |
Why you cannot apply these directly to a private company
Listed companies are larger, easier to sell, and publish audited accounts every quarter. A private company with ₹3 crore of EBITDA has none of those advantages. Buyers usually pay less for that. One Indian valuation tool suggests a private-market discount of 20 to 30 percent on listed multiples. I could not verify that figure against transaction data, so treat it as a rough starting point and not a rule.
What Private Businesses Sell For
Here the evidence is thinner. The table sets out what three Indian guides say and what each appears to be based on.
| Source | Range | What it says |
|---|---|---|
| MergerDomo (SME valuation guide) | 3x to 8x | Most Indian SMEs. Based on its own platform observations, adviser conversations, public reports and listed multiples adjusted downward for size, liquidity and governance risk. |
| BuyABusiness India (valuation guide) | 3x to 6x | Profitable, owner-operated SMEs. Owner-dependent service businesses at the low end. Companies with contracted revenue and management depth beyond the promoter at the high end. |
| BusinessDeals.in (valuation guide) | 2x to 5x | Most small and mid-sized businesses. Service businesses with recurring revenue at 3x to 5x. Food and beverage at 1.5x to 3x. |
None of the three published the underlying deals in the pages I reviewed, and I found no reliable transaction database for Indian private deals. Treat the overlap, roughly 3x to 6x for a profitable owner-run business, as a starting range and not a market price.
What the US data shows about size
US figures are not Indian figures, but they show a pattern that holds almost everywhere. GF Data, which tracks completed private equity deals, reported averages of 6.4x for deals of $10 million to $25 million, 6.8x for $25 million to $50 million, and 8.3x for $50 million to $100 million in the first nine months of 2025. Larger businesses sell for higher multiples because they carry less risk and attract more buyers.
What Moves a Multiple Up or Down
| Factor | Pushes the multiple up | Pulls it down |
|---|---|---|
| Size | Larger EBITDA and a wider pool of buyers | Very small businesses with few buyers |
| Owner dependence | A management team that can run without the promoter | Customers, suppliers or know-how tied to one person |
| Revenue quality | Contracted or recurring revenue, repeat customers | One-off orders, a few large customers |
| Growth and margins | Steady growth, stable or rising margins | Flat or falling margins, cyclical demand |
| Quality of financials | Audited, clean books and easy-to-verify add-backs | Cash-heavy sales, related-party dealings, messy records |
| Sector | Sectors investors expect to grow (see the sector table above) | Capital-heavy or cyclical sectors |
| Buyer type | Private equity or strategic buyers with synergies | Individual buyers relying on bank debt |
One example from a US valuation guide makes the owner-dependence point well. A business earning $1 million of EBITDA with heavy owner dependence might trade near 3x, while the same business with strong management depth and documented processes might fetch 5x. Same earnings, different price, because the buyer is taking on less risk.
Why the EBITDA Matters More Than the Multiple
Sellers and buyers often argue about the multiple when the real fight is over the earnings it is applied to. Sellers present an adjusted EBITDA that adds back items such as above-market family salaries or one-off costs. Buyers test each add-back and accept only the ones they can verify.
Here is a simple illustration using round numbers. It is arithmetic, not a market quote. Both sides agree on a multiple of 5x. They disagree on one add-back.
| ₹ crore | Seller's case | Buyer's case |
|---|---|---|
| Reported EBITDA | 4.00 | 4.00 |
| Add-back accepted (above-market family salaries) | 0.40 | 0.00 |
| Adjusted EBITDA | 4.40 | 4.00 |
| Multiple | 5.0x | 5.0x |
| Enterprise value | 22.00 | 20.00 |
| Less: debt | 6.00 | 6.00 |
| Add: cash | 1.00 | 1.00 |
| Equity value | 17.00 | 15.00 |
A disagreement over a single ₹40 lakh add-back moves the price by ₹2 crore. A one-turn change in the multiple, from 5x to 6x on ₹4.40 crore, would move it by ₹4.40 crore. In a real deal, debt-like items such as unpaid taxes and a normal level of working capital change the bridge from enterprise value to cash as well, which is why the letter of intent and due diligence matter as much as the headline multiple.
