How to Sell Your Online Business With FE International

If you’re reading this, chances are you are either selling (or thinking about selling) your technology business. Whether you have a SaaS, ecommerce or content business, we have likely sold something similar. Our team has completed over 1,500 deals for tech businesses – we leverage this experience from to get the highest valuations and best terms for our clients.

Here are some interviews with past clients to help you understand what it is like to work with us:

• Acquisition of Positive Psychology
• Acquisition of LinkBuilder
• Acquisition of Focus on Force
• Acquisition of Asperato
• Acquisition of ThriveCart
• Acquisition of DotYeti

At FE, we make the sales process as stress-free and simple as possible. We have the #1 M&A team in the industry made up of advisors with experience in investment banking, strategy consulting and entrepreneurship. We know how important your business is to you and the need to find a buyer that is a good fit in terms of price, structure and business continuity.

Some of the reasons clients choose to work with us:

• 94.1% Success Rate – We complete more $1-100M deals than any other advisor in the industry (1,500+ and counting)
• Extensive Global Network – We have 80,000+ pre-qualified and vetted tech investors in our network
• Consistently Increasing Acquisition Multiples
• Confidential Process – We don’t disclose your business details to buyers without passing our stringent vetting process.
• Global Reach – We have a truly global base, with office locations in New York, San Francisco, Miami, and London. Our international coverage gives us more opportunities to sell your business.
• Numerous Accolades – Financial Times Fastest Growing Finance Company in America for six consecutive years.| Inc. 5000 (2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, & 2024) | NAVCA Award Winner | IBBA Deal Maker of the Year 2015 & 2016 | IBBA Deal Maker Award 2016 | IBBA Top Global Producer of the Year 2016 | IBBA Chairman’s Circle Award 2016 | BBB A+ Rating

We always meet, and strive to exceed, our clients’ expectations. Read some of our success stories here.

How Does the Process Work?

We follow a tried and tested process for all deals at FE. Our process has been built with one thing in mind: minimizing your time commitment whilst maximizing the final sales price of your business.

The process can be broken down into six steps, and below is a short overview of each:

Assessment and Valuation

At this stage, we get to know more about you, your business, and your goals for a sale. This process is confidential and NDAs are signed. We will ask questions about your business to determine an accurate valuation and the best time to sell. Valuation is a complex topic and is not as simple as “annual profit x 3.” Our valuations are not based on theory, they are based on data from the 1,500 transactions we have completed over the past decade. We will let you know what your business is worth and how long we expect it will take to sell.

If you want to learn more about valuation and factors we consider, we have a multitude of resources available that go in-depth on valuing a SaaS, e-commerce or content business:

• SaaS Valuations: How to Value a SaaS Business in 2024
• How to Value an AI Business
• How to Value an Ecommerce Business
• App Valuation: How to Build, Value and Sell an App
• Affiliate Website Valuation: What’s Your Affiliate Site Worth?

Everything in the valuation stage is absolutely free of charge, with no obligation to work with us. If you don’t want to sell now or we don’t think it is the right time – we will work on an exit plan with you to ensure value is maximized for a future sale.

If you decide to work with us, we get a Representation Agreement (RA) signed which outlines our role, fee and exclusivity period. We do not charge any upfront listing fees and only get paid when the deal completes.

Our services include the following:

• Valuation and pre-listing due diligence managed through a secure and audit-ready deal room
• Preparing sales materials
• A dedicated M&A advisor to communicate with and a whole M&A deal team dedicated to your sale
• All advertising costs related to the sale/finding buyers
• All negotiations directly with the buyer(s) and their representatives
• In-house legal, including drafting the Letter of Intent (the formal offer from a vetted buyer), purchase agreements and other documents required to complete an acquisition
• Escrow (Escrow.com or attorney escrow) facilitation
• Handover documentation formation
• Management of post-sale contractual obligations

Acquisition Preparation

Our acquisition preparation is what sets FE apart from other advisories. This detailed preparation ensures your business is well-positioned for a successful sale. The upfront due diligence completed by our in-house Audit team reduces the time spent by the buyer conducting their due diligence by 28% compared to the industry average. These preparations also help prevent renegotiations, where if a buyer were to verify different financials, it would raise concerns about other financial claims. Instead, we can verify these financials and address any discrepancies privately before going out to market, allowing us to accurately present financials to buyers and continue to lead negotiations on the front foot.

