The Buyouts deal room
The SaaS acquisition blog
Practical, plain-English guides for founders and buyers in AI SaaS M&A: how to value an AI company, run due diligence, plan a clean exit, and read where the acquisition market is heading. Educational only, not financial or investment advice. We never guarantee a sale price or return.
Best ROBS 401k Providers for Buying a Business: Setup Fees Compared
Best ROBS 401k providers compared: Benetrends publishes $4,995 setup and a $1,500 exit fee, Guidant Financial blocks every request. Read firsthand Sept 2026.
SBA Loan to Buy Out a Business Partner: Rules, Down Payment and What Changes on 1 October 2026
SBA loan to buy out a business partner: the 24 month carve-out that can drop your down payment below 10%, and the six rule changes landing 1 October 2026.
Business Valuation for an SBA Loan: Cost, Requirements and Who Can Perform It
Business valuation for an SBA loan: the $250,000 threshold, the five credentials SBA accepts, published fee ladders from $1,900 to $3,900, and who must order it.
Micro SaaS for Sale: How to Buy a Micro SaaS Business and What It Should Cost
Micro SaaS for sale: where small SaaS businesses are listed, what they cost in 2026, the seven checks that matter under $100,000, and how to close one.
Key Person Risk When Buying a SaaS Business: How to Spot It, Price It and Structure Around It
Key person risk in a SaaS acquisition: how to measure founder dependency, what it does to price and SBA financing, and the structures that contain it.
Customer Concentration Risk When Buying a SaaS: How to Measure It and What It Does to Your Multiple
Customer concentration risk in a SaaS acquisition: no published threshold exists. How to measure it properly, and why it hits deal structure before price.
LTV to CAC Ratio: How to Calculate It on a SaaS Business You Are Buying
LTV to CAC ratio benchmarks are 4.1x horizontal and 5.6x vertical SaaS. How to calculate it from a seller's data, and the four ways the number gets faked.
Net Revenue Retention Benchmarks, Formula and What a Good NRR Means When You Buy a SaaS Business
Net revenue retention benchmarks: 103% median for private SaaS, 117.9% at the 90th percentile, 108% for usage pricing. The formula, and what buyers check.
SaaS Gross Margin Benchmarks: Profit Margin by ARR Band and What Buyers Expect
SaaS gross margin benchmarks from 342 companies: 80% median software margin, 72% under $5M ARR, 86% top quartile. What acquirers expect, and why.
AI Tools for Buying a Business: Valuation, Due Diligence and Deal Screening That Actually Help
AI tools for buying a business, sorted by what they really do: valuation models, due diligence reading and deal screening. What to trust, and what to verify.
Is Acquire.com Legit? The Fees, the Vetting, and What Buyers Actually Get
Is Acquire.com legit? Yes. It is a registered California brokerage with 500k+ users and publishes a full rate card. What it verifies, and what it does not.
Empire Flippers Review: Is Empire Flippers Legit, and What the Commission Really Costs
Empire Flippers review: legit, reports over $604M sold, and vets every listing. The catch is a $10,000 minimum commission and every sale being final.
Flippa Review: Is Flippa Legit, Is Flippa Safe to Buy On, and How to Vet Any Listing
Flippa review: legit since 2009 and escrow-settled, but listing quality varies wildly. The verdict, the fees, and how to tell verified data from a screenshot.
How Much Does It Cost to Buy a SaaS Business?
The asking price is roughly 70% of what you actually spend. A full cost breakdown for buying a SaaS business: multiples, closing costs and cash reserves.
SBA Loan to Buy a SaaS Business: How It Works
You can finance a profitable SaaS acquisition with an SBA 7(a) loan. The terms, the down payment, and why verified cash flow decides approval.
How Much Does a SaaS Business Sell For? Sale Prices by ARR Band
How much a SaaS business sells for: typical sale prices by ARR band, what makes two businesses at the same revenue sell for different money, worked examples.
Website Closers Reviews: Is It Legit, and What Do They Charge?
Website Closers reviews: legit, Florida-licensed since 2013, BBB A+ accredited, 2,345 deals sold. The catch is an unpublished fee rate and a $1M floor.
How to Negotiate Buying a Business: SaaS Price, Terms and the LOI
How to negotiate buying a business: where to anchor your offer, how to reprice on diligence findings, and the deal terms worth more than the last 10% of price.
Lehman Formula Explained: What Straight, Double, Modified and Reverse Lehman Broker Fees Cost
The Lehman formula sets what your broker earns. Straight, Double, Modified and Reverse Lehman compared, with worked numbers and the clauses that cost more.
Who Pays the Business Broker Fee: Buyer or Seller, and What It Costs You
The seller pays the business broker fee at closing, but the buyer funds it through the price. Who pays what, with the fee schedules verified in August 2026.
Best Online Business to Buy in 2026 for First-Time Buyers
The best online business to buy is the one you can already run. Content, ecommerce, SaaS, apps and newsletters compared for first-time buyers in 2026.
SaaS vs On-Premise Software: Which Software Business to Buy
SaaS sold at about a 21% premium to on-premise software in 2024, down from over 40%. What that gap means when you are choosing which software business to buy.
SBA Loan Down Payment to Buy a Business: Requirements and How Much Money Down
SBA loan down payment to buy a business: the 10% minimum equity injection, when a seller note counts toward it, and what changes on 1 October 2026.
