The highest price is not always the best deal

My professional insights · Lyudmil Karaulanov · 6 min read

Published: 1 August 2026 · Version 1.0

When you receive a good offer for your business, the number has a personal meaning too. You may see in it recognition of years of work, holidays missed and decisions made with little certainty. It is entirely natural to compare first who is offering more.

It seems to me, however, that the picture of the day after the transaction matters more. How do you want to live then? Will you continue working? Will you have the money available? What will still depend on you, and what will others decide? The answers may change the ranking of the offers.

Why are you selling now?

One owner wants to be free of daily responsibility. Another seeks a growth partner and would gladly stay for years. A third wants to separate part of the family's wealth from business risk. Age, the absence of a willing successor and fatigue may also matter.

None of these reasons is more worthy than another. But a good deal is one that serves yours. If you want to retire, a high price tied to another five years of management may take you further from the purpose for which you began negotiations at all.

How much of the price will you actually receive?

The headline amount may include a payment on signing, a deferred portion, an additional sum contingent on future results and funds retained against possible claims. Instead of cash, you may receive shares or an ownership stake in another company.

For me, every offer is compared against four questions: how much you receive, when, on what conditions, and who controls their fulfilment. A lower price with a larger certain payment may suit you better than an impressive promise dependent on many future events.

When payment depends on the business after the sale

It is understandable that a buyer wants evidence that revenue and customers will be retained. A contingent payment can help the parties bridge their differing assessments of the future.

For you, another question arises: will you still be able to influence the result on which the price depends? The new owner may change the budget, management, expenses or the company's place within the group. Part of your value thus remains exposed to decisions you no longer make.

The calculation method, access to information and consequences of restructuring therefore matter. So does whether missing one target eliminates the entire additional payment, or whether different results are assessed using agreed weightings. The conditions need specifics that both sides can verify.

Shares in the buyer are a new investment

A stake in a larger company may give you an opportunity to benefit from future growth. It nevertheless requires an assessment of its own. What rights will you have? Can your holding be diluted? How will you receive information, and under what conditions will you be able to sell?

The group's liabilities and dependence on the other owners also enter the picture. Part of your accumulated wealth is moving into a new risk. It is worth accepting that consciously, rather than merely as a convenient way to achieve a higher total price.

Your future work deserves a separate agreement

The buyer has reason to want your help during the transition. You know the people and the history of relationships in a way that is difficult to transfer immediately.

But the price of the business you have built and remuneration for work after the sale are best considered separately. Duties, authority, duration and the option to leave deserve clear agreement. It is particularly important to understand how the termination of your management role affects the unpaid price.

Other commitments may remain after signing: liability for past circumstances, a non-compete obligation, and the handover of customers and knowledge. The transfer of ownership, receipt of the full value and release from the business therefore need to be seen as separate moments.

Preparation gives you a stronger voice in negotiations

When revenue, contracts and the organisation can be verified, the buyer has fewer grounds to question value. Dependence on your personal relationships and unresolved rights over assets may lead to a discount or more conditional payments.

It helps to know in advance the minimum certain payment, acceptable deferral and commitment you are prepared to retain, as well as the conditions under which you would end negotiations. Concessions can then be deliberate choices, rather than a gradual drift away from your original purpose.

Where is the point of instability?

What this concept means →

It lies where we focus on price while leaving life and responsibilities after the transaction out of the discussion. A sale changes the form of value created over years. A well-prepared sale delivers what it was undertaken for and makes clear what remains your responsibility.

This material is of a general analytical nature and does not constitute individual legal, tax, financial or investment advice.