Seth Greenblott and his partner John Prieto initially launched Acres in 2021, offering a range of business services. In 2024 the pair made the decision to focus on mergers and acquisitions, helping owners of small- and mid-sized NH businesses plan for succession and sale.
That decision led Acres to spin off several service lines in 2024 and concentrate on helping owners of small- and mid-sized NH businesses plan for succession and sale. The timing proved prescient. Greenblott points to the coming “silver tsunami” of retiring baby boomer entrepreneurs and says the need for trusted M&A advisors is only growing.
“Up to $12 trillion in asset valuation is going to change hands over the next decade,” he says. “All of the baby boomers who are currently founders and owners of small- to middle-market businesses are retiring, so there is a real need for good support services and advisory services around that.”
Previously, Greenblott built a successful law practice in Hopkinton, growing it to six attorneys before transitioning it to another firm. Through that work, he repeatedly saw clients struggle with succession planning and business sales.
“When it comes to M&A, we found there’s not a lot of good options for that in New Hampshire,” he says. “We looked forward and said that’s going to be true in the future, and we thought that’s where our time and energy would have the best return and meet the needs in the marketplace.”
Acres focuses primarily on businesses in the $5 million to $25 million range—a segment Greenblott describes as underserved compared with the well-established world of large corporate M&A.
But the challenge is not only financial. Selling a company is often the most emotional transaction of an owner’s life. “Our clients don’t have familiarity with this process,” Greenblott says. “This is their first and usually only business sale. Not only is this the biggest transaction they’re going to be involved in, it comes with a lot of emotion tied into it.”
That emotional complexity has become central to Acres’ approach. The firm works to match buyers and sellers around values, employee retention and community impact, not just price.
“We always focus not just on the value of the deal but finding alignment with the buyers,” Greenblott says. “They want to protect the long-term employees who built these businesses and keep the business’s role in the community.”
In the short term, Acres plans to grow cautiously to meet demand, potentially expanding to about 10 advisors. Long term, Greenblott hopes the firm becomes the go-to advisor for NH owners seeking a thoughtful exit strategy.
For him, the mission is personal as much as professional. “Part of this is making sure all these small businesses that are keystone companies, that they do the last part well,” he says. “That these owners get an opportunity to see the culmination of their life’s work.”
