Sell Your Business with a Disciplined M&A Process
Qualified buyers, clear terms, and a confidential process from the first conversation through closing.
Selling a privately held business is usually a once-in-a-career decision. BMI’s sell-side advisors help owners of companies with $3 million to $150 million in revenue understand how buyers are likely to value the business, decide whether and when to sell, and run a confidential process that brings qualified buyers to the table.
You stay focused on running the company while a senior advisor manages the sale. The first step is a confidential assessment of your business and your goals, including an informal valuation. The assessment carries no fee and no obligation to sell.
Request a confidential consultationPrefer to talk now? Call (215) 240-7648
“After a previous company failed to produce a buyer over 12 months, BMI was able to generate an LOI within 60 days of going to market. The sale was completed within 180 days of engagement.”
Business owner · Name withheld at the client’s request
Evaluating offers
Understand the terms behind the price.
Two offers with the same headline price can produce very different outcomes. BMI helps you understand what you receive at closing, what depends on future performance, and what obligations remain after the sale.
Headline price
The buyer’s stated price for the business. It does not, by itself, tell you how much you will receive at closing or what depends on future payments.
Cash at closing
The portion of the purchase price paid in cash when the sale closes. Debt repayment, escrow, holdbacks, and other closing deductions affect the amount you receive.
Earnout
Payments tied to agreed targets after closing. Their value depends on how those targets are defined and measured, the business’s performance, and your ability to influence the results.
Seller financing
Part of the purchase price paid over time through a note from the buyer. The interest rate, repayment schedule, security, and buyer’s ability to repay all matter.
Rollover equity
An ownership stake you retain or reinvest in the business or acquiring group after the sale. Its future value depends on performance, the investment terms, and when you can sell your stake.
Working capital target
The agreed amount of receivables, inventory, and other operating assets, less payables and other agreed operating liabilities, to be delivered at closing. A surplus or shortfall can adjust the purchase price.
BMI compares offers side by side, including each buyer’s ability to fund the transaction and plans for your employees, customers, and role after the sale. That gives you a clearer basis for deciding which offer fits your priorities.
Experience and buyer reach
Senior advisors and a buyer search built for your company.
Each engagement is led by a senior BMI advisor. Our team brings firsthand experience owning and running businesses to the sale process. That experience informs how we evaluate offers, understand your priorities, and guide you through decisions about the business and your role after the sale.
No two buyer searches are the same. We build the buyer list for each company from existing relationships, databases covering thousands of private equity groups, family offices, and private investors, and targeted research into strategic acquirers, including buyers outside the U.S. when the business is a fit.
Learn how BMI finds buyersSee closed transactionsRead client testimonials
If you have been speaking with business brokers, see how an M&A advisor’s process differs.
The process
How the sale process works
The sale runs in three phases. A senior advisor leads each one, and you approve the key decisions: whether to go to market, which buyers are contacted, and which offer to accept.
Phase I
Assessment and valuation
We learn the business and your goals, then give you a realistic view of value and timing. The initial assessment and informal valuation carry no fee and no obligation to sell. Timing is up to you: some owners go to market soon after, others plan further ahead.
1Discovery meetings
One to three confidential conversations about the business, your goals, and your options.
2Financial review
Financial records, adjustments, strengths and weaknesses, and future assumptions.
3Market valuation
An informal market valuation and a view of likely deal structures.
4Sell-or-hold decision
Value, personal needs, and possible outcomes reviewed together. If selling makes sense, we sign an engagement agreement.
Phase II
Marketing the business
We prepare the marketing materials and agree on the buyer strategy with you. Initial outreach uses a profile that does not identify your company. Company-identifying information is shared after buyers are screened and sign an NDA, with additional information released in stages as discussions progress.
5Marketing materials
A Confidential Information Memorandum (CIM) and a blind company profile, both approved by you before use.
6Value drivers
The factors buyers consider when assessing value: growth prospects, customers and contracts, management depth, products, technology, and other business assets.
7Buyer strategy and list
A likely-buyer analysis and outreach plan, and a buyer list built with you across strategic acquirers, private equity, family offices, and private investors.
8Confidential outreach
First contact uses the blind profile. Buyers are screened and sign an NDA before learning your company’s name.
Phase III
Negotiation and closing
We bring screened buyers to the table, compare offers with you, and manage the transaction through closing.
9Compare offers
Review price, payment terms, proposed deal structure, and each buyer’s ability to fund the transaction. Negotiate with competing buyers where possible.
10Select a buyer and negotiate the letter of intent
Choose the buyer whose proposal best fits your goals and negotiate the terms for moving into due diligence.
11Due diligence
A data room and a managed flow of information, so buyers get what they need with minimal disruption to the business.
12Purchase agreement and closing
Work with your attorneys and accountants on the final agreement, resolve open issues, and coordinate closing and post-closing matters.
“We appreciate your diligence and wise guidance through the twists and turns of this path. We could not have accomplished this without the BMI team.”
Jack Herr
Further reading
Questions owners ask before selling.
- Preparing to Sell Your Business
- Mergers & Acquisitions: Who Are the Buyers?
- Selling Your Business – Price vs. Terms
- Selling Your Business – Keeping It Confidential
Next step
Start with a confidential conversation.
Tell us about your business and what you are considering. We will help you understand what a sale could look like, so you can decide what comes next. The first conversation carries no fee and no obligation.
Request a confidential consultation(215) 240-7648 · Philadelphia · New York · Charlotte