When buying or selling a business, it’s tempting to negotiate on the price at an early stage. However, a price is actually the result of underlying requirements and ambitions and also whether and how the purchaser and seller wish to continue further together.
The challenge
A business owner wanted to sell his business and was involved in talks with an interested party. Unfortunately, the negotiations reached a deadlock and the parties were entirely at odds with each other. This created an air of tension, given that the seller and the prospective purchaser were to work together. How did we get the negotiations moving again and what were the conditions for satisfactory collaboration?