Selling a business you've spent years building is the most consequential financial decision of your life. Whether your business is in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Riyadh, Jeddah, Doha, or anywhere across the GCC — most founders do this once, with no benchmark for what good looks like and no leverage against professional buyers who run transactions every year. Corvian Advisory manages your complete sell-side mandate across UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Oman — preparation, valuation, CIM, buyer outreach, negotiation, and close. CFA Charterholder. CA. FRM. Big 4-trained. 100% confidential.
Across the GCC — UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Oman — the same structural information problem exists. Professional acquirers, private equity funds, and cross-border strategics run transactions every year. Most sellers do it once. That experience gap consistently produces the same outcomes: underpriced deals, poorly structured terms, missed international buyers, and post-closing disputes that erode the value that was agreed at the table.
A sell-side advisor levels the playing field. We run a structured, competitive sale process — positioning your business to attract multiple credible buyers, driving competitive tension that pushes the price to its genuine market ceiling, and negotiating the structure that protects you after completion. Not just the headline number — the full economic outcome.
"The best time to start preparing your business for sale is two years before you want to sell. The second best time is today. Either way, the preparation determines the price."
Corvian Advisory's sell-side mandate covers the complete exit lifecycle: business preparation, independent valuation, institutional-quality CIM, targeted buyer outreach across UAE, GCC, India, UK, Europe, and Asia, managed due diligence, negotiation, and post-close obligations. Managed personally by a CFA Charterholder and Chartered Accountant with Big 4 and top-tier GCC transaction experience.
The single most effective tool for maximising sale price is competitive tension — multiple credible buyers in parallel, each knowing others are in the room. A bilateral negotiation with one buyer gives away your price discovery and leverage from the first conversation. We design the process to maintain both, throughout.
Buyers form their first impression of your business from the CIM — and that first impression drives every offer, every question, and every negotiation position. We produce CIMs to investment bank standards: CFA-quality financial analysis, independent EBITDA normalisation, and a narrative that frames your business as the strategic opportunity it genuinely is.
The buyer who values your UAE business most may be in India, Saudi Arabia, the UK, or Singapore. Local business brokers reach only their regional contact base. We approach strategic buyers, PE-backed platforms, family offices, and sovereign investors across GCC, EMEA, APAC, and beyond — finding the buyer who places the highest strategic value on what you have built.
Employees, customers, suppliers, and competitors should not know your business is for sale until you choose to disclose. We run a fully confidential process throughout — anonymised teaser, NDAs before any information is shared, staged release, and a qualified buyer list that keeps the process controlled. Your business and reputation are protected at every stage.
Price is one variable. Earn-outs, working capital peg, completion accounts, escrow, deferred consideration, reps and warranties, and seller lock-up periods can all add or subtract material value from what you actually receive post-close. We negotiate the full package — not just the headline — so you know what you are actually walking away with.
The gap between what a UAE or GCC business is worth today and what it could achieve in a well-run, well-prepared sale process is frequently 20–40%. Pre-sale preparation — identifying and addressing the issues buyers will find in due diligence before they find them — adds measurable value and prevents sales from collapsing mid-process on avoidable issues.
For businesses planning an exit 6–24 months ahead, we run a pre-sale readiness review that identifies the top issues most likely to affect valuation or deal completion, then works through the preparation checklist systematically. For businesses ready to go to market now, we run preparation in parallel with CIM production — compressing the timeline without compromising quality.
Common pre-sale issues we find in UAE and GCC businesses: unaudited or poorly prepared management accounts, owner-dependent revenue with undocumented customer relationships, inadequate processes and over-reliance on key people, outstanding UAE Corporate Tax registration or filing issues, related-party transactions at non-arm's-length terms, and EOSB liabilities not properly accounted for. We find these before buyers do — and address them rather than disclose them under pressure.
Audited accounts where possible, clean management accounts, consistent accounting policies, documented EBITDA normalisation with clear add-back bridge, and separation of personal from business costs. Every buyer will verify this — prepare it properly first.
Signed customer contracts or service agreements, formal pricing documentation, renewal terms, and customer concentration analysis prepared and explained. Buyers will verify every revenue claim against underlying contracts.
A business that stops when you stop is valued less. We help document processes, build management depth on paper, and create a transition plan that demonstrates the business can operate without you — which is what buyers are actually paying for.
