The Legacy Energy Consulting Business Sale Process: Week 1

September 8, 2026

Welcome to our 7-week overview of the business sale process used by Legacy Energy Consulting. Selling a business involves unfamiliar terms, confidential preparation, buyer outreach, due diligence, negotiations, closing logistics, and transition planning. This series is designed to help owners understand the Legacy Energy Consulting process.

A successful transaction depends on more than finding a buyer. It requires experience, judgment, preparation, confidentiality, negotiating leverage, and careful coordination from start to finish.

Legacy Energy Consulting helps protect the seller’s interests at each stage, manages the details that can affect value and closing certainty, and gives owners the guidance they need to make confident decisions while continuing to run the business.

We begin with common terms our clients are likely to hear from us during our process.

APA — Asset Purchase Agreement. The primary agreement used when a buyer purchases selected assets of a business. It defines what transfers, what liabilities are assumed, and the obligations of each party.

CIM — Confidential Information Memorandum. A professional, confidential marketing document shared with qualified buyers after appropriate protections are in place. It presents the company’s story, performance, operations, and growth opportunity at a high level.

Due Diligence. The buyer’s review of the company before closing. Diligence helps confirm the buyer’s understanding of the business and can affect price, structure, closing conditions, and post-closing protections.

EBITDA — Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization. A common measure of operating profitability that buyers often use when discussing valuation.

Adjusted EBITDA. EBITDA adjusted for items that may not reflect normal ongoing performance. Because it can influence value, adjustments should be supportable and carefully reviewed.

FMV — Fair Market Value. An estimate of what a business may be worth in a competitive market. Actual transaction value can vary based on buyer interest, strategic fit, structure, and negotiation.

Holdback — A portion of the purchase price set aside after closing to address negotiated risks, adjustments, or obligations. The timing and release terms matter to the seller’s actual proceeds.

LOI — Letter of Intent. A preliminary written offer outlining the major business terms of a proposed transaction. It sets the framework for diligence and final documentation.

NDA — Non-Disclosure Agreement. An agreement signed before sensitive information is shared with a prospective buyer. It helps protect financial, customer, employee, and proprietary information.

Teaser — A short anonymous summary used to introduce the opportunity while protecting the company’s identity until a buyer is qualified and confidentiality protections are in place.

VDR — Virtual Data Room. A secure online repository used to share approved materials with qualified buyers and advisors while maintaining control over confidential information.

Client Testimonial

“We initially called Chad & Tyler at Legacy Energy Consulting for a business appraisal. That soon led to 17 potential Buyers and initiated NDA's. Mind you, this was in the middle of the heating season and we had a business partner out for severe health issues.

Buckle up, it's quite a journey, knowing what we know now, we would recommend that no one attempt this on their own. Legacy is well worth every penny spent in marketing your business and filtering all communications with the potential Buyers. Chad really kept us grounded and helped with the overwhelming process of document procurement, due-diligence etc. His background in the industry, coupled with past experiences and inner workings of deals of all sizes is truly invaluable. Chad will not overwhelm you with the details further up the timeline/process unnecessarily. As the next phase is approaching, he will then start to prepare you. Communication is tantamount and he was always available to help keep the ball rolling forward. If memory serves correctly, Chad was working two much larger deals after we started the process and we always felt like we were his only client at the time. 

Chad & Tyler connected us with the right buyer that was cohesive with regards to employee satisfaction, customer care and safety. Obviously, any family business is close-knit and has emotions tied to employees and customers, so this was paramount to us. All in all, we handed the keys to our business over to a buyer, that realized and appreciated the value in what we had created top to bottom and that is a great feeling in the end. We have since referred Legacy to two other potential clients, because of our amazing experience together. Chad and Tyler truly care and are authentic.”

Derrick Grice & The PacWest Propane Families,
PacWest Propane, Covington, WA