It is a rule to always exit a company that's bought by a SF? Are there any cases where the SF keeps the company running and the searcher just moves to other ventures? I wonder because there are some sellers that are worried that the company will continue to exist under the new management, not only to be sold again in a few years.
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Honestly, you should probably buy a company that you would be happy to run over a long period of time. Unless you find a crazy buyer ready to pay 20x+EBITDA, there's very little reason to sell your company after 2-3 years of acquiring it.
Are you seeking companies that they'd like to hold onto for the long haul? If so, then there ought to be no issue. So long as they also understand that you will personally want to exit at some point as well. Have everything laid out on the table.
As Karen mentioned, however, majority of investors will want to have an exit event.
It's all about communication and knowing before any hard commitments are made how everything stands. You don't want to suddenly change things on everyone. Since then you're no longer upholding your end of the deal.
Best of luck!