Every sell-side process has a buyer list, and every name on it costs you something.
A buyer who signs the NDA, asks for a data room, and then goes quiet burns weeks of your time and some of your client’s patience.
So the bar for a spot on your buyer list is simple: will this buyer make the process easier and more certain?
Here are six reasons Teamshares clears that bar, and what each one means for you and your clients.
1. You don’t have to guess what we buy
Our criteria are published, clear, and easy to understand. If a deal checks these boxes, we want to see it:
| Teamshares transaction criteria | |
|---|---|
| Geography | U.S.-based businesses |
| Industry | Largely industry agnostic, except fixed-price project contracting, licensed healthcare, franchises, and 100% ecommerce |
| Retirement sale or industry exit | Owner is seeking to retire or exiting the industry and open to a 100% buyout |
| Steady earnings | Adjusted EBITDA between $500K - $10M in two of the last three years, tax return provable ($2M - $10M preferred) |
| Management layer | Our preference is for companies with at least two managers or supervisors in place |
| Real estate | Flexible: multi-year leases are preferred, but real estate purchases are considered. |
| Longevity | Well-established businesses with 7+ years in business |
The goal is that you can screen a mandate against our box in sixty seconds, before you ever send a teaser.
And if a mandate sits in a gray area, just ask. Maybe it’s a softer year, a third owner, or an industry you’re not sure about. We’d much rather tell you upfront than have you guess, and to some degree every mandate is its own conversation anyway.
2. We respond quickly
You run on a timeline, and a slow buyer gums up the whole process. Our goal is to respond to every teaser within two business days with a clear next step: a request for the CIM, a call, or a pass.
We’ve also streamlined our evaluation process on purpose. It’s not because we’re rushing or careless; it’s because we’ve worked hard to figure out the minimum we need to price an LOI with confidence. We won’t send a 200-line request list built for a $50M business to a $3M EBITDA company. Your seller is still running their business, and you’re managing a lot more than just us. We get that.
3. When we pass, we’ll tell you why
We pass on far more opportunities than we pursue. That’s the nature of being a disciplined programmatic acquirer. But a pass without a reason is a dead end for you, and it tells you nothing about the next opportunity you might send.
When we say no, we tell you why. A few examples of what that sounds like:
- “Most of the revenue comes from municipal bids that have to be won again each cycle. We couldn’t get enough confidence that the performance is repeatable.”
- “The owner drives the bulk of new revenue and sales, with no other sales leadership or key employees. If that changes, we’d love to take another look.”
- “The business needs a lot of equipment spend, and cash takes a long time to come back. At this size, that’s more risk than we can price around.”
These are each real examples of reasons we’ve passed on quality businesses. We’re looking for businesses we’re confident we can buy and operate for decades to come.
A specific reason like that helps you prep your client, anticipate what other buyers will ask, and calibrate what you send us next. And if our first assessment is ever incorrect, we’d absolutely love it if you followed up to clarify things so we can take another look.
4. We know how to get to the finish line
A signed LOI is only worth something if the buyer actually closes. At the end of the day, that’s what your success fee depends on.
Teamshares has acquired 90+ companies since 2019, and historically 80% of our signed LOIs close. A few things are behind that number:
- Permanent capital. Teamshares is publicly traded on Nasdaq (TMS) and we’re an evergreen buyer. There’s no fund clock forcing us to deploy, or to exit. We’ve also had significant equity investments from top-quality investors to fund acquisitions.
- A predictable timeline and process. We typically close about 120 days after a signed LOI. Throughout the diligence process, you’ll work closely with our in-house team.
- Flexible owner transitions. We’re open to different transition plans, depending on the needs of the business. Sometimes an owner transitions out after a few months, sometimes they stay on for a year or more.
- A playbook we’ve run 90+ times. Legal, quality of earnings, president placement, and post-close transition all follow a process our team has refined across 30+ states and 40+ industries.
For you, that means fewer re-trades, fewer surprises in the final weeks, and a success fee you can count on.
5. We take stewardship seriously
Your reputation outlives every transaction. Referrals come from sellers who are glad they sold, and glad they sold to the buyer you brought them.
Let me put it another way: You won’t have to worry about what your client will say about you two years after the sale.
Teamshares buys businesses to keep them, not flip them. Every company joins a network built so it never has to be sold again. We recruit and train a full-time president to lead each business (if necessary), keep the team in place, and back that president with ongoing support where needed.
The result is clear: 95% of former owners say they’re satisfied with their sale. When your client runs into their old employees at the grocery store, it’s a good conversation.
6. Employee ownership helps your seller say yes
A lot of sellers hesitate at the finish line because of their concerns for the people who helped them build the business. Our model gives them an answer.
At close, employees are collectively granted 10% of the company’s stock, and their ownership grows over time. They earn their shares; they don’t buy them. Today more than 2,100 people are employee owners across the Teamshares network.
When owners first hear this, it often sounds too good to be true: “How can I get paid for my business, and my employees get shares without paying for them?” But we’re firm believers in a win-win model, and employee ownership brings real benefits for everyone involved.
For an advisor, this matters in a practical way. You’re probably already familiar with ESOPs, trusts, and family offices. Teamshares offers another way to make employee ownership a reality and to continue a seller’s legacy. Sometimes that’s what makes the difference between a seller seeing the process through or getting cold feet at the last minute.
Add us to your next buyer list
If you’re running a process for an exiting owner and the business fits the criteria above, send me the teaser or submit the business here. You’ll hear back within two business days with a clear next step: a request for more information, or a pass with a reason.
Not running anything right now?
Download our two-page acquisition criteria overview to keep on file, or subscribe to The Succession Brief for monthly insights, updates, and market news from our team.
