From the time we decided it was time to sell (for real, not just theoretically) until the money was in the bank, almost 18 months. It took us 2 months to find a

From the time we decided it was time to sell (for real, not just theoretically) until the money was in the bank, almost 18 months. It took us 2 months to find an advisor, then another 3-4 months building the deck and investor material (cashflows, projections, etc). We put up a bid, so we had some 8 companies interested at first and we narrowed that down to 3. That process was LONG, but that is what gets better valuation - competition. After we signed the term sheet it was another 6 months due to regulation and legal quirks, due to the acquirer being a public company. Those were the longest 6 months of our lives :)