Go all in

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August 14, 2023

by a professional from Arizona State University in Phoenix, AZ, USA

I heard the average searcher takes###-###-#### years to acquire a business.

Does it have to take that long?

My guess is you’re not all in…

I had no idea what ETA was 4 Months ago.

On Thursday I closed on my 1st acquisition.

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Reply by a searcher
from Eastern Washington University in Seattle, WA, USA
Does it have to take that long, probably not. I think there a couple main points here:

1. Part of it can be the industry a searcher is searching in. Some industries have a more competitive M&A environment than others.

2. Some people people may not like/agree with me. You can't discount luck when it comes to M&A. Sometimes things go smooth, other times they don't. Sometimes you catch a seller at the perfect time. Other times you don't.

Congratulations on your 1st acquisition!
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Reply by an intermediary
from The University of Chicago in Chicago, IL, USA
Congrats on a quick deal.
In my 35 years as M&A broker, I have sold businesses to many individuals. I have had one buyer who bought the business in 4 months after start. He happened to have a direct experience with the product my client was making. Seller was motivated to sell ASAP.
All PE firms are "all in". Take a PE firm with 4 dealmakers (excluding staff and associates). For such firm, 2-4 platform acquisitions per year is a good performance (based on years of conversations with PE firms).
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