Glossary · Deal process
Sell-side
Definition
Sell-side means the seller's side of a transaction: the owners, the company being sold and the bankers, lawyers and accountants who work for them. A sell-side process is the sale run by those advisers, usually with a teaser, an information memorandum, a data room and rounds of bids.
Where sell-side comes up
On this site, in our guides and in the conversations we've written up.
Use case Best virtual data room for M&A The same platforms support both, but the emphasis differs: sell-side prioritises controlled disclosure and Q&A; buy-side prioritises organising and analysing what you receive. Podcast · Selling Your Canadian Business: A Step-by-Step Guide to Maximizing Value and Securing Your Legacy Setting up the virtual data room for a sell-side deal How a well-structured virtual data room supports a smooth, competitive sell-side M&A process, aimed at Canadian mid-market business owners. 
Video · SS&C Intralinks Cisco and Accenture on using diligence AI to plan integration before close Worth watching for Cisco's Massimo Malizia on using AI contract review and data room documents to plan integration before close, and for the sell-side worry that shared data cannot be recalled. 
Video · Datasite Why seller preparation, not financing, now sets the pace of M&A An HBR Analytic Services panel, sponsored by Datasite, with Allied Universal's chief M&A officer Mike Beregovsky and BNP Paribas sell-side head Lukasz Dziarnowski. 
Video · The Motley Fool Datasite's CEO on what deal data shows and where AI agents fit in M&A The Motley Fool's Asit Sharma interviews Datasite CEO Rusty Wiley about what the company sees in its deal data and how AI agents fit into buy-side and sell-side work.
Video · SS&C Intralinks Cisco and Accenture on using diligence AI to plan integration before close Worth watching for Cisco's Massimo Malizia on using AI contract review and data room documents to plan integration before close, and for the sell-side worry that shared data cannot be recalled. Video · Datasite Why seller preparation, not financing, now sets the pace of M&A An HBR Analytic Services panel, sponsored by Datasite, with Allied Universal's chief M&A officer Mike Beregovsky and BNP Paribas sell-side head Lukasz Dziarnowski. Video · The Motley Fool Datasite's CEO on what deal data shows and where AI agents fit in M&A The Motley Fool's Asit Sharma interviews Datasite CEO Rusty Wiley about what the company sees in its deal data and how AI agents fit into buy-side and sell-side work. Related terms
Buy-side The buyer's side of a deal: the acquirer or investor, and the advisers who help them find, check and price a target. Teaser A one or two page summary of a business for sale, often anonymous, sent to possible buyers before they sign an NDA. Confidential information memorandum The detailed sales document a seller's adviser sends to buyers after they sign an NDA. Vendor due diligence Due diligence a seller commissions on its own business before a sale, so bidders get one independent report up front. Binding offer A buyer's final offer after due diligence, usually with a marked-up purchase agreement attached. Bolt-on acquisition A smaller company bought to add to an existing platform business, common in private equity. Carve-out The sale of a division or business unit that has to be separated from its parent company. Clean team A small, ring-fenced group allowed to see a competitor's sensitive data during a deal, under strict rules.