A $2 million offer with 90% cash at closing is not the same deal as a $2 million offer with 60%. Escrow, seller financing and earnouts all change what you actually collect, and when. Here’s what to ask before you compare two offers.
Nearly half of lower-middle-market buyers say they will stretch on price for the right business. Four in ten say they cannot find one. That gap is where your price is won or lost — and it turns on four things a buyer can verify before closing, none of which is your industry. Here is what they check.
Some purchase agreements let the buyer move your price at closing, based on the cash, receivables and inventory left in the business. Many smaller sales have no such clause at all. Here is how to tell which kind of deal you are in, and what to settle before you sign.
Earnouts now show up in roughly 1 in 3 lower-middle-market sales. Across deals that include one, sellers collect only about 20 cents on the dollar of what was promised. Here’s what drives that gap — and the five terms worth negotiating before you sign.
Private equity is sitting on 13,325 US companies it already owns, and more than a quarter have been held for seven years or longer. That backlog shapes your deal more than the multiple does. Here is how to read where a buyer’s fund sits in its own ten-year clock — and the five questions that surface it before you sign.
On October 1, 2026, the SBA changes how business acquisitions are underwritten. The coverage floor moves to 1.25x, projections stop counting toward it, and deals at $3 million and above pick up a Quality of Earnings requirement. Here is what it costs a seller — and which buyer it quietly favors.
“Not ready to sell” almost never means “not profitable enough.” It means a buyer can’t verify, finance, or take over what you’re selling. Here are the five gaps that surface in diligence.
Most advice tells you to grow your earnings. The bigger money is usually in the multiple. Here are the five levers that actually move your number.
PE-backed platforms accounted for roughly 41% of HVAC M&A activity in 2026. Here is the multiple-arbitrage math behind the roll-up, and what it means for your number.
Private equity is consolidating MSPs, staffing firms, and specialty distributors just as systematically as home services. Here are the 2026 bolt-on vs. platform multiples, and what they mean for your exit.
