We Signed the LOI. Then the Buyer Cut the Deal Nearly in Half
Praveen Ghanta, founder of HiddenLevers, joins Kison Patel to detail how his company navigated a high-stakes sell-side acquisition by Orion Advisor Solutions. Ghanta explains how a delayed $2 million enterprise contract triggered a nearly 50% retrade attempt 24 hours before diligence expired and shares tactical insights on negotiating through exclusivity, structuring LOIs, resolving unexpected sales tax liabilities, and surviving post-merger integration.
- Vague revenue definitions in a letter of intent allow buyers to shift the valuation baseline during confirmatory diligence, converting top-line headline multiples into retrade tools. Read →
- HiddenLevers shipped code at two to three times the speed of legacy teams at Orion Advisor Solutions prior to its acquisition. Read →
- Sell-side bargaining power peaks the moment before signing a letter of intent (LOI), when the seller can run a competitive process with multiple bidders. Read →
- Orion Advisor Solutions attempted to slash its acquisition price for HiddenLevers by nearly 50% just 24 hours before the due diligence window closed. Read →
- Orion Advisor Solutions' diligence team claimed HiddenLevers owed $600,000 in uncollected state sales taxes following shifting state tax rules for SaaS companies. Read →