Prepared Chicagoland businesses, vetted under NDA.
Lakeshore listings are family- and founder-owned businesses in Chicago and the six counties, roughly $1 million to $15 million in revenue, that have been through our readiness work before they reach you. Clean books, documented add-backs, and a data room built before you ask. Here is how the process runs and what we expect from a buyer.
A business that was prepared before it was listed.
We're a CPA-led firm, run by a former IRS auditor, and most of what we do happens before a business goes to market. By the time a listing reaches a buyer, the earnings have been rebuilt from the bank statements up, every add-back has a schedule behind it, a working-capital target has been set, and the documents diligence will ask for are already in the data room. The listing price is set against what comparable Chicagoland businesses have actually traded for, with the evidence attached.
That has two consequences for you. The number in the CIM is a number you can underwrite, and diligence tends to confirm rather than discover. We've also usually told the owner what a buyer will push on, so there are fewer surprises on either side of the table. The five things we test are the same five you'll test, and our approach explains why we test them first.
Four kinds of buyer we take listings to.
Roll-ups and platform buyers
PE-backed groups consolidating trades, services, distribution and niche manufacturing. We'll want to understand the platform, your add-on criteria, and your plan for the owner and the team after close, because the seller will ask us.
Strategic and competitor buyers
Companies that want the customers, the crew or the territory. Because you'll often know the seller's market, you'll see a blind profile first and the name only after an NDA and a conversation with us. The seller approves every strategic name on the list.
Searchers with financing in place
Individual operators buying one business to run. We work well with searchers who have a lender or investors lined up. A term sheet or a pre-qualification letter gets you into the data room faster, and a prepared file is what your lender wants to see.
Family offices
Long-hold investors who want a well-run business and a management plan. We'll want to know your hold horizon and how you think about the owner's transition, because our sellers ask.
The businesses are in Chicagoland. Buyers can be anywhere, though we'll want to understand how you'd operate a business here.
How it runs for a buyer.
Seven steps. For a prepared business, 90 to 120 days from going to market to closing is typical.
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Blind profile
One page. Industry, county, size, a description of the business, and no name or address.
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NDA
Signed as written before you see a financial statement. We vet you at the same step: fit with the seller's criteria, and proof of funds or financing.
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CIM and data room
The confidential information memorandum, the financial package, and access to a data room built before you asked. Questions come through us, and they're answered once and in writing.
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Management meeting
At the business, often after hours to protect confidentiality. We sit in. Serious buyers get one, and a second if it's warranted.
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LOI
Price, structure, working capital, and the owner's transition, settled in the letter of intent. We negotiate on the seller's side and we'll tell you where the seller is firm.
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Diligence
Sixty to ninety days is common. A prepared file makes it shorter. Every request is answered once and well, and your lender's questions get the same treatment.
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Close
Purchase agreement, the seller's attorney's review, lender sign-off, funds flow, and a handover plan the owner has already agreed to.
Three things before the CIM.
- Proof of funds or financing
- A bank letter, a lender pre-qualification, or a fund commitment before you see the financial package. We ask every buyer, and the sellers know we do.
- An NDA, signed as written
- Before any financials, every time. We don't negotiate the standard NDA for a first look.
- A serious timeline
- A decision-maker on the calls, an LOI within a reasonable window after the management meeting, and diligence run to a schedule you'll keep.
We represent the seller. We'll be straight with you about where the business stands, including the items we found and fixed, and we expect the same in return.
Tell us what you're looking for.
Email info@lakeshoreexitpartners.com with your acquisition criteria: industry, revenue or earnings range, geography inside Chicagoland, structure preferences, and how the deal would be financed. Or call (312) 278-2109, weekdays 9 to 5. We keep a short list of vetted buyers by category and match new listings against it before anything goes wider.
One thing to know before you register. Lakeshore also invests in and acquires Chicagoland businesses directly. When we want to buy a business ourselves, we tell the owner in writing before any listing work begins, so there is never a question of whether we're representing the seller or bidding against you. How a direct sale works.
If you're an owner who landed here, how we sell a business is the page for you.
Before you send criteria.
Can I see the financials before signing an NDA?
No. The blind profile carries the industry, county, size and a description. Financials, the CIM and the data room come after the NDA and after we've confirmed proof of funds or financing.
Does Lakeshore bid on its own listings?
No. When we want to acquire a business, we tell the owner in writing before any listing work begins, and the owner stays free to take it to market with us or anyone else. A business we're representing is one we're not buying.
Who pays Lakeshore's fee?
The seller. Our success fee is agreed with the owner in writing before the business goes to market and is paid at closing out of the proceeds. Your attorney, lender and diligence costs are yours, as usual.
Tell us what you're looking for.
Send your acquisition criteria and we'll match them against current and upcoming listings. Or call the office, weekdays 9 to 5. A person answers.