Stage 9 · Ownership Engine
Acquisition
Full buy-side advisory for international buyers — from thesis to close, built around seller financing since SBA lending is closed to non-residents.
The problem we solve
SBA 7(a) loans — the engine behind most U.S. small-business purchases — require U.S. citizenship or permanent residency. That single rule locks international buyers out of the standard playbook. Our acquisition practice is built on the alternatives: seller financing targeting 30–60% seller notes, asset purchases through your U.S. LLC, and the business credit you built at Stage 3.
The full mandate
Acquisition thesis development, sourcing across the major marketplaces (Flippa, Acquire.com, Empire Flippers, Quiet Light) plus off-market outreach, valuation analysis, due-diligence coordination, seller-financing structuring, LOI-to-close negotiation support, and a 90-day transition plan. You own the business outright at close — we advise, you buy.
Honest conversion math
Buy-side work is low-conversion and lumpy: roughly one closed deal per hundred targets contacted, and four to nine months per close is normal. E-commerce businesses trade at roughly 2.5–3.5x seller's discretionary earnings in the current market. Deal structuring — not deal availability — is where value is added. A retainer buys the work, not a guaranteed close.
Want speed instead of a search?
If your goal is owning established history rather than hunting for the right operating deal, our premium roster may be the shorter path: a small, private set of operating U.S. businesses whose owners are ready to exit, $25,000–$500,000 case by case, with the full documented history — including the business credit file — transferring at close. Fewer than five are available at any time.
See the premium established-business routeFees & structure
Published, like everything else
Buy-side mandate
Half the retainer credits against the success fee at close. The fee schedule is Double-Lehman style and published — the same for every client.
What we never promise
We never promise a close, a price, or a timeline. Deals die in diligence, financing, and negotiation — that's the process working. The retainer buys sourcing, analysis, and negotiation labor.