Confidential information memorandum (CIM)
A CIM is the document that presents a business for sale to qualified buyers after they sign an NDA, covering operations, financials and the opportunity
A confidential information memorandum, usually called a CIM, is the main selling document in a business sale. It describes the company's history, products and services, customers, staff, operations, premises, financial performance with normalised earnings and the reasons an owner is selling, and it sets out the opportunity for a buyer. It is released only to buyers who have signed a non-disclosure agreement and been screened.
The CIM sits between the blind teaser, which describes the business without identifying it, and the data room, which contains the raw documents for due diligence. A good CIM answers the questions a serious buyer asks first, presents the earnings honestly with every adjustment explained and makes the case for the business without overselling it. A weak CIM, or one that hides problems, costs the seller credibility the moment diligence begins.
We write the CIM as part of every BizSell.ca sell-side engagement, drawing on the valuation and on interviews with the owner. It is written the way buyers evaluate a business in BC: transferability of earnings, customer concentration, owner dependence, the lease, the team and growth that is real rather than hoped for. Owners review every page before it goes out, and nothing with the company's name on it leaves our hands without a signed NDA.
Start with a confidential conversation.
Tell Ali where the business is and what you want to happen next. You leave with a straight read on value, timing and the two or three moves that matter, whether or not we work together.