Sell Side M&A Advisory

Better outcomes through a better process build around your goals, not just a closing.

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Sell-Side Advisory

M&A Advisory Built for Business Owners

When you hire C&A Dealmakers as your sell-side M&A advisor, you get a team and a process designed to maximize value while protecting terms.

A confidential, disciplined sell-side process that identifies, sources, and engages qualified strategic and private equity buyers, and allows you to continue to focus on your business
Clear valuation supported by clean financial storytelling, key value drivers, and buyer-ready materials that stand up in diligence.
Negotiation support that protects seller economics: price, structure, risk allocation, and certainty of close from LOI through definitive agreement.
Integrated coordination across tax, legal, accounting, and wealth planning so decisions aren’t made in silos and your exit is optimized for after-tax proceeds.

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Unclear valuation and weak support for the number buyers will underwrite
Strategy that doesn't account for short and long term tax impacts
Weak positioning and buyer targeting, which reduces leverage and competitive tension
Surprises in diligence (QoE, tax exposure, customer concentration, working capital) that trigger retrades
Unfavorable or unclear terms (earnouts, holdbacks, reps & warranties, working-capital pegs) that shift risk back to the seller
Fragmentation across advisors, with no single trusted sell-side M&A advisor running point

Goal Based Strategy

As An Owner, You Have Options

There isn’t one “right” transaction, There’s the right outcome based on your goals. Depending on your priorities, a sell-side process can support several paths, here a just a few of the options:

Full or Partial Sale

A structured, confidential process designed to maximize after-tax owner value while negotiating seller-protective economics (e.g., working capital mechanics, escrows, earnouts, indemnities, and related terms).

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Recapitalization

A transaction that can provide meaningful liquidity while allowing owners to retain a continuing equity interest and participate in future upside, often appropriate where continuity and long-term involvement remain important.

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Transition Planning

Structured ownership transitions, such as share redemption planning or other transfer strategies, can improve after-tax results and support continuity when aligned with the company’s finances and stakeholder priorities.

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C&A Dealmakers represents owners of closely held businesses where the company is a major part of your net worth, and the exit outcome truly matters. Our most successful clients:

Want a premium outcome, not a rushed “quick close”
Care about confidentiality, employees, and legacy, along with price
Want a process that stands up to strategic buyers and private equity scrutiny
Want to optimize after-tax proceeds, not just headline valuation

The first step is understanding your value.

We offer a no-cost, no-obligation estimate of business value to help you understand where you stand today and what to improve before going to market.

Strategic Growth Partnership

Served as lead strategic advisor to Arocam in its partnership with Innova Capital—driving valuation positioning, deal structuring, and execution strategy to support a successful transaction outcome.

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Arocam SportsWear

Acquisition Diligence Support

Acted as primary diligence team supporting Cape Associates’ acquisition of T.A. Nelson Company—delivering financial diligence, earnings analysis, working-capital evaluation, risk identification, and hands-on execution support through closing.

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Cape Associates

PE-Backed Platform Partnership

Advised Live Automation in its partnership with ONDEX Automation (Shore Capital Partners-backed)—supporting diligence, quality of earnings analysis, deal structuring, negotiation guidance, and coordination across workstreams through closing.

live automoation

Live Automation

Sale to PE Platform

Served as lead advisor to Walsh Electrical Services in its sale to Ascension Property Services (H.I.G. Capital/SouthWorth-backed), guiding strategic positioning, valuation framing, deal structuring, negotiation, and execution through closing.

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Walsh Electrical

Clarify the right path, full sale, recapitalization, or strategic partnership, based on your goals, timing, and what the best buyers will pay for.

Define

Create a defendable valuation narrative by packaging performance into buyer-ready financials and addressing red flags before they become renegotiation points.

Build

Confidentially map and engage the highest-fit strategic buyers and private equity-backed platforms to create real options without disrupting your business.

Indentify

Manage a structured, disciplined process. Controlling information flow, timeline, and access, to drive competition and stronger offers.

Run

Protect seller economics by negotiating LOIs and definitive terms that balance price, structure, and risk, so value doesn’t leak through earnouts, holdbacks, or shifting goalposts.

Negotiate

Quarterback diligence across legal, financial, and operational workstreams to keep momentum, reduce surprises, and prevent process friction from becoming leverage for the buyer.

Coordinate

Pull tax and wealth planning into the deal early so decisions optimize after-tax proceeds and align with your long-term goals.

Integrate

Drive the deal from LOI through closing. Prepping for buyer meetings, aligning stakeholders, and managing details so the transaction closes cleanly on the terms you negotiated.

Execute

Our Process

Prepare, Position, Execute

Our process is designed to maximize price, terms, and certainty of close, while keeping the business running.

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Prepare

Readiness & Value Planning. Before going to market, we help you get “buyer-ready”:

Normalize financial performance and clarify true earning power
Identify value drivers (and what will reduce multiples)
Map deal structures (rollover equity, earnout logic, working capital expectations)
Build a readiness roadmap so diligence doesn’t become a renegotiation

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Position

Positioning & Confidential Buyer Outreach. We build and test the value story before a broad launch:

Create a blind teaser and buyer list matched to your size, industry, and culture
Conduct discreet outreach under NDA to gauge valuation and structure expectations
Refine positioning using real buyer feedback
Align timeline, messaging, and data room readiness before broader exposure

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Execute

Go-To-Market, Negotiation & Close. Execution is where most value is won or lost:

Create the core deal materials (presentation deck, financial package, data room)
Manage buyer flow: management meetings, bids/indications, and LOI selection
Negotiate terms that matter: price, structure, risk allocation, and certainty
Coordinate confirmatory diligence and maintain leverage through close
Integrate tax/wealth planning so proceeds land where they should, by design

After-Tax Proceeds Matter (Not Just Headline Price)

A “great price” can still produce a disappointing result if deal structure and tax planning are handled at the end. We integrate tax-aware planning early so you understand your entity and structure options, reduce avoidable “exit tax rate” leakage, and align wealth/estate decisions with the transaction timeline before the process locks you in.

Our primary focus is representing sellers of closely held businesses, ensuring they can find the right buyer, maximize their return, and protect the value they have created. We are able to support buyers as well.

A brokerage-style model often focuses on marketing a listing and getting to a close. Sell-side advisory is designed to maximize value, terms, and certainty through preparation, positioning, disciplined buyer outreach, and negotiation support.

Depending on fit: strategic acquirers, private equity-backed platforms, and other qualified capital partners, always through a confidential process.

Timelines vary by readiness and deal type. Many owners start with readiness and planning, then launch a controlled market process when the company is buyer-ready.

That’s common. We can help you understand value drivers, improve readiness, and plan a timeline, so you sell on your terms.

Maximize Your Value

Preparation, communication, and transparency are critical in any business sale. Set up a time to talk with our team and learn how C&A does business brokerage the right way for business owners.

Talk to C&A