I think the phrasing of your question (sell the LOI) has people reacting in a certain way. I think maybe another way to ask the question is how do you monetized a negotiated/baked deal and what options are there for structuring?

You can monetize an LOI but it comes from structuring the closing in a few different ways. I've seen someone 'sell' an LOI in a few ways: % of transaction value (1% to 5% depending on how good of a deal it is), flat fee ($400K for a $6M EV deal), independent sponsor who literally had no involvement post close (closing fee of 2%, 20% carry, 5% management fee). I've also seen PE firms totally screw over the finder as the finder wasn't thoughtful regarding the paperwork prior to introducing the deal.

I’ve thought about this model. I’ve seen some versions of it work. And ultimately, as ^redacted‌ says, the extreme end of this is an independent sponsor (way more value add).