Average deal time - Checking

searcher profile

January 12, 2025

by a searcher from University of Teesside in Toronto, ON, Canada

Hi Fellow Search funders,


Out of curiosity, what is the average time it takes to close the deal. A clean and smooth transaction, not the one where lots of going back to buyer for clarity on issues.?


Currently looking for transaction deal time on an average, however, also interested in US Deal times too, I suspect the business culture in terms of taking action is slightly different. Hence, I'm asking.

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commentor profile
Reply by a professional
from University of Saskatchewan in Calgary, AB, Canada
As Roman pointed out, the timeline is so dependent on a number of factors. The main variables in my experience are:

1. Regulatory or commercial contract change of control approvals and the timelines associated with them;

2. Bank financing and their internal timelines (Canadian banks can take a long time to obtain internal approvals and in any event you should consider bank, private credit, BDC and credit unions). This can be especially time consuming if there are any inter-creditor arrangements (including a vendor note);

3. Your due diligence process including legal, quality of earnings, tax review all can take some time to complete;

4. Third party equity financing and any diligence that such equity financers may require and the negotiation on the subscription agreement and shareholder agreement; and

5. Your counter-party, their legal counsel and any financing they have outstanding, and how responsive they are with regards to turning the definitive agreement, ancillary documents, and any vendor notes.

If you area already set on diligence, generally, on an all-cash, no bank financing, and no third-party approval deal, this can be done as quickly as 3-4 weeks however depending on the variables can take up to 3 months. Happy to chat further redacted
commentor profile
Reply by a searcher
from University of St. Gallen in Berlin, Deutschland
Hi, I think it is very hard to pinpoint a typical average time as it depends on so many factors. In general, it becomes more plannable from the signing of an LOI with the main commercial terms agreed upon. DD should take you anything from 4-12 weeks with final contract negotiations adding again 2-6 weeks.
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