Which Reference Should You Use?
| Your situation | Best reference | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Very small owner-run business | SDE multiple from comparable small deals, cross-checked against asset value | The owner's pay is part of what the buyer is buying |
| Profitable SME with a management team | EBITDA multiple as a range, cross-checked with a discounted cash flow | Published ranges run from 2x to 8x, so a single number is unsafe |
| Mid-sized company in a sector with listed peers | Listed peer medians with a private-company discount, tested against any deal evidence | Public data is the best available, but it describes larger, more liquid companies |
| Asset-heavy business | Net asset value alongside an EBITDA multiple | Earnings may not capture the value of the assets |
| Fast-growing business with thin or negative profit | Revenue or recurring-revenue multiple | EBITDA is too small or too noisy to value on |
What Changes in India
The valuation maths is the same everywhere. The rules around an Indian deal are not, and they depend on who is buying and how big the deal is.
| Situation | What applies |
|---|---|
| Unlisted private company (most SME deals) | There is no market price and deal terms are mostly confidential, so the multiple is negotiated from limited evidence. |
| Buying a listed company | Under the SEBI Takeover Regulations, 2011, crossing 25 percent of voting rights, or taking control, triggers a mandatory open offer for at least 26 percent of the shares. The offer price follows SEBI's pricing rules, not a multiple you choose. |
| Very large deals | Since 10 September 2024, deals above ₹2,000 crore need Competition Commission of India (CCI) approval when the target has substantial business operations in India, even if the older asset and turnover thresholds are not met. |
| Foreign buyer or seller | FEMA and the FDI rules apply. Some sectors are open under the automatic route and others need government approval. |
| Share transfers between private parties | Indian tax rules set fair market value benchmarks for share transfers. Ask a chartered accountant to test your agreed price against them before you sign. |
For a typical Indian SME acquisition, an unlisted company bought by a search-fund buyer, a family office or an individual, the listed-company and merger-control rules usually do not apply. The practical questions are the quality of earnings, the structure of the deal and the negotiation. See our guides on the LOI and the due diligence checklist.
This article explains how EBITDA multiples generally work and what published data shows. It is not valuation advice on any specific business or deal. Have a chartered accountant or valuer review any actual price, and a lawyer review any agreement, before signing. Figures change, and each source's date is noted in the text.
Where to Start
Before you quote or accept a multiple, answer three questions. What is the real EBITDA once every add-back has been tested, and who can verify it? What evidence supports the multiple, such as listed peers, closed deals of similar size, or only a guide's range? And how much room is there between the low and high case, in rupees? Those answers tell you what a business is worth far better than any headline multiple will.
It depends on size and sector. Listed Indian sector medians ran from about 6x to 27x on 30 June 2026. Small private companies are quoted anywhere from 2x to 8x across published guides. A good multiple is one that matches comparable businesses of your size and quality.
Published guides give 2x to 5x, 3x to 6x and 3x to 8x, depending on the source. The low end is for owner-dependent businesses. The high end is for companies with contracted revenue and real management depth. None of these ranges comes from a published transaction database.
No. Enterprise value is the value of the operating business. The price for the shares is roughly enterprise value minus debt plus cash, then adjusted for debt-like items and working capital.
Listed companies are larger, easier to sell and more transparent, and investors pay for that. One Indian valuation tool suggests a private-market discount of 20 to 30 percent, though I could not verify that against deal data.
Among the listed sectors in Kroll's June 2026 report, health care facilities and services had the highest median at 27.2x, followed by industrial machinery at 25.6x and pharmaceuticals and biotechnology at 22.4x. Energy was lowest at 5.8x. These are listed companies only.
Use EBITDA when professional managers run the business. Use SDE when the owner works in it and the buyer will step into that role, because SDE adds back the owner's full pay.
Yes. Listed Indian application software went from a 24.2x median in December 2025 to 18.2x in June 2026, while pharmaceuticals went from 19.0x to 22.4x. Check the date on any multiple you rely on.
They are hard to find because most private deals are confidential. Ask an adviser for closed deals in your sector and size range, and treat any single figure as indicative.
- Kroll, Industry Multiples in India, 29th edition (as at 30 June 2026): listed sector medians, index moves and the chemicals range.
- EY: India deal value and volume for 2025.
- GF Data: US private equity deal multiples by deal size, first nine months of 2025.
- Indian SME valuation guides from MergerDomo, BuyABusiness India and BusinessDeals.in: private-business ranges, none backed by a published transaction database.
- SEBI Takeover Regulations, 2011, and the Competition Commission of India deal value threshold in force since 10 September 2024.
- The seller and buyer EBITDA bridge is arithmetic with round numbers, not a market quote.
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