Last updated: June 2026
Key takeaways
- A realistic timeline is six to twelve months from preparation to close.
- Preparation and the information memorandum take the first weeks; outreach and offers follow.
- Diligence to close typically runs four to twelve weeks after a letter of intent is signed.
- Readiness, clean financials, and a competitive process speed it up; surprises slow it down.
The short answer
For a mid-market company, a well-run sale usually takes six to twelve months from the decision to sell to the money arriving. Smaller, cleaner businesses can move faster; complex or under-prepared ones take longer. The single biggest variable is how ready the company is when the process starts.
Stage by stage
- Preparation: four to eight weeks to build the financials, data room, and information memorandum.
- Marketing and offers: six to ten weeks of outreach, meetings, and indicative offers.
- LOI to close: eight to sixteen weeks of exclusivity, diligence, and documentation.
What makes it faster
Preparation, above all. Clean financials, a ready data room, realistic price expectations, and a motivated, organised seller can compress the timeline at every stage. A competitive process with several engaged buyers also moves faster than a single, hesitant one.
What slows it down
Surprises in diligence, messy or contested financials, customer concentration, key-person risk, an unrealistic asking price, or a seller who is not ready to commit. Most delays trace back to preparation that was skipped at the start.
Can you rush it?
You can shorten a sale with preparation, but you cannot safely skip the stages. Rushing the work usually lengthens the process, because the time saved up front is paid back, with interest, in a longer and more painful diligence. The fastest sales are the best-prepared ones.