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CGK Insights

The CGK blog on selling, buying, and valuing privately-held businesses.

Commentary from the senior named principals who actually close the engagements.

The CGK blog is where senior CGK principals publish working analysis on what is moving the market for privately-held companies in the High Main Street and lower-middle-market bands. Topics rotate across selling a business, buying a business, business valuations, M&A structuring, financing, tax, regulatory shifts, and the macro and policy backdrop reshaping the buyer pool. Read what you need, then submit a confidential profile if you want a senior principal to weigh in on your specific situation.

As Featured On

Inside the Blueprint, the national business television program featuring CGK business brokers and M&A advisors.

CGK has been featured on Inside the Blueprint, a national business television segment that highlights the strategy, discipline, and outcomes that separate the M&A firms business owners should actually engage from the ones they should not.

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All CGK Insights

Recent commentary from the CGK team.

Every post below is authored or reviewed by a senior CGK principal. Topics span selling a business, buying a business, business valuations, M&A structure, financing, tax, and the macro backdrop. Use the pagination at the bottom of the grid to browse the full archive.

How AI Productivity Gains Are Reshaping Small Business Valuations in 2026: What Every Owner Should Know Before Going to Market

By Greg Knox, MBA, CFA, CAIA, FDP, Managing Principal, CGK Business Sales The window problem If you have spent the last 18 to 24 months quietly rebuilding parts of your business around AI tools (replacing manual scheduling with an AI assistant, swapping out a third-party bookkeeper for an AI-driven AR/AP ...
Tax implications of selling a business in 2026 are vast.

Tax Implications of Selling a Business in 2026

If you are thinking about selling your business in 2026, the tax landscape has shifted dramatically, and mostly in your favor. Understanding the tax implications of selling a business right now is more important than ever, because the rules changed in ways that create real planning opportunities for owners who ...
finance a business acquisition

How to Finance a Business Acquisition

Financing a business acquisition is one of the most important steps in the buying process, and it is also one of the most misunderstood. Many first-time buyers assume they need to pay cash for the entire purchase price, or that financing a business works the same way as getting a ...
tariffs and small business valuations in 2026

Tariffs and Small Business Valuations in 2026: How Tariff Whiplash Is Reshaping M&A

The impact of tariffs and small business valuations in 2026 has become one of the most urgent topics for business owners considering a sale, merger, or acquisition. At CGK Business Sales, we have watched a year of dramatic tariff reversals create both anxiety and opportunity in the lower and middle ...
rising-oil-prices-small-business-acquisitions

Rising Oil Prices and Small Business Acquisitions: How the Iran Conflict Is Reshaping M&A in 2026

The escalating conflict in Iran has driven crude oil prices past $100 per barrel for the first time in years, sending shockwaves through global markets and forcing businesses of every size to reassess their cost structures. For owners of small and lower-middle-market companies, the connection between rising oil prices and ...
AI stock market selloff and small business acquisitions

AI Stock Market Selloff and Small Business Acquisitions in 2026

Recent turbulence in technology and software stocks has sparked renewed debate about how artificial intelligence will reshape entire industries. As public investors reassess valuations and risk, the conversation around AI stock market selloff and small business acquisitions is becoming increasingly relevant. When volatility shakes confidence in public equities, some capital ...
buyer priorities in 2026 M&A

Buyer Priorities in 2026 M&A: Why Strategic and Financial Buyers Are Shifting

Understanding buyer priorities in 2026 M&A will be one of the most important factors influencing how, when, and at what value small and lower-middle-market business owners are able to exit. As strategic and financial buyers adjust their acquisition strategies in response to changing economic conditions, sellers who recognize these shifts ...
SMB M&A outlook 2026

SMB M&A Outlook 2026: What Sellers Should Expect

This article examines the key forces expected to shape small and lower-middle-market M&A activity in 2026, from shifting buyer behavior and private equity participation to changes in financing and valuation expectations. It outlines what business owners should anticipate if they are considering a sale and highlights the strategic steps sellers ...
private equity interest in small businesses

Private Equity Interest in Small Businesses: What It Means for 2026

Private equity is not just pursuing big deals anymore. The shift toward buying smaller companies has become one of the most important trends shaping the 2026 M&A landscape. For owners of small and lower middle market businesses, understanding private equity interest in small businesses is essential to positioning your company ...
government shutdown business sale ramification

Government Shutdown Business Sale Ramification: What Smaller Companies Must Know

Federal funding gaps, agency furloughs, and delays in government services may seem distant from your day-to-day operations. But when you are preparing to sell your business, the ripple effects of a government shutdown can meaningfully impact financing, buyer confidence, contract timing, and ultimately your valuation. Understanding these effects now gives ...
business sale preparation

Business Sale Preparation: How Readiness Drives Multiple Offers

Selling a business is rarely just about timing or finding the right buyer. It is about being ready for the moment when opportunity appears. For small and lower middle market business owners, proper business sale preparation is the single most reliable way to increase buyer interest, shorten the deal cycle, ...
market timing when selling a business

Market Timing When Selling a Business

In the world of business exits, timing isn’t just a factor, it can be the difference between an excellent deal and a mediocre one. For small and lower-middle-market business owners, understanding market timing when selling a business means aligning your readiness with market conditions to maximize value, not simply waiting ...

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