A large strategic had spent eight months evaluating, gathering detail and committing to nothing. A real process turned that into a deadline, and a different buyer closed at $60M to $75M.
Request a Confidential ValuationA well-known strategic had been close to a term sheet for eight months. It asked for roadmap detail, customer economics, and security reviews, and gave back meetings and encouragement. The founder, flattered and exhausted, kept feeding it information and kept waiting. There was no competing party and no deadline, so the buyer had every reason to take its time and none to commit.
We did not tell the strategic to go away. We placed it in a structured process alongside a mapped field of strategics and sponsors, on a fixed timeline, with information released in stages rather than on request. For the first time the buyer faced losing the asset to someone else, and the calculus changed.
Multiple parties moved to firm bids within six weeks. The original strategic finally put down a real number, but a sponsor-backed strategic closed at $60M to $75M. The eight-month evaluation had not been diligence. It was free optionality, and a process is what charges for it.
A single buyer with no deadline is not a process; it is free optionality you are giving away. Competition is what converts polite interest into a committed price.
Details that could identify the company have been altered or withheld. Transaction details are representative of engagements of this type. Quotes are representative. References available to qualified parties under non-disclosure agreement.
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