Acquisitions · Sell-Side
Thinking about your exit? Let's talk before you list it anywhere.
If you built a real trades business and you're tired, ready for what's next, or don't have a successor lined up — we'll help you understand what it's worth, who might actually buy it, and how to structure a deal that doesn't leave you exposed.
We only work with owners who actually want to sell. No hostile approaches, no pressure campaigns.
Is this you?
The owners we're the right fit for.
- You built something real and you're tired, ready for what's next, or don't have a clear successor
- You care what happens to the business, the team, and the customers after you're gone from it
- You're open to creative consideration — financing, earnout, rollover — if the growth plan behind it is credible
- Revenue is real and provable, even if it's not perfectly clean on paper yet
One honesty check: if the business needs an emergency cash infusion just to keep running, that's a different conversation — talk to a turnaround advisor, not us. We buy healthy, real businesses from sellers who are ready.
What exit can look like
It doesn't have to be all-or-nothing.
Full sale
A clean exit — you're done, the business continues under new ownership with a real transition plan.
Partial sale + rollover
You take chips off the table now and keep equity in the upside as the business grows post-close.
Phased buyout
We start with a stake or a management agreement and step up ownership over an agreed timeline.
Operating partner in
You stay as owner, we bring in leadership, marketing, and systems to grow it — an exit conversation for later, on stronger footing.
After the handshake
What we bring so the business keeps going.
Web, marketing, consulting, and leadership go in right after close — not eventually. That's part of why we can structure deals with earnouts and financing instead of asking you to just trust that a bigger company will figure it out later. For newly acquired businesses, Catalyst delivers evaluate / brand / market work with CI Web Group— so the company keeps growing under a real demand system.
See what we install after close →How it works
From first call to close.
- 01
Confidential conversation
No listings, no brokers calling your customers. Just a direct conversation about where you are.
- 02
Valuation & fit
An honest read on what the business is worth and whether we're the right buyer for it.
- 03
Structure options
We lay out what a deal could look like — cash, financing, earnout, rollover — in plain terms.
- 04
Letter of intent
Terms on paper, so everyone is negotiating the same deal.
- 05
Diligence
We verify the numbers. You verify us. Both sides confirm this is real.
- 06
Close & transition
Funding, documents, and a transition plan your team can actually follow.
FAQ
What do sellers ask before exiting a trades business?
- Is this confidential?
- Yes. We don't list your business publicly or contact your customers, vendors, or team without your say-so.
- Do I need a broker?
- Not to start a conversation with us. Bring your own advisor for the legal and financial review before you sign anything — we'd expect you to.
- How long does this take?
- It varies with the deal and the structure. We'll give you a realistic timeline once we understand your business, not a generic promise.
- Will my team be okay?
- Continuity is part of the thesis, not an afterthought — we bring in growth resources specifically so the business (and the people in it) keep going.
- What if I'm not ready to sell yet?
- Start with a valuation instead. See Deal Diligence & Valuation — plenty of owners use that to plan an exit 12–24 months out.
Ready to talk, confidentially?
Start a confidential conversationExplore the acquisitions practice
Buy-Side Advisory
How Catalyst sources, screens, and structures acquisitions — and how we help other buyers run the same playbook.
Read more →Deal Diligence & Valuation
What the business is actually worth, what's really driving it, and what to fix before anyone signs.
Read more →Post-Close AI Integration
The web, marketing, ops, and leadership stack we install after close — the part that pays for the deal.
Read more →Keep exploring Catalyst