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A sale process typically unfolds over several months, depending on the company’s readiness, the buyers involved and the work required to reach closing. We agree an initial timetable with you at kickoff and keep it up to date in your portal. See How long it takes.
The process is designed so that they don’t until you decide to tell them. Buyers sign an NDA before learning the company’s name, and sensitive information, including customer and employee identities, is released through agreed access controls at the stage we agree with you. Many owners tell the wider team close to signing or at closing. See People and confidentiality.
Be polite, and refer them to us. Price and terms are best discussed through one channel, so that every buyer is held to the same process and timetable.
No. You decide which proposal to accept, and you are never obliged to accept one, even at the price you asked for. The best offer weighs price against how it is paid, the conditions attached and how likely the buyer is to close.
Before the letter of intent is signed, ideally. An experienced M&A lawyer can comment on the LOI’s terms and will negotiate the purchase agreement. Bring your tax adviser in at the same stage to advise on structure.
Tell us as soon as you know. Buyers compare results during the process with the forecast they were shown. A shortfall explained early, with its cause and what you are doing about it, is easier to address than one a buyer discovers in diligence.
The heaviest demands usually come at four points: the initial information requests in preparation, management meetings, buyer diligence questions before and after the letter of intent, and the disclosure schedules and open points at closing. We take on as much of the rest as we can, and agree at kickoff who on your team supports each stage, so you can keep running the business.
Exclusivity begins, the buyer completes its diligence, and the lawyers negotiate the purchase agreement. See Closing.
Often, yes. Many buyers want the founder or key managers to stay for a transition period, and some ask owners to roll over part of their proceeds. What you want after the sale is something to tell us at the start, because it affects which buyers we approach.