Clients ask how long a deal will take and the honest answer is: as long as nobody owns the timetable. This is the seven-week plan we use for a mid-market acquisition, and why each week is the length it is.
Week one: the plan, in writing
Before diligence starts, both sides agree a closing date and a list of who does what. The fixed-scope quote goes out the same day. Nothing else happens until this page exists.
Weeks two to four: diligence in parallel
Legal, financial and tax diligence run at the same time, not in sequence. The partner reads the contracts that move the price and sends a two-page summary, not a report nobody opens.
Weeks five to seven: documents and closing
The sale agreement is negotiated against the diligence findings, not from a blank template. Signing and completion are set for the date agreed in week one. We have missed it twice in nine years.
What makes it slip
A junior on the file, a lender who joins late, or a seller who has not told the family. Every one of them is a week-one question, so we ask it in week one.
