๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ธ๐ฒ๐๐ฝ๐น๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ &๐ ๐ก๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ ๐ฎ ๐๐ฒ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ ๐ผ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐น Selling an Am
By Chris Fryburger ยท November 5, 2026 ยท Curated by George's Blog
๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ธ๐ฒ๐๐ฝ๐น๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ &๐ ๐ก๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ ๐ฎ ๐๐ฒ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ ๐ผ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐น
Selling an Amazon, Walmart, TikTok Shop or other marketplace agency or SaaS creates a basic problem: there are ๐ฝ๐น๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ &๐ ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฟ๐บ๐, ๐ฏ๐๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐น๐น๐ ๐๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐บ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ธ๐ฒ๐.
Some know consumer brands but not agencies, service businesses or marketplace SaaS. Others lack the buyer intelligence to know who is actually active and capable of closing. Larger firms may be excellent at larger deals, but a $5 million or $10 million agency can quickly become a ๐น๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐.
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐๐๐ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐บ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป ๐ต๐ถ๐ด๐ต. Owners pay retainers, management spends months preparing materials and answering questions, and lawyers and accountants keep billing. The process can consume enormous time and money without producing a transaction.
I have worked with roughly a dozen M&A firms in this market. The differences in specialization, attention and execution are substantial. ๐๐ ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ผ๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐๐ป๐ถ๐๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฏ๐๐ถ๐น๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐๐.
Much of M&A is information processing: company and buyer research, financial analysis, teasers and CIMs, data-room preparation, diligence, contract review, meeting preparation, process tracking and follow-up. AI can already accelerate much of this work, just as it is changing legal and financial services. That should reduce time and unnecessary cost.
Experienced advisers, attorneys and accountants remain essential for valuation, positioning, buyer fit, negotiation, legal and tax issues, relationships and the problems that determine whether a deal closes. Their time should be spent there.
๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ธ๐ฒ๐๐ฝ๐น๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ป๐ถ๐ฒ๐ ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฎ ๐บ๐ผ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐น ๐ฏ๐๐ถ๐น๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ถ๐ฟ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐๐๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ป๐๐ฎ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป: deep marketplace expertise, proprietary buyer intelligence, senior judgment and AI-enabled execution. That means better research, better matchmaking, faster preparation, lower costs, stronger communication and more senior attention.
๐ง๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐ถ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด๐น๐ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ป๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ต. I believe specialized marketplace M&A can be redesigned around what technology now does efficiently while concentrating experienced people on the work that actually changes the outcome.