Businesses For Sale By Owner: How to Buy a Business Without a Broker
Businesses for sale by owner: where owners list without a broker, what you give up in vetting, and the six checks that replace a broker package.
Buying a Business With No Money Down: What SBA Rules Actually Allow
Buying a business with no money down: why the SBA 10% injection is a floor, how much a seller note can cover, and what tightens on 1 October 2026.
Virtual Data Room Pricing: What a VDR Costs for an M&A Deal
Virtual data room pricing read firsthand from five providers: four publish no price at all, what each one does disclose, and which model to accept.
Quality of Earnings Report Cost: What Buyers Pay and When SBA Requires One
Quality of earnings report cost: a provider rate card read firsthand, why the SBA makes a QoE mandatory above $3M from October 2026, and who actually pays.
Mergers and Acquisitions Attorney Cost: What an M&A Lawyer Charges on a Business Purchase
Mergers and acquisitions attorney cost: published US rates from $250 to $1,200 an hour, what a deal lawyer does on a business purchase, and when to hire one.
Strategic Buyer vs Financial Buyer: Which SaaS Acquirer Pays More, and What You Actually Bank
Strategic buyer vs financial buyer: a strategic pays for fit and often pays in stock or earnout, a financial buyer pays for cash flow, mostly in cash at close.
How Much Does It Cost to Sell a SaaS Business?
Platform fees, legal, escrow and prep costs, with the real published rates from Flippa, Empire Flippers and brokers run against a $300,000 sale.
Where to Buy a SaaS Business: Marketplaces Compared
Marketplaces, brokers and off-market sourcing all sell SaaS businesses, but to different buyers. An honest comparison of where each one actually fits.
How to Buy a Shopify App Business: Diligence Guide
A Shopify app has unusually verifiable revenue. How to reconcile MRR against Partner payouts, read the App Store signals, and price platform risk.
What Is a SaaS Holding Company (and How to Build One)
A SaaS holding company owns several software businesses and runs them for cash flow. How the model works, how to structure it, and where returns come from.
Asset Purchase vs Stock Purchase: SaaS Deals
Nearly every small SaaS deal is an asset purchase. How the two structures differ on liabilities, taxes, contract consents and what actually transfers.
How to Verify MRR Before Buying a SaaS Business
Reported MRR is the easiest SaaS metric to inflate. How to reconcile recurring revenue against the processor, bank and billing records before you buy.
Vertical SaaS vs Horizontal SaaS: Which to Acquire
Vertical SaaS offers lower churn and a defensible niche; horizontal SaaS offers a bigger market. How the two differ for acquirers, and how to value each one.
SaaS Letter of Intent (LOI): What It Covers and What Binds
A SaaS letter of intent sets price, structure and exclusivity before diligence. Which clauses bind, how long a no-shop runs, and how to avoid a retrade.
SDE vs EBITDA vs ARR: Which Multiple Values Your SaaS
SDE, EBITDA and ARR multiples price the same SaaS differently. When each applies, which add-backs buyers accept, and how to make the number survive diligence.
How Long Does It Take to Sell a SaaS Business?
Selling a SaaS business typically takes three to six months. A stage-by-stage timeline, what really causes delays, and the prep that cuts weeks off the process.
Selling a Startup: How the Acquisition Works
Selling a startup takes three to six months across five stages: preparation, valuation, listing, diligence and close. What buyers check, and how to prepare.
SaaS Broker vs Marketplace: Which Sells Your SaaS for More
SaaS broker vs marketplace: how fees, buyer pool, timeline and control differ, and which route nets more for a bootstrapped or micro AI SaaS.
How to Finance a SaaS Acquisition: Loans, Seller Notes and Earnouts
How to finance a SaaS acquisition: SBA 7(a) loans, seller financing, earnouts and equity, with the terms buyers actually use to fund a deal.
SaaS Churn Rate: What Acquirers Consider Healthy
SaaS churn rate benchmarks buyers use in diligence: what counts as good monthly and annual churn, how net revenue retention factors in, and the impact.
How to Value an AI Company: A Practical Founder Guide
How to value an AI company: the metrics buyers actually weigh, the multiples to expect, and a step-by-step way to estimate a defensible range.
Buying a SaaS Business: The Complete Step-by-Step Guide
A first-time buyer guide to buying a SaaS business: sourcing deals, reading the metrics, running diligence, structuring an offer and closing in escrow.
SaaS Exit Strategy: How to Plan and Time Your Sale
A SaaS exit strategy is built long before the sale. How to plan the exit, clean up the metrics buyers reward, time the market and choose where to sell.
SaaS Due Diligence Checklist: What to Verify Before You Buy
A SaaS due diligence checklist and document request list: the financial, customer, technical, legal and AI-specific items to verify before you buy.
AI SaaS Acquisition Trends Shaping the 2026 Deal Market
AI SaaS acquisition trends for 2026: who is buying, how multiples are shifting, why inference margin is now underwritten, and what verified metrics signal.
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Buyouts is the M&A marketplace built for AI SaaS: verified metrics, vetted buyers, and escrow-backed closes. Browse anonymized listings by category and MRR, then get full marketplace access. Content here is educational only and not financial advice.
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