I'm looking at an off-market deal where I expect the seller would want to maintain minority ownership (~30-40%) while stepping out of running the day-to-day operations.
We aren't at the stage of an LOI but I am thinking ahead to potential roadblocks, and a significant one is the use of debt. I can imagine that in a transaction that isn't purchasing 100% equity of the business, the seller has is in an unideal world where they lose control and have cash distributions dry up to facilitate debt service. (I know SBA is off the table here).
I know that other folks out there have made acquisitions where the seller maintained a minority stake and am curious (1) whether this emerged as a roadblock/hesitation and (2) how you got them comfortable with it and overcame it.
Seller attitudes towards rolling over equity
by a searcher from Carnegie Mellon University - Tepper School of Business
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Price =$5 M, Equity = 20% = 1 M . Owner retains 30%. So, owner puts in $300 k and gets $4.7 M cash at closing. If Seller Note is $x, then, seller gets $4.7-x cash at closing.