We prepare a detailed Prospectus for buyers that covers everything they need to know to make an informed offer on your business. This is usually 25-35 pages depending on the size and complexity of the business.

When preparing for the sale, we may ask for the following to be uploaded into the deal room:

• A detailed monthly profit and loss/income statement for at least the last 12 months
• Detailed answers to a custom questionnaire about your business
• Google Analytics access
• Access to any third-party metrics platforms you may use
• Supporting documentation for business and financial claims

Our upfront preparation is very detailed and ensures your business is best positioned for a successful sale.

Marketing Your Business For Sale

At this stage, our M&A teams work together to identify and speak to suitable buyers for your business. We have tens of thousands of vetted buyers looking for businesses to buy every day. On top of the buyers already in our database, we invest heavily into marketing your business (whilst retaining privacy) elsewhere, helping us to achieve and maintain our 94.1% success rate for taking a business to market to getting it sold.

Your team of dedicated advisors will deal directly with buyers on your behalf, answering questions, making calls and starting offer negotiations. At this stage, there may also be more questions for you to answer, facilitated by our advisors to make the process as hands-off as possible for you.

Acquisition Negotiations

Once we have discussed the business with all potential buyers, we will begin to narrow down to the most serious of prospects and work on getting offers from multiple parties. At this stage, you may be required to join conference calls with the buyer and your FE lead advisor to discuss the sale.

With decades of M&A experience and transaction negotiations, our team will set out to negotiate the best offer for your business, advising on appropriate offer structures and terms. Buyers often like to speak to the business owners directly to feel comfortable with the acquisition, and here you have the opportunity to allow us to front negotiation discussions while separating yourself from these tricky waters, allowing you to continue to build rapport with the new owners.

Once an offer (or multiple offers) is negotiated and the best buyer(s) selected, a formal Letter of Intent (LOI) will be prepared by our in-house legal team. This outlines the term of the offer and sets the timeline for due diligence and closing.

Due Diligence

Due diligence is an essential part of every business sale and ensures the buyer is comfortable with the business and claims made during the marketing and negotiations. It can sound like an arduous process, but its purpose is actually very simple, especially with an experienced M&A advisor on your side who has already helped to prepare the business for sale through the help of our in-house Audit team, expediting a lot of the due diligence requests.

This process will vary depending on the buyer’s requirements (outlined in the LOI) and the complexity of the business but usually covers these six areas:

• Traffic
• Financial
• Ownership
• Operational
• Technical
• Legal

The due diligence process will be overseen by FE through our secure deal room – we are always on hand to advise what is reasonable to expect in the process. Having verified much of the due diligence items ahead of listing, we have a 94.1% sale success rate.

Simultaneously, we will also start drafting the Asset Purchase Agreement (APA). To learn more about what buyers may look for, check out our post on advanced due diligence.

Closing

At this stage in the process, the buyer has been identified, the offer structure agreed upon, and due diligence completed. In the majority of cases, FE’s in-house legal team will draft the APA on your behalf, which forms the legal basis of the deal, but we also advise having your own attorney/lawyer review the agreement too.

Once the contract and terms are agreed upon with the buyer and seller, the contract is signed by both parties (facilitated by FE) the deal moves into escrow ahead of the transfer. We use either Escrow.com (more about their process here) or attorney escrow, depending on the size of the acquisition. Both options keep all parties safe and secure.

Throughout the transfer process, we will manage the process to ensure a seamless handover of assets. Once everything has been transferred (per the APA), funds will be released to you (this is when we get paid), and the acquisition is complete. Congratulations!

Wrapping up

If you would like to sell your business with us, please complete this short form.
Got more questions and not covered by our FAQ? Then get in touch or visit our New York, London, Miami or San Francisco offices. We would love to meet you!