CT registration confirmation, filing status, FTA correspondence review, free zone qualification assessment, and related-party transaction pricing review. Every sophisticated buyer will examine this — being prepared means controlling the narrative.
Trade licence currency, visa compliance, WPS payroll records, labour law adherence, customer and supplier contract review, and outstanding disputes or litigation — identified and addressed proactively, not disclosed under buyer diligence pressure.
A structured, six-stage process designed to generate competitive tension, maintain confidentiality throughout, and maximise the price and terms of your exit. Same advisor leading every stage — no hand-offs.
Exit strategy, timing, valuation expectation alignment, pre-sale preparation, financial normalisation, and data room foundation.
Independent valuation establishing your price anchor. Institutional-quality CIM and anonymised teaser document produced.
Targeted, confidential approach to 15–30 qualified buyers — UAE and GCC strategic, PE, family offices, and international buyers.
Indicative offers received. Shortlist selected. Management presentations run. All buyer Q&A managed through us — you stay focused on the business.
Best offer selected. Exclusivity negotiated. Buyer due diligence managed — data room, query responses, site visits — protecting your position throughout.
Final price and deal terms. SPA commercial review. Regulatory approvals coordination. Completion and funds transfer. Post-close support.
Every sell-side mandate includes the following — managed personally by the same principal from first conversation to deal close. No elements outsourced, no stages delegated.
We build an independent, multi-methodology valuation before any buyer conversation — DCF, EV/EBITDA comparables, and asset-based approaches calibrated to current UAE and GCC deal data. This is your anchor: the number you walk in with, the price you defend, and the floor below which you walk away.
We produce a Confidential Information Memorandum to investment bank standards — not a PowerPoint with your management accounts attached. A great CIM generates serious offers and competitive tension from the first read. A poor one gives buyers ammunition to discount before they've even met you.
We identify and approach the buyers most likely to value your business at the highest level — not just the easiest buyers to reach. Our buyer universe spans UAE and GCC strategic acquirers, PE-backed platforms, Indian corporates, European and UK strategics, family offices, and sovereign-linked investors.
We manage the buyer's due diligence on your behalf — controlling what is shared, when, and with whom. An unmanaged diligence process creates leverage for buyers to renegotiate. We structure the data room, manage all buyer queries, and prevent your management team being disrupted by constant requests during a period when you need them running the business.
Price is one number. The structure surrounding it — earn-outs, working capital peg, completion accounts mechanism, escrow, representations and warranties, deferred consideration, and seller lock-up — can add or subtract significant value from what you actually receive. We negotiate the full package with full commercial context.
Family business exits carry dimensions that straightforward trade sales do not — legacy, family governance, staff who have been with the business for decades, customers whose relationship is personal, and the emotional weight of ending something you built. We are experienced in this process and approach it with the care it deserves alongside the rigour the transaction requires.
The Confidential Information Memorandum is the single most important document in your sale process. It is the first substantive thing buyers read — and it shapes every offer, every question, and every negotiation position that follows. Most UAE business CIMs are a PowerPoint presentation with management accounts attached. Ours are institutional-grade documents that make buyers take your valuation seriously before they meet you.
A Corvian CIM is produced to investment bank standards: CFA-quality financial analysis with a fully documented normalisation bridge, professional commercial narrative positioning your competitive strengths accurately and compellingly, independently verified financial statements, and a transaction rationale that explains why a buyer should pay a premium for your business — not just what the business is.
"The quality of a CIM signals to a sophisticated buyer exactly what kind of advisor is running the process — and whether the valuation expectation is worth taking seriously."
Our CIMs consistently attract indicative offers from institutional buyers who would not engage with a standard broker listing — because the quality of the document signals the quality of the business and the credibility of the process. That signal is worth real money.
Different buyer types value your GCC business differently — and offer very different deal experiences. We identify which buyer profile is right for your business — UAE strategic, GCC family office, PE, Indian corporate, or European strategic — then approach them with a targeted, qualified process designed to create genuine competition.
Businesses in adjacent sectors acquiring for market share, geographic expansion, capability, or talent. Often pay the highest multiples because they can extract synergies unavailable to financial buyers. Particularly active in healthcare, logistics, education, and professional services.
Foreign corporates using UAE as a GCC platform acquisition. Indian conglomerates and family groups are the most active cross-border buyers in the UAE mid-market. UK and European strategics focus on professional services, technology, and financial services businesses with GCC scale.
