A business that survives the buyer’s checks — and a price you can defend
Free 15–30 minute call · no obligation · Pick a time in the calendar →
Preparing a business for sale is a commercial review of your company through a buyer’s eyes before it goes to market. We find what will cut the price, assemble a data pack for buyers, prepare price arguments and answers to awkward questions. Two packages: a pre-sale diagnostic and full seller-side protection with support during negotiations.
A buyer arrives with auditors and lawyers and checks the business against a list.
If documents take weeks to find, figures in different reports do not match, and the lease or dependence on a key employee surfaces at the last moment, each finding turns into a discount — and sometimes into a failed deal and lost months.
Preparation reverses the order: we find the weak spots before the buyer does, and you decide what to fix, what to explain and what to price in honestly.
What a buyer checks first
A sale goes through the same stages whether you sell the business as a set of assets or the shares of an SL.
We work on preparation, valuation and the data pack, and support you afterwards — in negotiations and during the buyer’s review.
Seven stages of the deal
What a seller keeps depends not only on the price but on what is sold and by whom: SL shares or the business as a set of assets, you personally, your company or a holding.
The deal structure is chosen before the letter of intent — it is hard to change afterwards.
We build the tax consequences of each option into the deal financial model together with your tax adviser; the tax calculation and returns stay with them.
What drives the seller’s tax
Who prepares the business
Founder and CEO of Finetic Consulting
Over 30 years of executive experience in corporate finance and operations at major corporations and banks with annual revenues exceeding $1 billion: financial management, strategic planning, risk management and corporate restructuring.
Not included: data pack and no support in negotiations
Discuss package S1 →Not included: legal due diligence and no final sale and purchase agreement
Discuss package S2We quote the price after the introductory call and a first look at the business.
We came to Finetic Consulting for a business plan and financial model for our project IMSKIPPER.NET. We liked how quickly Vladislav prepares documents and how deeply he works them through. It is comfortable to work together: every question can be discussed at online meetings while the work is in progress.Georgy Im, owner of IMSKIPPER · Translated from Russian.
We'll answer your question; if your case needs a closer look — a 15–30 minute call: what you are selling, your timing and the right package. We quote the price after a first look at the business.
Book a free 15–30 minute call with Vladislav Panchenko — choose a slot that suits you.
Ideally 3–12 months before going to market. That leaves time to fix what lowers the price: tidy up the accounts, renegotiate contracts and reduce the business’s dependence on the owner.
It depends on the size of the business and the package: the pre-sale diagnostic takes 7–12 hours of work, full seller-side protection 35–60 hours. We quote the exact price after the introductory call.
No, finding a buyer is down to you or your broker. We prepare the business and the arguments so the buyer cannot talk the price down, and we work alongside the broker.
A data pack is a structured set of documents and figures for buyers: accounts, contracts, key metrics and answers to standard questions. Part of it is disclosed before an NDA, part after.
Due diligence is done by the buyer to find reasons to lower the price or walk away. Pre-sale preparation works the same way, but on your side and in advance: you learn about the weak spots before the buyer and have time to fix or explain them.
Seven stages: preparation, valuation and price, finding a buyer, a letter of intent, the buyer’s due diligence, the agreement and closing. A sale of SL shares is executed before a notary; a sale of the business as assets is done by an agreement that transfers the lease, licences and staff.
It depends on the deal structure. A resident individual selling SL shares pays 19–30% on the gain on the savings scale; a holding with a stake of 5% or more held for a year pays about 1.25%; a company selling assets pays corporate tax of 19–25%, plus dividend tax when the money is paid out to you.
For the seller, shares are usually better: tax is paid once — personally, or almost nothing through a holding. On an asset sale profit is taxed first in the company and again when paid out to you. Buyers, however, often prefer assets: the company’s debts and risks do not pass to them. So the structure is part of the negotiation, and it is worth working out before the letter of intent.
Yes, if you sell as an individual and the price is paid over more than a year, including an earn-out: the gain can be recognised as the payments fall due. It is your choice, made in the tax return.
