Re-trade
When a buyer lowers the price after the LOI is signed — usually citing something they "found" during diligence.
A re-trade is the moment a buyer comes back, typically 30 to 60 days after the LOI is signed, and tells the seller the price needs to go down. The reason given is almost always something surfaced in due diligence: earnings that didn't survive the QoE rebuild, a customer concentration risk that turned out to be worse than disclosed, a contract that doesn't transfer cleanly. Sometimes the reason is real. Sometimes it's a tactic — the buyer always intended to come back lower, and the diligence finding is the excuse. Either way, the seller is now negotiating from a worse position than when the LOI was signed, because they've already turned down other buyers and emotionally committed to the deal.
A re-trade is when the buyer comes back after the LOI is signed and tells you the price needs to come down. The seller is now negotiating from a worse position than when the deal started.
Buyers who re-trade in good faith have found something real; buyers who re-trade in bad faith found the seller's commitment.
Find out what a buyer would see in your business — before you talk to one.
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