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Business Quest Brokers
M&A Advisory and Sell-Side
Representation
For lower middle market businesses, selling it is about finding the right buyer. We prepare the business for sale, identify strategic buyers and approach them directly, and build competitive terms that match your timeline.
How an M&A engagement differs
Lower middle market transactions should be managed differently than small business transactions. Working capital has to be defined and negotiated. Deal structure carries capital gains consequences that affect what you keep, not just what you are paid. The process may need to consider a managed auction: the business is prepared and marketed in advance to a targeted list of strategic buyers and private equity groups, so that multiple parties are evaluating it on the same timeline.
Targeted buyer sourcing: We build a buyer list specific to your business and industry, covering strategic acquirers, competitors, adjacent operators, and financial buyers, and we approach them directly rather than waiting for inquiries.
Secure diligence: Financials and business information are exchanged through a virtual data room, released to vetted buyers under controlled access rather than sent by email.
Coordination with your advisors: We work alongside your attorney, accountant, and financial planner throughout, so that structure and tax planning are addressed while the deal is being negotiated rather than after terms are set.
The sales process, step by step
We determine what the business is worth and what will hold it back in diligence. Issues found now, in customer concentration, financial reporting, or working capital, are fixable. The same issues found by a buyer in month four cost you price.
Financials are normalized and presented in the format acquirers expect. We prepare the confidential information memorandum, the document sophisticated buyers use to decide whether to move forward, and the supporting materials for the data room.
We build a target list specific to your business: competitors, adjacent operators, strategic acquirers with a reason to want your customers or capabilities, and private equity groups active in your industry. This is research work, and it is what determines the quality of the outcome more than anything else in the process.
Buyers are approached directly and confidentially, under a blind summary first. Those who sign a non-disclosure agreement and qualify receive the memorandum and access to the data room.
Interested buyers meet with you and submit indications of interest or letters of intent. Because they are on the same timeline, you are choosing among terms rather than reacting to a single offer.
We negotiate price, structure, escrow, working capital, and the terms of your involvement after closing. Structure often matters more than headline price, and this is the stage where that gets decided.
The selected buyer verifies everything represented. We manage the request list, coordinate with your accountant and attorney, and keep the process moving, since deals that stall in diligence are the ones that fall apart.
The purchase agreement is drafted, negotiated, and signed, and funds transfer at closing. Your attorney drafts and reviews; we coordinate the transaction and hold the timeline.
Working with your advisors
We work directly with your attorney, CPA, and financial planner. Decisions about deal structure carry tax consequences that are difficult to change once terms are agreed, and the difference between an asset sale and a stock sale, or between proceeds taken at closing and proceeds taken over time, can be substantial.
We do not provide tax or legal advice. What we do is make sure the questions reach the people who can answer them. Your attorney drafts and reviews the agreements. Your CPA models the after-tax outcome of the structures on the table. We coordinate the transaction around their expert recommendation.
If you do not have advisors with transaction experience, we can introduce you to attorneys who specialize in mergers and acquisition work.
Let's get started
Reach out to our team if you have any questions about buying, selling, or valuing a business.
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