Prime acquisitions, exclusive to you.

ExitGate's buy-side solution serves private acquirers, family offices, and strategic groups targeting owner-operated businesses across North America. Sector and scale are defined by your mandate — not ours. We work a small book of mandates at a time. You get the principal on the call — not a BDR.

Request intro call Build your mandate

Aligned

Retained, not commissioned.

A flat monthly retainer plus a capped success fee on close. We don't get paid more for pushing a worse deal.

Proprietary

Off-market by default.

Our origination starts cold. We approach owners directly — most of what we surface has never been listed.

Founder-led

Direct line. No layers.

Every conversation — sourcing call, diligence review, LOI — runs through the principal. Small book, full attention.

A note from the desk

"Every year, excellent businesses change hands quietly — between owners who already trust each other. The whole job is making sure you're one of those people."

ExitGate exists to put you in those rooms.

02 — Mandate builder

Draft your thesis. We'll take it from there.

A working sketch of what you're hunting for. Submit it and we'll come back with a written intake plan within one business day.

Check size (EV)

$25M$100M

Sector

Profile

EBITDA margin floor

03 — Engagement

Retained, disciplined, quiet.

A rolling 90-day engagement built around four phases. No listings, no auctions — every conversation we open is proprietary.

Thesis & mandate

Two intake sessions to define check size, sector, geography, and post-close plan. Output: a one-page mandate we hunt against.

Week 1 · 2 sessions

Origination

Direct cold outreach to owners in your thesis. Curated weekly drops — only what fits the brief reaches your inbox.

Weeks 2–8 · Weekly drops

Diligence & LOI

We assemble the data room, model the thesis, and help structure the offer. Your counsel drafts; we negotiate terms.

Weeks 6–12 · Full data room

Close & handover

Escrow, reps & warranties, asset transfer. We stay through a 30-day founder handover — no exceptions.

Weeks 10–14 · 30-day handover

Engagements are retained. Three to five active mandates at any time.

Start the conversation

04 — The honest part

What we will and won't do.

Most buy-side advisors blur this. We'd rather be clear up front so the wrong-fit acquirers don't waste a retainer.

We don't

Send you a spreadsheet of broker listings.
Take success-only engagements that misalign incentives.
Run open auctions or competitive bidding processes.
Promise a specific number of intros or a guaranteed close.
Hand the relationship to a junior after kickoff.

We do

Approach owners cold, on your behalf, by name.
Sign a retainer with a capped, close-conditional success fee.
Keep the book small enough that every mandate stays warm.
Tell you when a deal isn't worth pursuing — early.
Stay on the call from intake through 30 days post-close.

05 — Questions

The questions serious acquirers ask.

How is this different from a broker?

Brokers represent sellers and earn on the close — their incentive is volume. We're retained by you, paid a flat monthly fee, and our success fee is capped and paid only on your first closed acquisition. Our incentive is fit, not throughput.

What's the fee structure?

A monthly retainer for the duration of the engagement, plus a capped success fee on close. Exact figures depend on mandate complexity and check size — discussed live during intake.

Do you cover sourcing only, or full advisory?

Both. Sourcing is the hard part — but we also model the thesis, build the data room, negotiate terms, and coordinate the close. First-time acquirers lean on us heavier; experienced operators use us as a pure origination desk.

Is there a mandate minimum?

We're a fit for acquirers with committed equity in place and a clear mandate. If you're still at the exploratory stage — no thesis, no capital — we're not the right desk yet.

How many mandates do you run at once?

Intentionally few. Each engagement consumes real principal time, so we keep the book small enough that every mandate stays warm. If we're at capacity, we'll tell you and give you a date.

Geographic coverage?

North America. If your thesis sits outside that footprint, we're not the right desk — we'd rather be honest than stretch.

06 — Next step

Tell us what
you're hunting for.

A founder responds within one business day. All conversations are covered under a mutual NDA signed at intake.

→ 30-min call with the principal — no BDRs
→ Written intake plan returned afterward
→ No list-sharing, no obligation

Direct

partners@exitgate.co