Looking at it from the buyer's point of view: what is the value in a non-profitable project? Even if the idea appears to be good, it would require considerable

Looking at it from the buyer's point of view: what is the value in a non-profitable project? Even if the idea appears to be good, it would require considerable investment in effort (at least) before it will generate any revenue. Even for acquisitions of profitable businesses, there typically is a an "earn-out" component. That is, you only get paid if certain revenue/profit milestones are attained.