Published on 4 Sept 2026 · 2 min read · AuditExpress team
Buying a business: the seven steps of a successful acquisition
From targeting to signing, an acquisition follows a marked path. Here are the seven steps, the classic traps and the documents to request at each phase.
Buying an existing business is often less risky than starting one: revenue, customers and the team are already there. The risk shifts to the quality of the analysis and the structure of the financing. Here is the seven-step path as we built it into the marketplace.
1. Define the target
Sector, size, region, price: the better the project is framed, the faster the right listings appear. An individual buyer usually targets a company whose EBITDA covers both a salary and the repayments of the acquisition loan.
2. Read the teaser
The anonymised teaser shows revenue, EBITDA, headcount and valuation bands, plus the financial health grade. On AuditExpress these figures come directly from the analysis of the seller's accounts, not from a free-form declaration.
3. Sign the confidentiality agreement
The non-disclosure agreement opens the data room: full report, balance sheets, main contracts. It commits the buyer not to disclose or use the information outside the project.
4. Make an indicative offer
The letter of intent sets a price, a scope and conditions precedent. It is rarely binding on price, but it commits both parties to an exclusivity period. On the marketplace the offer comes with a 5% deposit, refunded if the seller declines.
5. Run due diligence
Due diligence checks that reality matches the accounts: contracts, litigation, tax and social debts, dependence on a few customers. The findings are used to adjust the price or to negotiate an asset and liability guarantee.
6. Close the financing
The structure usually combines a 20 to 30% equity contribution, a seven-year bank loan and sometimes a vendor loan. The borrowing capacity simulator in the report shows the amount that the target's cash flow can finance.
7. Sign and hand over
The sale agreement, the guarantees and the seller's support are formalised at closing. A three to six month transition period secures the relationship with customers and employees.
Every step appears in the deal tracker with its status, documents and deadlines, so that no party wonders where the transaction stands.