Selling the company you built.
You built it. The hardest decision is who you hand it to, and for how much. We sell founder-led companies for what they are worth, to the buyer who is right, on a fee tied to your result.
For a founder selling a mid-market company, LePrince Group runs a confidential, competitive sell-side process that defends an honest valuation, protects you through diligence, and is paid only when the deal closes.
You only sell once. It has to be right.
A founder's sale is not a transaction on a spreadsheet. It is your life's work, your team, and your name. These are the questions that keep founders up at night, and what we do about each.
Most advisors win the day you sign the mandate. We are built the other way: we only win when you do, at the close.
Run like your name is on it. Because ours is too.
A founder's sale, handled by the person who took the mandate, from first conversation to wire transfer.
The honest read
Free, ConfidentialAn evidence-based view of what your company is worth, whether it would sell now, and what would change the number.
Prepare to win
VDR, Information MemorandumWe get the business sale-ready and build the story that makes the right buyers compete.
Run a competitive process
Outreach, LOIsA managed process across qualified buyers, driven to competing letters of intent, not a single conversation.
Hold terms to the close
Diligence, DocumentationWe defend price, structure, and protections through diligence to a close you would sign again.
What a competitive process is worth to a founder.
Selling directly to the first buyer who calls is the most expensive way to exit. Here is what running it properly changes.
A higher, defensible price
Competitive tension between qualified buyers, not a single number you have to accept, is what moves valuation.
The right buyer, chosen
You choose who carries your business forward, on fit and intent, not just who waves the biggest cheque.
Confidentiality, protected
A staged, NDA-gated process keeps your staff, customers, and competitors out of it until the right moment.
Terms that actually pay
Structure, protections, and earnouts negotiated so the headline price is a price you collect.
You keep running the company
We carry the process so you stay focused on the business, which protects the value right up to close.
Your legacy, handled
Succession, your team, your name in the market: the parts of a sale that are not on the spreadsheet, taken seriously.
We only win when you do.
Most advisors win the day you sign the mandate. Our fee rides on the close, the terms, and the value you actually collect.
The five things that move a founder-led valuation.
Before you go to market, these are the levers that decide whether a buyer pays a premium or a discount. Often there is value worth waiting to build first.
Recurring, predictable revenue
Contracted and repeat revenue is worth a higher multiple than one-off sales, because a buyer is paying for certainty.
Customer concentration
If one or two clients are most of the revenue, buyers discount for the risk. Spreading it lifts the number.
Owner dependence
A business that runs without the founder in every decision sells for more. A team and systems are part of the asset.
Clean, defensible financials
Numbers that survive diligence protect the price. Surprises in diligence are where founders lose value.
A credible growth story
Buyers pay for the future they can see. A clear, evidenced path to growth is worth real multiple points.
When a business is not ready, we tell you, with the honest reasons why and the work that closes the gap. That is what value creation is for.
You won't find our deals online. That is the point.
We do not publicise mandates, name clients, or announce transactions. The best outcomes are reached quietly, and confidentiality protects the seller, the process, and the price.
Confidential by default
A sale is the client's business, not our marketing. The market learns only what serves the client.
Selective by mandate
We take a limited number of companies and turn the rest down. Selectivity is the product, not a constraint on it.
Vetted and verified
If we represent a company, it is proven to be one of the best in its category, with a clear opportunity for the right buyer.
The questions founders actually ask.
How do I know what my company is worth?
A mid-market company is typically valued on a multiple of EBITDA, adjusted for the quality of its earnings: recurring revenue, customer concentration, owner dependence, and growth all move the multiple. An honest valuation is the number a real buyer will pay in a competitive process, not a flattering figure designed to win a mandate. The free, confidential LePrince Read gives you an evidence-based view of that number.
How long does it take to sell a company?
A well-run sell-side process for a mid-market company usually takes six to twelve months from preparation to close: preparation and the information memorandum, buyer outreach and management calls, letters of intent, then diligence and documentation. Preparation done properly shortens diligence later.
Will my staff and customers find out I am selling?
A confidential process protects you. Buyers are approached under non-disclosure agreements, sensitive information is released in stages, and your name and details are withheld until a buyer is qualified and serious. Discretion is part of how the process is run.
What is an earnout and will I actually get paid?
An earnout ties part of the price to the business hitting agreed targets after the sale. The risk is that the targets are set so the seller never collects. The protection is structuring earnouts on metrics you control and negotiating realistic terms. LePrince Group does not take fees on earnout value you have not received.
Do I need an M&A advisor or can I sell the company myself?
A founder selling directly to a single buyer almost always leaves price and protection on the table. Competitive tension between several qualified buyers is what moves the number, and an advisor runs that process, defends the valuation in diligence, and negotiates terms while you keep running the company.
What does LePrince Group charge to sell a company?
Outcome-based pricing. The fee is tied to the close, the terms, and the value, rather than billed hourly. We take a limited number of mandates we believe will sell, and only win when you do.
Where to go next.
Thinking about selling the company you built?
Every conversation starts with the LePrince Read: our honest, evidence-based view of what your company is worth, whether it would sell, and what would change the number. Confidential, and yours to keep whatever you decide.
We take a limited number of mandates. Request a conversation if:
- Your company is in the $10m to $100m+ enterprise value range
- You operate in or adjacent to our four sectors
- You want an honest read, not a flattering one