Acquiring an off market business

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April 14, 2026

by a searcher from Texas A&M University in Heath, TX, USA

Hello, I am interested in a privately held off market business. What is the proper process for making contact and showing interest? Should I lead with a signed NDA and an LOI? I’ve got a lot of fact-finding left to do, but I’m seriously interested. I don’t want to look unprepared but I also want to to show I’m serious.
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Reply by a lender
from Cornell University in Los Angeles, CA, USA
Great question, @redacted‌ - nice to meet you. We work with buyers on off-market deals all the time. They're more common than people think and often where the best opportunities are. Here's how the process typically flows: Step 1: Start with a simple, genuine conversation. Tell them why you're interested in their business specifically. No paperwork yet. Just build rapport and see if they're even open to selling. Step 2: Once there's mutual interest, bring in an NDA so they're comfortable sharing financials. Step 3: Get the financials. With off-market deals, there's usually no broker packaging everything for you. So you'll need to ask for the raw documents directly. At minimum, you want 3 years of business tax returns and profit and loss statements with seller discretionary addbacks. That's the most common format when there's no advisor involved, and it's exactly what any lender will need to evaluate the deal. Step 4: Review the numbers, build your own picture of cash flow, and then submit an LOI with real terms you can stand behind. The biggest mistake buyers make is jumping straight to paperwork before building any trust. Sellers who haven't listed their business are often still on the fence, so lead with the relationship first. We have a lot experience financing various companies via the SBA. If you ever need help reviewing a deal, I am happy to help. We work with all the major SBA lenders. The bank pay us after your loan closes, so this is a 100% free service for you. You can email me directly at redacted or schedule a meeting with me: https://cal.com/francodeguzman/30min. Look forward to chatting!
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Reply by an intermediary
from Mount St. Mary College in Orange County, NY, USA
Reach out if you want to chat. This basically mimics what we do as advisors, happy to share how we approach this.
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