The Laurent Capital guides
Reference guides for owners, CFOs and corporate development teams: how transactions work, what drives value and which terms decide the outcome.
The Complete Guide to Selling a B2B Company
How a lower middle market B2B sale works end to end: timing, readiness, advisors, the CIM, buyers, IOIs, LOI, diligence, closing and why deals fail.
17 min read|7 reference tables
Valuation Multiples in the Lower Middle Market: A Sector-by-Sector Guide
Indicative EV/EBITDA and ARR multiples by size band and sector, what moves a multiple, and how a headline price becomes cash at close.
17 min read|9 reference tables
Who Buys Lower Middle Market Companies: Buyer Types Compared
Strategics, private equity, family offices, search funds, ESOPs and more: how each buyer type values, finances and structures a lower middle market deal.
23 min read|7 reference tables
Exit Options for Business Owners: Sale, Recapitalization, ESOP, MBO or Family Transfer
Compare nine exit routes for owners: strategic or PE sale, majority and minority recaps, ESOP, MBO, family transfer, professional CEO and wind-down.
20 min read|8 reference tables
Deal Structures Explained: Asset Sales, Stock Sales, F Reorganizations and More
Asset vs. stock sales, 338(h)(10), 336(e), F reorganizations, purchase price allocation and forms of consideration, with a worked after-tax example.
23 min read|6 reference tables
From Letter of Intent to Purchase Agreement: The Terms That Decide Your Proceeds
How LOI terms, working capital pegs, reps, indemnities, escrows and R&W insurance turn a headline price into the cash a seller actually keeps.
23 min read|10 reference tables
Due Diligence and Quality of Earnings: What Buyers Will Examine
What buyers examine in M&A due diligence: workstreams, quality of earnings, EBITDA add-backs, working capital, debt-like items and how to run a data room.
19 min read|10 reference tables
M&A Advisor Fees and Engagement Terms: How to Choose and Pay an Advisor
How M&A advisors are paid: retainers, success fees, Lehman formulas, tails and exclusivity, with worked examples and questions to ask before you sign.
19 min read|6 reference tables
Pre-Sale Tax and Wealth Planning for Business Owners
How owners plan taxes, estate transfers and wealth 12–36 months before a sale: capital gains, QSBS, installment sales, rollovers, trusts and California.
22 min read|6 reference tables
The Add-On Acquisition Playbook for Private Equity Platforms
How PE platforms run add-on programs: buy-and-build thesis, multiple arbitrage, criteria, proprietary sourcing, deal structure, diligence and integration.
18 min read|9 reference tables
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Every guide is written from live mandates. If your situation raises questions a guide cannot answer, a senior member of the firm will take the call.