Bud Brokers // The Process
Eight gates.
One closing.
Step by step
The confidential sale process
Step 01
01 Confidential consultation and seller intake
A private conversation about the business, your goals, timing and constraints. No documents required. We tell you honestly whether and how we can help, and what your state's transfer path means for the timeline.
Gate: mutual fit
Step 02
02 Financial review and transaction strategy
Reconciled financials, a preliminary valuation range, the likely buyer universe in your state, and a written strategy for structure, timing, real estate and confidentiality.
Gate: engagement agreement
Step 03
03 Anonymous teaser and marketing materials
A blind teaser that describes the opportunity without identifying it, and a CIM prepared for approved buyers. You approve both before anyone sees them.
Gate: your approval of every word
Step 04
04 Qualified buyer outreach and NDA
Direct, discreet contact with a targeted list of operators and capital. Buyers who respond sign an NDA and demonstrate financial capability before receiving anything more.
Gate: executed NDA plus proof of funds
Step 05
05 CIM access and management meetings
Approved buyers receive the CIM in a permissioned data room. Management meetings and site visits are scheduled to protect confidentiality with staff, customers and the landlord.
Gate: approved buyer only
Step 06
06 LOI negotiation and buyer selection
Offers modeled on a common basis. Structure, contingencies, approval condition, timing and terms negotiated. One buyer selected; exclusivity granted deliberately, not by default.
Gate: signed LOI
Step 07
07 Diligence, regulatory coordination and documents
One request list, one data room, one timeline. Change-of-ownership filings, background reviews, landlord consents and financing conditions tracked alongside the purchase agreement your counsel negotiates.
Gate: definitive agreement plus filings
Step 08
08 Closing
Approval lands, the closing checklist executes, funds transfer, transition begins. Any success fee is paid through the closing process, never before.
Gate: regulator approval, funds wired
Why the order matters
The gates are the point
Every step has a condition that must be met before the next one starts. The gates are what make the process confidential, what keep a seller from being pulled into an expensive negotiation with a buyer who could never pass ownership review, and what keep the deal aligned with the regulator's clock. A process without gates is a listing.
What are the steps to sell a cannabis business?
Information moves one way
What moves at each stage
Information moves in one direction and only after a gate. Before the NDA, a buyer sees an anonymous teaser and nothing else. After NDA, approval and proof of funds, the CIM and a management meeting. After a signed LOI, the diligence data room, one stage at a time. After a definitive agreement, the regulator's application file. After approval, the keys.
- Before NDA
- Anonymous teaser: license type, market, scale band, process note. No name, no address, no numbers.
- After NDA and approval
- The CIM, normalized financials, market position data, a management meeting scheduled to protect staff.
- After LOI
- Data room by stage: financial, regulatory, lease, people, tax. Watermarked where practical. Access logged.
- After definitive agreement
- Change-of-ownership application, background materials, landlord consents, financing conditions.
- After approval
- Closing checklist, funds, transition plan, the announcement you control.
The conditions
What has to be true before each step starts
- Gate 01
- mutual fit
- Gate 02
- engagement agreement
- Gate 03
- your approval of every word
- Gate 04
- executed NDA plus proof of funds
- Gate 05
- approved buyer only
- Gate 06
- signed LOI
- Gate 07
- definitive agreement plus filings
- Gate 08
- regulator approval, funds wired
Confidential consultation and seller intake
Financial review and transaction strategy
Anonymous teaser and marketing materials
Qualified buyer outreach and NDA
CIM access and management meetings
LOI negotiation and buyer selection
Diligence, regulatory coordination and documents
Closing
Nothing that could identify your business moves before an NDA. No buyer sees financials before proving they can close and pass ownership review. Nothing closes before the regulator says yes.
Process questions
Timing, agreements, and who sees what
4 answered
- 01How long does the cannabis M&A process take?
- It depends on readiness, license type, state and buyer type. Preparation can take weeks to months; marketing and negotiation commonly run several months; diligence and change-of-ownership approval add more and vary widely by state. We give a realistic timeline in step two.
- 02What happens at the first consultation?
- A private conversation about your business, your goals and your timing. We do not need financial statements for that call. We will tell you whether we can help, what a process would look like in your state, and what it would cost to find out more.
- 03When do I sign an engagement agreement?
- After the first consultation, before we do substantive work on your financials or valuation. The agreement sets scope, term, confidentiality and fees. Fee terms are private and never published.
- 04Who sees my financials?
- Us, under the engagement agreement. Then approved buyers who have executed an NDA and demonstrated financial capability, inside a permissioned data room, with access we can revoke.
The first gate asks for nothing
A private conversation. No documents. No listing.
// notice
Bud Brokers provides business transaction and M&A advisory services. Bud Brokers does not provide legal, tax, accounting, investment, securities or regulatory advice. Services and transaction structures may 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 solicitation of an offer to purchase any security or licensed cannabis interest.