GCC-focused PE funds, MENA PE-backed platform companies seeking add-on acquisitions, and growth equity investors. Disciplined, process-oriented buyers focused on EBITDA quality, scalability, and management depth. Common in healthcare, B2B services, and logistics businesses above AED 20M.
GCC family offices, UAE-based high net worth investors, and direct family capital allocators. Motivated by portfolio diversification, passive income yield, and UAE business ownership. Growing significantly in the mid-market as GCC family offices professionalise direct investment programmes.
Business valuation in the UAE and GCC is not as simple as applying a sector multiple to your reported EBITDA. The achievable multiple depends on normalised EBITDA (not management accounts EBITDA), growth trajectory and credibility, earnings quality and revenue sustainability, customer concentration, owner-dependency, audit quality, and the deal structure you are willing to accept.
We produce an independent, CFA-standard valuation before any buyer conversation — whether your business is in Dubai, Riyadh, Doha, or anywhere across the GCC — giving you a credible price range, the factors that could push it higher, and the issues most likely to suppress it. You walk into the first buyer meeting knowing exactly what your business is worth and why, rather than finding out in negotiation.
"An independent valuation is the single most powerful tool a seller can have before starting a buyer conversation. It is the difference between anchoring the price and reacting to one."
The table shows indicative mid-market EBITDA multiples in the UAE and GCC by sector — based on closed deal intelligence from 2025–2026. Get a full independent valuation →
| Sector | EV/EBITDA | Key Driver |
|---|---|---|
| Technology & SaaS | 10x – 18x | ARR, churn, NRR, moat |
| Financial Services | 8x – 15x | AUM, licence, client retention |
| Healthcare | 8x – 14x | Specialist mix, licence |
| Education & Training | 7x – 12x | Enrolment, KHDA rating |
| Real Estate Services | 5x – 9x | Transaction volume, brand |
| Logistics | 6x – 10x | Contract length, routes |
| Professional Services | 5x – 9x | Client concentration, contracts |
| F&B & Retail | 4x – 8x | Brand, locations, concept |
| Industrial & Manufacturing | 4x – 7x | Backlog, asset condition |
Illustrative mid-market ranges based on Corvian Advisory GCC deal intelligence, 2025–2026. Actual multiples vary by earnings quality, deal size, and structure.
Illustrative scenarios based on the type of sell-side mandates we advise on. Client details remain strictly confidential.
A UAE healthcare founder sought to exit after 14 years of building a multi-clinic specialist practice. Financials were not institutionally clean — owner remuneration was commingled with operating costs, related-party lease arrangements complicated the earnings picture, and the management team below the founder was thin. We spent 8 weeks on pre-sale preparation before approaching any buyer.
A UAE-based B2B technology business received an unsolicited offer from one buyer and engaged us to evaluate whether it was fair. Our independent valuation confirmed the offer was 35% below market. We ran a structured competitive process — approaching 22 strategic buyers across UAE, India, UK, and Europe — generating six NDAs and three serious indicative offers within 8 weeks of process launch.
A second-generation family logistics business in the UAE sought exit after 22 years. The owners had multiple priorities: maximising price, ensuring continuity for long-standing employees, and finding a buyer who would respect the company's culture and relationships. Stakeholder alignment within the family took six weeks before any external work could begin.
All fees are agreed in a signed engagement letter before work begins. No hidden charges. No scope creep billing. Success fee aligned with deal completion — we are motivated to close the right deal, at the right price, on the right terms.
Monthly retainer during the active sale process. Covers all advisory work — valuation, CIM production, buyer outreach, process management, data room, and negotiation support. Retainer typically credited against the success fee on completion.
Success fee payable only on deal completion. Aligned with your interest throughout — we only earn fully when the deal closes at an agreed price. Rate depends on deal size and complexity. All-in fee cap agreed before mandate signing.
For businesses 6–18 months from planned exit. A fixed-fee review identifying diligence red flags, EBITDA normalisation issues, and preparation priorities — with an action plan to maximise sale readiness before going to market.
"We were selling a healthcare business after 14 years of building it. The CIM Corvian produced was a different class from anything we'd seen — buyers came to meetings already convinced of the investment case. We received four credible offers. The competitive process added over AED 15M to the final price versus the first offer on the table."
