Scott Bushkie: What buyers really look for when acquiring a business

For many entrepreneurs, selling their business is the most consequential financial decision they’ll ever make. Yet Scott Bushkie, Managing Partner and Founder of Cornerstone Business Services, says owners routinely walk into that moment underprepared and pay for it in value, terms and regret.

On CEO: Behind the Scenes, Bushkie describes an M&A market that still rewards strong fundamentals but has become harder to navigate as buyer types proliferate and diligence intensifies.

"I think a lot of the core principles are still the same, but things just get more and more complex," he says. "There’s more due diligence from the buyer groups and more different types of buyer groups out there."

That shift also helps explain why unsolicited offers are everywhere. With private equity firms, family offices and corporates chasing growth through acquisition, buyer demand is high and outreach is relentless. And for founders who have poured years into building something real, the initial approach can feel like a rare moment of validation.

"It’s flattering," Bushkie says. "You built something up, and someone’s giving me recognition that I built something that has value."

But Bushkie is clear-eyed about what those offers usually represent. When a buyer is the only party at the table, they control the pacing and the pressure. The goal is to secure the asset cheaply and push downside risk back onto the seller.

"The buyer is trying to do two things," Bushkie says. "They’re trying to buy the company for as little as humanly possible, and they’re trying to put all the risk on the seller."

The vulnerability, he argues, is that many owners don’t know what their business is worth in the current market. Bushkie points to research showing more than 60 percent of business owners have never had a valuation. Without that anchor, the sellers are acting on feeling, not fact, and the deal gets negotiated from a weak starting point.

What changes the equation is competition. At Cornerstone Business Services, Bushkie champions a structured, confidential sales process designed to create what he calls "the power of multiple offers", aligning timing so serious buyers are forced to bid in the same window instead of negotiating one-on-one on their own schedule.

Still, buyers aren’t only paying for last year’s profit. They’re underwriting the future, and they’re scanning for risk. Bushkie says the most attractive businesses are sustainable and transferable: They can operate without the owner as the bottleneck, backed by capable leaders, documented systems and repeatable execution.

Finally, there’s the question of timing. Owners often decide to sell when they’re depleted, not when the business is strongest.

"Most wait too long," he says. "They’re tired, burnt out or sick, and then somebody comes along and says, ‘Hey, you want to get out of this thing? I’ll pay you money.’"

This leads to owners making rash decisions unless they can step back and really assess the value of their business. Bushkie’s message is clear: Owners can set themselves up for success by preparing earlier than they think they need to.

Listen to the latest episode of our CEO: Behind the Scenes podcast with Scott Bushkie on Amazon, Apple or Spotify.