Partner with us to bring prepared owners to the table
Canadian business owners sell once, and most do it without preparation. Owners lose value. Advisers watch engagements stall. Acquirers lose deals to delays, re-pricing and collapsed processes. Is everyone you work with ready?
The largest business ownership transfer in Canadian history.
Many Canadian business owners expect to sell or transfer their businesses in the next decade. In the third quarter of 2026, Statistics Canada reported that 20.3 per cent of Canadian businesses intend to sell or transfer ownership within ten years. For acquirers, that is a deep pipeline of potential targets. The constraint is not supply. It is owners who are ready.
The challenge? Most are unprepared
According to recent industry studies, In a 2023 survey, CFIB found that 9 per cent of small business owners have a formal succession plan. The average business owner sells once in their lifetime, while buyers and their advisors do this professionally, multiple times per year. This information asymmetry leads to:
- In our experience, preparation protects value.
- Tax planning before a sale can matter. The lifetime capital gains exemption can shelter part of the gain on qualifying small business corporation shares, up to a limit set by the Income Tax Act. Eligibility depends on how the business is structured and sold
- Failed transactions after significant professional fees are invested
- Post-sale regret and emotional distress
- Extended timelines that disrupt businesses and families
The owners you serve or hope to acquire need expert guidance. More than that, they need education before they engage professionals, so they understand the process, ask the right questions and make informed decisions.
Canadian M&A market
- 1,068 deals worth $227-billion (July to November 2024)
- Private equity activity up 44 per cent year over year
- Middle-market deals account for 60 to 70 per cent of volume
- Transaction timelines extending due to complexity
- Competition Bureau scrutiny increasing
Sources: PwC Canada, Bennett Jones, Fasken, Statistics Canada
Target market size
- 72,787 businesses with $5-million to $20-million revenue (verified)
- Estimated 90,000 to 110,000 businesses with $5-million to $50-million revenue
- BDC serves more than 95,000 SMEs, demonstrating market scale
Sources: PwC Canada, Bennett Jones, Fasken, Statistics Canada
The resource owners, advisers and acquirers have been waiting for
Written by Karl Sigerist, an active M&A advisor with more than 30 years of experience executing middle-market transactions, Selling Your Canadian Business is the only comprehensive guide specifically designed for Canadian business owners.
Unlike generic or U.S. focused M&A books, this guide addresses the unique aspects of the Canadian market:
- Canadian tax structures; Lifetime Capital Gains Exemption optimization, share vs. asset sales, holding company strategies
- Provincial variations; regulatory differences across provinces
- Investment Canada Act; foreign investment requirements and compliance
- PIPEDA; privacy law considerations in M&A processes
- Canadian valuation norms; market multiples and methodologies specific to the Canadian middle market
- Personal transition planning; identity, purpose and life after the sale
Partner with us
Expert interviews
Become a featured guest expert in Selling Your Canadian Business: A Step-by-Step Guide to Maximizing Value and Securing Your Legacy , an interview series hosted by David Prowse, CPA, CA, CVA, CEPA, CM&AA, and based on the book Selling Your Canadain Business
Each episode features a one-on-one conversation with a single subject-matter expert from a distinct professional discipline -- wealth management, accounting, law, M&A advisory, operations or executive coaching. Episodes are distributed and promoted jointly to an audience of Canadian business owners.
Acquirers are welcome too
Acquirers of Canadian businesses: share the patterns you see across your portfolio. In a 30 to 45 minute one-on-one episode hosted by Shivani Patel, you explain what separates ready sellers from unready ones.
Guests speak from patterns across acquisitions, not details of specific deals. Episodes reach Canadian owners exploring a sale privately.
Affiliate marketing program
If you create content for Canadian business owners, through a blog, newsletter, podcast, YouTube channel, or social media presence, you can earn commissions by recommending Selling Your Canadian Business through the Amazon Associates affiliate program
Bulk purchase
If you work with Canadian business owners, If you work with Canadian business owners or want to acquire their businesses, whether as an accountant, lawyer, wealth adviser, business coach, professional association, strategic acquirer or investment firm, you can purchase Selling Your Canadian Business at wholesale pricing through our reseller program.
Relationship partners
Move beyond gifting books to building deeper collaboration.
Co-brand your presence, host joint educational events and formalize referral arrangements that benefit both the owners you serve and your practice or acquisition program
Strategic partners
Make Exit Planning a Core Service Offering.
With dedicated partnership management, quarterly co-hosted events, custom content development, and formal SLA-backed referral protocols, we become an extension of your client service team.
Enterprise solutions
Fully customized partnership programs for major institutions.
We work with major accounting firms, law firms, wealth management platforms, banking institutions, corporate development teams, private equity firms and family offices to develop customized partnership programs that align with your goals, audience and brand..