"We had received an unsolicited offer and thought it was reasonable. Corvian's independent valuation showed we were about to accept 35% below what the business was worth in the current market. They ran a competitive process, found the right buyers, and we closed at a price we could not have achieved without the structured process. The advisory fee was the best money we spent."
"Selling a family business after 22 years is not just a financial transaction. Corvian understood that from the first conversation. They managed the family dynamics, kept our employees in the dark until the right moment, found a buyer who genuinely valued our culture, and delivered a price that exceeded every expectation. Exceptional in every dimension."
Every sell-side mandate is led personally by the principal — a CFA Charterholder, Chartered Accountant, and FRM. Not delegated to associates after the first meeting.
The global standard for financial analysis and valuation. Fewer than 200,000 charterholders worldwide. Directly applicable to business valuation, EBITDA normalisation, and investment memorandum production.
Deep accounting expertise — critical for pre-sale financial preparation, EBITDA normalisation, working capital analysis, and identifying the issues buyers will find in your financial statements before they do.
GARP-certified. Essential for structuring earn-outs, contingent consideration, working capital peg mechanisms, and post-completion arrangements that protect the full economic value of your exit.
Trained in institutional M&A at KPMG — the same process rigour, document standards, and buyer network relationships. At boutique pricing, with the principal doing the actual work.
The questions UAE business owners ask us most before engaging for a sell-side mandate. If yours is not answered here, start a confidential conversation.
Selling a UAE or GCC business involves six stages: preparation (financials, diligence red flags, pre-sale hygiene), independent valuation (your price anchor), CIM production (institutional-quality marketing document), buyer outreach (targeted, confidential), due diligence management (controlling what buyers see and when), and negotiation and close. A sell-side advisor manages the entire process — you keep running the business while the sale is handled professionally. See our full guide: Preparing Your Business for Sale in the UAE.
UAE and GCC businesses sell at 4x–18x normalised EBITDA depending on sector, growth rate, earnings quality, customer concentration, and deal structure. Technology and healthcare command the highest multiples; industrial and F&B businesses trade at 4x–8x. Revenue quality, audit status, owner-dependency, and customer concentration all materially affect the achievable multiple — often more than sector alone. An independent CFA-standard valuation is essential before entering any buyer conversation. See our valuation services →
A Confidential Information Memorandum (CIM) — also called an Investment Memorandum or Information Memorandum — is the primary document shared with potential buyers. It covers your business overview, normalised financial performance, growth opportunities, management team, and transaction rationale. A great CIM generates serious offers and competitive tension. A poor one gives buyers ammunition to reduce their price before they have even met you. Corvian Advisory produces CIMs to investment bank standards — they are the reason you receive multiple credible offers rather than one discounted offer. See: What GCC Investors Look for in an Investment Memorandum.
A well-run UAE or GCC business sale typically takes 6–12 months from mandate signing to completion. Preparation and CIM: 4–8 weeks. Buyer outreach and IOIs: 6–10 weeks. Management presentations and preferred bidder: 3–5 weeks. Due diligence: 6–10 weeks. Negotiation and SPA: 4–6 weeks. Regulatory approvals: 2–6 weeks depending on jurisdiction. Rushing the process — skipping preparation, or going to a single buyer — consistently produces lower prices and higher deal failure rates. Preparation time is not wasted time. See our GCC M&A process guide for regional context.
A business broker typically lists your business publicly and matches it to buyers from a local database — similar to a real estate agent. An M&A advisor runs a managed, confidential, institutional-grade process: independent valuation, a CIM produced to investment bank standards, a targeted approach to qualified strategic and financial buyers (including international buyers brokers never reach), competitive bidding, and rigorous negotiation of price and structure. For businesses above AED 5M, an M&A advisor consistently delivers better outcomes — both a higher price and better contractual protection. Corvian Advisory never lists businesses publicly. We run private, qualified processes only.
Confidentiality is non-negotiable. Our protocol: we begin with an anonymised teaser that describes the business without naming it. NDAs are signed before any identifying information is shared — including the business name. The buyer list is controlled and qualified — we never broadcast your business to hundreds of buyers. Information is released in stages as buyers progress. Your employees, customers, suppliers, and competitors do not know the business is for sale until you choose to disclose — typically on the morning of completion. This is standard practice on every Corvian mandate.
Practical guides for UAE business owners planning an exit — written by our CFA-qualified advisor from direct transaction experience.