Our approach

The traditional sale produces a single negotiated lump sum, paid at close after due diligence. Tax treatment depends on the structure; net proceeds after capital gains tax and any earnout reductions typically arrive 1-2 months after closing.

There is no upfront payment. Operator equity (typically 30-50%) vests over 36 months with a 12-month cliff. Your retained equity (50-70%) generates dividends from year 1 and can be sold via put option from year 3. The total received over 4 years typically exceeds the equivalent flat sale by 50-80%.

The sale produces a fixed amount. Earnouts can add 10-20% if hit, but earnout disputes are common and the buyer controls the variables being measured.

The total over 4 years includes: dividends from year 1 onwards, management fee/salary for ongoing involvement, and the put option value at year 3+. Combined, this typically exceeds the equivalent flat sale by 50-80% for a growing business.

Most acquisitions include a 12-24 month transition period where the founder works under new management. The founder is no longer the decision-maker but is contractually obligated to support the integration. The dynamic is often uncomfortable.

You remain in your own business. We work alongside you, progressively taking operational responsibility. You decide your pace. After month 18, your involvement can drop to whatever level you want — including effectively zero — while the business continues operating.

The integration phase is the part of the sale that founders find hardest. You report to people who were not in the business yesterday. Decisions you would have made alone now require approval. Many founders describe this period as the worst part of the entire exit.

There is no integration. Your business remains your business. We do not absorb it into a larger entity, do not change its name, do not relocate its operations. The systems we build are built for your business specifically.

In most acquisitions the buying entity either absorbs the acquired company into its own brand within 1-3 years, or maintains the brand but consolidates back-office, marketing, and decision-making. The brand persists in name; the soul of the business is usually different within a few years.

We do not rebrand your business. The shareholders' agreement explicitly preserves the company name, the operational identity, the relationships with long-standing employees, and the way customers are spoken to. Modernisation happens to systems and processes, not to identity.

Post-acquisition rationalisation typically affects back-office staff, administrative roles, and any positions that overlap with the buyer's existing structure. Long-time employees who have been with the founder for 15-20 years are particularly exposed.

The shareholders' agreement names key employees and commits to their employment continuity. Reductions in headcount only happen through natural attrition; new technology absorbs work rather than replacing people. Your team stays your team.

After close, customer relationships transition to the buyer's commercial team. Major customers are often informed by letter or in a single coordinated meeting. The relationships that took you decades to build pass to people who may not understand the history.

Customer relationships continue with you during phases 1-2 and transition to a team you've trained and approved during phase 3. The customers see continuity, not handover.

For founder-named businesses (Funerária Costa Santos, Contabilidade Silva, etc.), the name is typically retained for 1-3 years for goodwill purposes, then absorbed into the buyer's brand. Within 5-7 years, the founder name is gone.

If your name is on the business, it stays on the business. This is contractually protected. We benefit from the brand equity you built; we do not erase it.

At close, you cease to be the decision-maker. Even during the earnout period, you are operating under direction from the new owners. The contractual reality is that you are a former owner, working a transition role, with limited authority.

You retain majority equity (50-70%). Decisions affecting more than 20% of revenue, the company name, or core identity require qualified majority — which is impossible without your consent. Operational decisions delegate to us progressively, but you can always override.

A sale is final. If your circumstances change — illness, family obligations, a desire to be more involved again — there is no path back. The sale price is the entirety of what you receive.

From month 3 the put option becomes available — you can sell your retained equity at independently determined fair value with a 10% premium if the business is thriving. Before month 18, the reversion clause returns unvested equity to you if the partnership is not working. The structure preserves optionality at every stage.