How a sale actually runs.
Six phases, in this order, overlapping on purpose. Most of the work that determines whether a deal survives diligence is done in the phases before it.
We do not publish a timetable, because the honest answer is specific to the company. What sets the pace is the state of the books, whether ownership and the estate plan are settled, how deep the buyer pool is in the sector, and how diligence is managed once exclusivity is granted. You will get a view specific to your company on the first call, and a written plan with the engagement letter.
Phase by phase
What actually happens in each one.
What the company is worth today, on what basis, and what a buyer will argue about. Coordination with your attorney, CPA and estate planner should begin here rather than in the final month, when a term sheet is already in motion and every advisor is reacting instead of advising.
The company is prepared for sale and the confidential offering memorandum is written. A one-page blind teaser is drafted alongside it, carrying no identifying detail. It is the only document that goes out before a signature.
Strategic and financial parties identified, qualified, and approached anonymously. The memorandum is released buyer by buyer, only against an executed confidentiality agreement. Every release is tracked, and the client can see the log in the portal.
Competing interest, managed to a deadline, rather than a single-buyer negotiation. A controlled auction is not an open listing. It is a small number of qualified parties working to the same dates, which is what turns interest into terms. Market Pulse put 87% of deals over $5M in front of at least three offers in the second quarter of 2026.
The phase that stretches, and the one that decides the final number. Exclusivity is where a good deal quietly becomes a lower one if nobody is managing it. It needs someone senior in the room every week, and it is where most of the difference between a short process and a long one is made.
Funds flow and documents execute. Final working capital is settled, escrow is funded, and the closing statement is reconciled against the letter of intent.
Discretion
Most owners wait longer than they should, and the reason is usually not price.
It is the fear that a key employee, a lender or a competitor finds out the company is for sale and acts on it before the deal closes.
Every Turris process starts anonymous. Buyers first see a one-page teaser that carries no company name, no location and no customer detail. The memorandum is released buyer by buyer and only against an executed confidentiality agreement, and each release is logged. Your employees, your lenders and your competitors learn about the process when you decide to tell them.
Before you call
Questions about the process.
It depends on the company, and we do not quote a duration on this site. What sets the pace is the state of the financial records, whether ownership and the estate plan are settled, the depth of the buyer pool in the sector, and how diligence is managed once exclusivity is granted. Owners who begin the valuation and preparation work well ahead of a decision generally run shorter processes. You will get a view specific to your company on the first call.
A sale process in which several qualified buyers receive the same information, the same access and the same deadline, and know they are not the only party reading it. It is not a public listing. Market Pulse put 87 percent of deals over $5M in front of at least three offers in the second quarter of 2026.
Only after they execute a confidentiality agreement. Every process starts anonymous: buyers first see a one-page teaser carrying no company name, no location and no customer detail. The memorandum is released buyer by buyer and each release is logged.
Diligence and exclusivity. Once exclusivity is granted the competitive tension is gone, and a buyer reducing price on the strength of a diligence finding is the most common way a good deal becomes a lower one.
At the valuation phase, at the very start, rather than in the final weeks. Advisors brought in once a term sheet is already moving are reacting rather than advising, and the tax and estate consequences are usually fixed by then.
The first conversation is a valuation.
It costs nothing and carries no obligation. You leave with a range for what the company is worth today and a specific list of what is holding that number down.