Domain 04 · The Handover
The moment a company changes hands.
Sell-side · Buy-side · Valuation · Exit
Black Key Advisory is the M&A and business brokerage arm of Black Key Holdings. We run confidential sale, acquisition, valuation and exit processes for founder-led companies, and we sit on the founder's side of the table because we are founders and operators ourselves.
The practice
Black Key Advisory is a confidential M&A advisory and business brokerage practice operated by Black Key Holdings, LLC, an operator-first holding company established in 2017. It advises privately held, founder-led companies on sell-side transactions, acquisitions, business valuation and exit readiness, with industry specializations in licensed cannabis, digital marketing agencies, software and SaaS, e-commerce and consumer brands, fintech and financial services, and real-estate-adjacent service businesses.
Two sides of the table
We advise on both sides of a transaction, never both sides of the same one. Sell-side engagements prepare, market and close the sale of a founder-led company. Buy-side engagements source, evaluate and structure acquisitions for operators, strategics, family offices and investors with a defined mandate.
Seller
Sell-side advisory
Transaction readiness, preliminary valuation, confidential teaser and CIM, qualified buyer outreach, NDA control, offer and LOI evaluation, negotiation, diligence coordination, and management through closing.
Sell-side advisoryAcquirer
Buy-side advisory
Acquisition criteria, confidential off-market sourcing, preliminary financial and operating review, seller introductions, structure and LOI support, diligence coordination, and process management to close.
Buy-side advisory
Why an operator runs your sale differently
Most intermediaries have sold companies. Fewer have built, operated and held them. Black Key Holdings owns and operates marketing, software and equity positions, so our advisory work starts from the operating reality of a business, not from a template CIM. That changes what we value, who we call, and how we defend the number.
A business broker lists. An investment bank runs an auction. An operator asks a different first question: what is actually driving the cash flow here, and who is the one buyer for whom this company is worth the most? We build the answer before we build the deck.
Our in-house marketing and software engines are not window dressing. When preparation calls for it, we can tighten a company's revenue reporting, clean its attribution, or fix the conversion leak a buyer's diligence would have found. The company that goes to market is the company a buyer wants to own.
We also take equity and real-asset positions ourselves. We know what it feels like to wire the money. That discipline shows up in how we qualify buyers, structure earnouts, and protect a seller from a process that drags.
What we do
Black Key Advisory offers four core services: sell-side advisory for owners preparing a confidential sale, buy-side advisory for acquirers with a mandate, business valuation for owners who need a defensible number, and exit planning for founders who want to sell in twelve to thirty-six months and want the multiple to be higher when they do.
- 01Sell-side advisoryPrepare · Market · Negotiate · CloseA controlled, confidential sale process run for the owner, from readiness through the wire.
- 02Buy-side advisoryCriteria · Source · Structure · CloseOff-market sourcing and disciplined evaluation for acquirers who know what they want.
- 03Business valuationSDE · EBITDA · Multiples · DriversA defensible range, the drivers behind it, and what moves it before you go to market.
- 04Exit planning12 to 36 months outThe work that raises the number: normalized financials, reduced owner dependence, cleaner contracts.
Industries where the details decide the deal
We specialize where licensing, platform dependence, or revenue quality make a transaction harder than it looks: licensed cannabis, digital marketing agencies, software and SaaS, e-commerce and consumer brands, fintech and financial services, and real-estate-adjacent service businesses. Each has its own buyer universe, valuation drivers and diligence traps.
- 01CannabisDispensaries, cultivation, processing, brands. Change-of-control approvals and 280E change the math.
- 02Digital agenciesRecurring retainers, client concentration, key-person risk.
- 03Software & SaaSARR quality, net retention, gross margin, code ownership.
- 04E-commerce & consumerChannel mix, inventory, contribution margin, platform risk.
- 05Fintech & financial servicesLicensing, compliance history, partner banks, unit economics.
- 06Real-estate servicesProperty management, brokerages, service contracts, owned real estate carve-outs.
Confidential from the first conversation
News of a potential sale can reach employees, vendors, landlords, customers, regulators and competitors before it reaches a buyer. Our process is built to prevent that. Sellers are never identified publicly. Qualified buyers execute an NDA and demonstrate financial capability before receiving anything that could identify a company.
Our public site describes a service. It never lists a company. Opportunities are shared only with approved buyers whose criteria match, inside a permissioned environment, under NDA, with access that can be revoked immediately.
The first inquiry form asks for nothing sensitive. Financial detail moves only after we have spoken, and only through a secure document workflow. Submitting a form does not create an advisory relationship, and we will say so on the form.
Nothing moves before the signature
How a transaction moves
A sell-side process at Black Key Advisory has eight steps: confidential consultation and intake, financial review and transaction strategy, anonymous teaser and marketing materials, qualified buyer outreach under NDA, CIM access and management meetings, LOI negotiation and buyer selection, diligence and definitive documentation, and closing with the success fee paid through the closing process.
- 01Confidential consultation and intake
- 02Financial review and transaction strategy
- 03Anonymous teaser and marketing materials
- 04Qualified buyer outreach and NDA
- 05CIM access and management meetings
- 06LOI negotiation and buyer selection
- 07Diligence, regulatory coordination and documents
- 08Closing
Advisory · Questions
Questions owners ask
What is the difference between a business broker and an M&A advisor?
A business broker typically markets smaller Main Street businesses through listings and handles a high volume of transactions with a standardized process. An M&A advisor runs a confidential, tailored process for larger or more complex companies, builds a targeted buyer list, and negotiates structure as well as price. Black Key Advisory runs the advisory model, and applies it to companies of the size a broker would normally list.
How much does Black Key Advisory charge?
Engagements are structured based on transaction size, complexity, jurisdiction and scope. Sell-side engagements may include a success fee payable upon completion of a transaction. Terms are discussed privately and documented in the engagement agreement.
Will anyone know my company is for sale?
Not from us. We do not publish listings. Your company is described anonymously in a teaser, and only buyers who have signed an NDA and been approved receive information that could identify it. Your employees, customers, landlord and competitors learn about a sale when you decide they should.
What size of company do you work with?
Founder-led companies where the outcome matters to the owner personally: typically established, cash-generative businesses that a strategic, operator or financial buyer would want to own. If you are not sure whether your company fits, a confidential consultation is the fastest way to find out.
Do you work in every state?
Transaction structure and the services we can provide vary by jurisdiction, and business brokerage and licensed-industry transfers carry state-specific requirements. We confirm what applies to your situation in the first conversation and coordinate with your counsel where a jurisdiction requires it.
Can you help if I already have a buyer?
Yes. A direct mandate with an identified buyer is a common engagement. We manage the valuation, structure, negotiation and diligence so the deal that closes is the deal you were promised.
There is a door. This is how you reach it.
Notice
Black Key Holdings provides business transaction and M&A advisory services. We do not provide legal, tax, accounting, investment, securities or regulatory advice. Services and transaction structures vary by jurisdiction. Each party should retain its own qualified legal, tax, accounting and regulatory professionals. Nothing on this website constitutes an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to purchase any security or licensed business interest.