Most explanations of the acquisition process are written by law firms describing what could happen. This one is written by a buyer describing what does. Every stage below is what we do, what we ask for, what usually goes wrong, and roughly what it costs you in time.
Click a stage to open it. Timings are ours: a broker-run auction or a private equity process with debt in it typically runs four to eight months through the same six stages.
You write to us or we write to you. Then a call, forty five minutes, with the person who makes the decision rather than an analyst gathering data. We want to understand what you built, who pays for it, and what you want to happen next. You should be interviewing us just as hard: ask where the money comes from, how many deals we closed last year, and how long each took.
Founders over-prepare and under-ask. You're evaluating a buyer, and the questions you don't ask now become the surprises you get in week six.
A letter of intent is mostly non-binding, which makes founders treat it as a formality. It isn't. It sets the terms everything afterwards is negotiated against, and getting a term into the letter is ten times easier than getting it into the purchase agreement later.
Ours runs to about two pages. If yours runs to fifteen, ask why.
The number, and critically the basis: is it cash at close, or does it include an earnout, a seller note or rolled equity. Ours is cash at close, full stop.
Asset purchase or share purchase. Share purchases are simpler for you and carry more risk for the buyer, which is why buyers often prefer assets.
A real date, not a target. Ours says 60 days from signing, and if we miss it without a reason, you should treat that as information.
How long you agree not to talk to anyone else. Thirty to sixty days is normal, ninety is long, and anything open-ended should be refused.
What has to be true for the deal to close. Financing conditions are the ones that hurt, because they mean the money isn't secured yet.
Whether you're required afterwards and for how long. Founders decide whether to stay with the business or hand it off, and it should say so in writing.
How much of the price is held back and for how long, against warranties you give. This is the term founders read last and regret first.
Sixty days is not a sales claim, it's what's left when you remove four things. Each one is legitimate and each one adds months.
A lender runs their own diligence on top of the buyer's, on their own timetable, and can change terms late.
Multiple buyers to a deadline raises price and adds rounds. Worth the time when competition is real.
Funds approve deals in committee, which meets on a schedule that has nothing to do with yours.
The one delay that's yours to prevent. Assemble the room before you sign the letter, not after.
Six stages: first contact, financial review, a price range, a letter of intent, diligence, then signing and the wire. Direct sales to a cash buyer run about 60 days. Broker-run or debt-financed processes run four to eight months through the same stages.
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