Confidential Information Memorandum (CIM): A confidential information memorandum, or CIM, is the detailed document that presents a business for sale to serious, NDA-bound buyers, covering its operations, financials, market position, and growth opportunities.
What a CIM contains
A CIM typically includes a business overview, the products or services, the management team and organization, the customer base, historical and sometimes projected financials with add-backs explained, the market and competitive position, and the growth opportunities a buyer could pursue. It is meant to give a qualified buyer enough to decide whether to make an offer, without yet exposing the most sensitive operational detail.
When it is shared
A CIM comes after the anonymized one-page teaser and a signed non-disclosure agreement. The sequence protects confidentiality: the teaser attracts interest without naming the business, the NDA binds the buyer, and only then does the full CIM go out. In a direct sale to an operator-buyer, a lighter, staged version of this same information exchange happens, without a broadly circulated document.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a CIM and a teaser?
A teaser is a short, anonymized one-page summary used to attract buyer interest without identifying the business. A CIM is the full, detailed memorandum shared only after a buyer signs an NDA. The teaser opens the door; the CIM tells the whole story.
Do I need a CIM to sell my business?
Not always. A formal CIM is standard in brokered and marketed processes. In a direct, confidential sale to a single operator-buyer, the same information is usually exchanged in stages rather than in one broadly distributed document.
Who prepares the CIM?
In a marketed process, the sell-side advisor, broker, or investment bank prepares it with the owner. The quality of the financials and add-back schedule inside it directly affects buyer confidence and price.
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