6 tips for writing great M&A investment teasers

In sales, it’s the pitch over Zoom or in person. In venture capital, there’s the product demo and 10-slide pitch deck. In the world of M&A, it’s the “investment teaser”.  If you’re exploring an exit for your business, this must-have document will be an essential driver of the top of your M&A conversation funnel. It must be accurate, interesting, and error-free.

M&A Investment teasers should be focused on key business details such as revenue growth, profitability, and core company strengths. It must avoid long-winded low-value or hyperbolic descriptions of the history or management team. The goal is to make a concise, credible case for why the company is worth the focus and attention of the acquirer. It should also contain clear call-to-actions for acquirers to take the next step. If you’re exploring an exit with Axial, we’ve created a free teaser wizard that guides you through this in the product. Get started here. Read on for the six essential elements of a great M&A investment teaser.

1. Provide a clear understanding of your company → Your teaser should include the following:
   • How the company generates revenue
   • When the company was founded
   • Sales and revenue mix of products and/or services
   • The various industry categories sold into
   • How the company distributes its products/services
   • The general background of the management team
   • Overall financial profile: three years of historical revenue and EBITDA and at least two years of projected revenue and EBITDA
   • Four to seven investment highlights that discuss the unique strengths of the company (e.g., market share leader, owns significant intellectual property, three-year historical revenue growth of 20+%, etc.)
2. Clearly state the goals of the proposed transaction → Are you looking for growth capital, an ownership transition, recapitalization, liquidity event, or consolidation of the shareholder base? Are you looking for a hands-on partner to work through important issues or challenges, or are you primarily looking for capital to scale your existing business? Prospective buyers will appreciate business owners who are upfront about their goals and their reasoning for wanting to conduct a transaction. This type of behavior builds a foundation of trust between you and any buyer(s) you decide to engage.
3. Be professional and direct → Make sure your teaser is professional in appearance and tone.
   • Always use a professional font (e.g., Times New Roman or Arial).
   • Send the teaser as a PDF file.
   • Do not capitalize words (e.g., AUTOMOTIVE AFTERPARTS SUPPLIER).
   • Avoid flowery language and gushing superlatives (e.g., “once-in-a-lifetime business opportunity”) or hyped-up adjectives (e.g., “wildly profitable”) to describe your business. These will hurt your credibility.
   • Triple-check for flawless grammar and error-free spelling.
4. Tell the Truth → Ensure that all information you present is truthful and not misleading. The worst way to start a transaction process is by being dishonest, withholding basic information, or exaggerating the actual or projected financial performance of your company. The odds are incredibly high that buyers will uncover any dishonesty at some stage of the due diligence process. If they do, your credibility will never recover.
5. Keep it concise → In almost all cases, it’s best to keep the teaser to one full page in length. This forces you to be concise and ensure every word adds value. Buyers review hundreds of acquisition opportunities each year. Make their time count. You want them to spend time thinking about how interesting your company is, not trying to understand what your company does and who it serves.
6. Keep it anonymous → Never prematurely disclose the name of your company or other identifying information in the teaser. Prospective buyers will review the teaser prior to executing a confidentiality agreement, so make sure they cannot identify your company based on information contained in the teaser. Protecting anonymity preserves your company’s freedom of action, avoids having competitors spread false or damaging rumors, and avoids alarming your employees.