Letter of Intent Archives - Your ExitMap

Layers of Disclosure:A Business Owner’s Guide to Sharing Information in a Sale

John F. Dini — Mon, 27 Jul 2026 05:00:22 +0000

If you’re selling a privately held business, disclosure is rarely just a matter of completing a checklist. It’s more like managing a series of “layers” that unfold over time. The timing, depth, and framing of what you share can affect how buyers value your company, how much leverage you retain at the negotiating table, and often overlooked how stable your business remains while the transaction is moving forward. A practical way to think about disclosure is this: you should expand what you share only as the buyer becomes more committed, receives greater legal protections, and the deal becomes more certain. In other words, disclosure should ... Read more

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A Business Owner’s Guide to Sharing Information in a Sale appeared first on Your ExitMap.

The Inexperienced Advisor – An Exit Planning Horror Story for Business Owners

John F. Dini — Tue, 18 Nov 2025 15:08:53 +0000

This is a cautionary tale for business owners—one that’s “based on a true story.” The facts are real, although the exact sequence of events might raise questions if the IRS were to take a closer look. A small business owner received a $1,000,000 offer to sell his company. He had already been thinking about retirement, and the chance to cash out felt like a perfect opportunity. His original plan had been to sell the business to a long-time employee through a promissory note, but that changed when the cash offer came along. The business’s profits had always been modest, and the employee couldn’t match the ... Read more

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