Sell Side

Definition

In M&A, the sell side refers to the party representing the owner or company being sold. Sell-side advisory — the core service of most boutique investment banks — involves preparing the business for sale, creating marketing materials (teasers, CIMs), running the sale process, and negotiating terms on behalf of the seller.

Context

VRA Partners is primarily a sell-side advisory firm, as described by Chris Reilly in Ep. 23. The sell-side banker controls which buyers get included in processes, making relationship-building with sell-side bankers critical for buy-side PE firms. Sell-side bankers track buyer behavior — bid consistency, process conduct, CIM attentiveness — and use this data to decide who earns access to narrow processes and fireside chats.

Related Terms

• Buy Side — the acquiring party
• Boutique Investment Bank — most LMM sell-side advisors
• Confidential Information Memorandum — key sell-side marketing document
• Teaser — initial sell-side outreach document