OUR TEAM

Our Team

Merger & Acquisition Specialists

Our team of business brokers and M&A agents comprises professionals from diverse backgrounds. We are experts in the process of buying and selling businesses. We work across the spectrum of disciplines and with several professionals, from CPAs to lawyers, bankers, and investors to business owners, entrepreneurs, and executives of companies big and small. As a brokerage company, we have decades of experience and have completed hundreds of deals. Our focus is on finding solutions to meet the needs and goals of our clients. Our mission is to get the deal done to the client's satisfaction. Our passion is helping people and companies take that next step in life and business.


Merger & Acquisition Specialists is a team of experienced business brokers and M&A agents working across industries with businesses of all shapes and sizes. Our team prides itself on finding solutions to meet our client's needs and secure their financial futures. Whether it is merging a publicly traded company with a privately owned company or finding the right owner-operator for the main street business, our professionals will help you and work to find solutions.


We work with businesses from Main Street to the middle market. We work with companies of all types of industries. We work with business owners looking to sell their business or acquire similar enterprises to expand operations. We work with experienced entrepreneurs and first-time business buyers to help find the right solutions.


Click to view our current confidential business opportunities on the market for sale.

Agent Bio and Information

Bill Leggett

President and Owner

Bill Leggett brings decades of business ownership experience to the helm of Merger & Acquisition Specialists. A serial entrepreneur, Bill's success in business is unmatched, and his reputation as a savvy businessman comes with a good record. As the owner and founder of Merger & Acquisition Specialists, Bill brings his experience of business ownership, business sales, mergers, and acquisitions to a team of established professionals to provide business owners and entrepreneurs with a trusted and experienced company to service all of their M&A needs.


Business Ownership Resume and Industry Experience:


  • Kindergarten and daycare center
  • Commercial realty property manager
  • Bed and bath store
  • Dog and cat boarding and grooming kennel
  • Fireplace and patio furniture store
  • Laundry and dry cleaners
  • Large retail craft and hobby store
  • Manufacturer sales representative
  • Mobile paint repair for automobile retailers
  • Marina for boat sales, rentals, and repairs
  • Various rentals of residential and commercial real estate, including two large mobile home parks

Tom Stanton

Executive Broker

  • 30 years of highly diversified experience in several large Arkansas-based corporations' financial and operational management.
  • Founded his own company specializing in venture capital and mergers and acquisitions.
  • Business sales, mergers, and acquisitions out of the Little Rock office: 2013 – Present. Was one of the first agents in the CBI office in Q4 2012. Closed the office's first deal.
  • Principal broker
  • Licensed real estate agent


Cell: (501) 580-1273

Ashton Woodward

Sr. Broker

  • Education: Catholic High School for Boys graduate (2002). Kendall Culinary School Associate of Applied Science in International Culinary Arts (2005). Arkansas Real Estate School.
  • Owner/Operator - Arkansas Fresh Bakery. Bryant, AR. 2011 – 2017.
  • Business sales, mergers, and acquisitions out of the Little Rock office: 2019 – Present. Participated in the office's largest deal to date. Structured acquisitions, mergers, and lease buyouts. Has worked with franchise resales, independently owned businesses, and private and publicly traded companies to help structure and finalize acquisitions.
  • Currently an exclusive sell-side representative of six active companies helping to sell confidentially.
  • Licensed real estate agent.


Cell: (501) 240-5059

Shep Campbell

Sr. Broker

  • Education: BA English – University of Arkansas 2001.
  • 2002 – 2012: College & High School Football Coach
  • Business sales, mergers, and acquisitions out of the Little Rock office: 2013 – Present. Was one of the first agents in the original CBI office and the second longest-tenured agent in the company. Ten years of market contacts in business sales, M&A, and lending. Has worked in nearly every industry – from restaurants to publicly traded technology companies. Represented sellers and buyers. Was an IBBA Specialist in selling daycares.
  • General Manager of the Little Rock office for the last two years. Familiar with internal systems and infrastructure needed to run a business brokerage/M&A company.
  • Currently an exclusive sell-side representative of 9 active companies helping to sell confidentially.
  • Licensed real estate agent.


Cell: (870) 450-3734

Jeffrey Whitham

Broker

  • Education: MA Business Administration – Webster University/BS Mechanical Engineering – University of Arkansas/BS Industrial Engineering – University of Arkansas
  • Business Owner of Vend-IT HQ and multiple Supercut locations: 2018 – Present
  • Business sales, mergers, and acquisitions: January 2023 – Present. Jeff has experience in selling and buying businesses as an entrepreneur. He now brings his wealth of expertise and knowledge to Merger & Acquisition Specialists to help from the management side of the buy/sell process.
  • Jeff has a wealth of experience in various aspects of business, ranging from sales to operations to management, and is currently an active business owner.
  • Former owner of Northwest Arkansas Pool & Spa.


Cell: (479) 899-5545

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