Updated: August 17, 2026
Author: Calvin Hughes, Senior Partner
Six to twelve months. That’s the honest range for most privately held companies, from the day you engage an advisor to the day funds hit your account. Owners almost always guess low. They picture a few months of buyer meetings and a signature, and then they’re surprised when diligence alone eats ten weeks.
Why Does a Business Sale Take 6 to 12 Months?
A business sale takes 6 to 12 months because it isn’t one negotiation, it’s four sequential ones: preparation, buyer outreach, diligence, and closing, each with its own pace and its own set of people who have to sign off. A clean, well-prepared company with a motivated, well-capitalized buyer can close in 6 months. A company with messy financials, a thin management bench, or a buyer who needs financing can easily run past 12. The variance owners don’t expect isn’t in any single phase, it’s in how those phases stack. A two-week delay in one stage pushes every stage after it.
What Happens in the First 60 Days That Owners Don’t See Coming?
The first 60 days are spent almost entirely on preparation, not marketing, and that catches most owners off guard. Before a single buyer sees your company, your advisor is normalizing three to five years of financials, building a confidential information memorandum, and pressure-testing the story you’ll tell about growth and risk. Owners expect this stage to be quick, a formality before the
If you are thinking about a sale and want to talk through what this means for your business, we are happy to have that conversation. Book a confidential strategy call with our partners.