California ATM Portfolio, 286 Units Third-Party Loaded

$590K

SDE

3.2x

Multiple

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Full Editorial Writeup

This is a 286-location ATM portfolio spread across California with a primary concentration in the Bay Area, generating roughly $590,130 in annual cash flow and offered at $1,907,280 (a 3.23x multiple). The defining feature is the operating model: every machine is third-party loaded, meaning outside vendors handle cash replenishment, field maintenance, and servicing under contracts that transfer at close. The two sellers built the business this way on purpose and ran it for 15 years while both kept full-time corporate jobs, which is the closest thing to a true absentee cash-flow stream you will find in the SMB market.

Revenue comes from surcharge fees on withdrawals, diversified across 286 locations so no single site carries material weight. Two employees provide operational oversight covering processor reporting, loader coordination, and merchant communication. The transition is designed to be invisible at the location level because most merchants have no direct relationship with the route owner, and the machines keep running under the same service structure on day one.

The seller frames California's retail ATM market as being in a recovery phase, driven by regulatory enforcement against cashless ATM operations at cannabis dispensaries redirecting transaction volume back to traditional compliant retail ATMs. The portfolio operated continuously through the displacement period, and the seller argues the ongoing volume recovery is not yet reflected in current cash flow. That thesis is worth stress-testing, but the core here is a fragmented, boring, cash-generative route business with a genuinely hands-off structure.

Why we like it

Earnings quality is anchored to physical transaction fees across 286 diversified locations, so no single merchant loss dents the $590K cash flow meaningfully. The revenue is fee-per-withdrawal and recurring, not project-based, which gives it the predictability of a route business. At a 3.23x multiple on cash flow, the entry price is reasonable for an asset this diversified.
The durability comes from 15 years of established location presence in a fragmented market with no dominant operator. Merchant relationships and physical placement create switching friction: as long as service stays consistent, competitive displacement at the site level is rare. This is a boring, sticky, hard-to-disrupt cash stream rather than a trend-driven play.
The regulatory tailwind is real and specific: enforcement against cashless ATM setups at dispensaries pushes cash transaction volume back to compliant traditional ATMs like these. The seller claims this recovery is not yet reflected in trailing cash flow, meaning upside may not be priced in. That is a credible, if unverified, source of organic volume growth.
The operator advantage is that this is functionally absentee today, run by two employees with third-party loaders handling all the cash and maintenance. Both sellers kept full-time jobs for 15 years, proving the model does not need day-to-day ownership. A buyer can bolt this onto an existing route or holding company with minimal added labor.

How to improve it

Audit surcharge pricing across all 286 machines and raise fees at high-traffic locations that are underpriced. ATM surcharges have broad market tolerance, and even a $0.25 to $0.50 bump on high-volume units flows almost entirely to the bottom line. This is the single fastest lever with near-zero incremental cost.
Rank every location by transaction volume and cash flow contribution, then cull or relocate the bottom decile of dead machines. Each idle ATM ties up cash float and loader stops without earning; redeploying that hardware to higher-traffic merchants improves blended yield. Use the third-party loading infrastructure that already exists to make redeployment cheap.
Renegotiate loader and maintenance contracts leveraging the scale of 286 units as a single account. Vendors price per-stop and per-fill, and a portfolio of this size has real bargaining power that two absentee owners may never have pressed. Shaving loader cost per unit compounds across the entire base.
Pursue new placements at existing high-performing merchant sites and adjacent locations, since the loading infrastructure supports added units at low marginal cost. The seller explicitly notes incremental deployment is not priced into the deal. Adding 20 to 40 well-chosen machines could materially lift cash flow within the first year.
Build a live dashboard tracking transaction volume, uptime, cash-out events, and surcharge revenue per machine. Absentee owners often fly blind on which units are trending down until it is too late. Real-time monitoring lets you catch declining locations, prevent stockouts, and prove the regulatory volume recovery thesis with actual data.
Verify and, where possible, extend or lock in the merchant placement agreements and third-party loader contracts before or shortly after close. Continuity of these contracts is the entire value of the business. Securing longer terms reduces churn risk and makes the cash flow more financeable and more resellable.

Diligence notes

Confirm the actual revenue and margin structure since gross revenue is not disclosed and only cash flow ($590K) and EBITDA ($500K) are given. You need processor statements showing transaction counts, surcharge revenue, interchange, and all loader/maintenance/vault-cash costs by month for at least 24 to 36 months. Verify that the reported cash flow is net of all vendor fees and does not understate true operating expense.
Scrutinize the regulatory tailwind claim about cashless ATM enforcement redirecting dispensary volume. Ask for location-level volume trends that actually show recovery, rather than accepting the narrative that upside is not yet reflected. If the recovery is speculative, do not pay for it; underwrite on trailing, verified cash flow only.
Examine merchant placement agreements and third-party loader contracts for transferability, term length, exclusivity, and change-of-control clauses. The deal thesis rests entirely on these contracts transferring cleanly at close with no disruption. Confirm which merchants can terminate or demand renegotiation upon ownership change, since most reportedly have no relationship with the route owner.
Assess concentration and quality of the 286 locations: how many machines are actually active and revenue-generating versus idle, and how much cash flow the top 20 percent of sites contribute. Broad diversification is claimed, but you want to see the true distribution. Also verify machine age, EMV/ADA compliance, and any near-term hardware replacement capex that is not in the numbers.
Clarify the working capital and vault cash requirement, since third-party loaders front or manage cash but the economics of that float matter. Understand who owns the cash in the machines, what the settlement timing looks like, and whether any cash advance or credit facility is required to keep 286 units stocked. This affects your real cash-on-cash return.
There is no owner financing offered, so confirm the deal is financeable given the assets are ATM hardware and intangible contracts rather than real estate. Test whether SBA or equipment lenders will underwrite a route business with no physical facility and machines as the primary collateral. This directly shapes your required equity and returns.

Source

Originally listed on BizBuySell. View original listing →