Private company sale prices are mostly not public, which is exactly why sellers struggle to price their businesses. What exists is partial: some transactions are recorded, some are reported, and intermediaries hold data they will share selectively.
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What is genuinely public
Very little for a private sale. Where real property changes hands the deed and sometimes the price are recorded with the county. Where the buyer or seller is a public company, a material transaction may appear in their filings. Liquor and some other licenses pass through public boards where a transfer application may name the parties, though rarely the price.
What intermediaries hold
Brokers and advisers contribute completed transactions to industry databases and see the results in their own trade. That data is not free and is not fully open, but a broker pitching for your mandate will usually show you comparable transactions to justify their price opinion. Ask for them, and ask what was included in each price.
Using what you can get
Ask two or three intermediaries for comparable completed sales with dates, sizes and what the price included. Cross check against asking prices for currently listed businesses, remembering those are wishes. Where evidence is thin, that is itself information: price conservatively and let competition rather than an anchor set the number.
Other questions people ask
Can I look up a specific sale?
Usually not in full. If real property or a transferable license was involved you may find a record of the transfer, but rarely the business price.
Are listed asking prices useful?
As a ceiling and a sense of the market, yes. As evidence of value, no, because there is no record of whether or at what price they sold.
Do trade associations publish figures?
Some publish aggregate multiples for their sector. Treat those as a starting range rather than as a valuation of your own business.