There are many emotions when selling your company and selling to a competitor may be one of them
You’ve competed against them for years and you dislike them, even despise them. And it’s common to hear from owners that when the day comes that they look to sell, the last people on the planet they will consider selling to is the competitor.
At an emotional level this makes sense. Competition can be fierce and it can get personal. But what you also have to consider is rising above the emotional aspects and asking yourself….but might that competitor give me the best valuation and might it be the right place for my employees to continue flourishing? Direct competitors are often able to make the strongest offers because they know your company, respect it (even though they might hate it), and there is benefit to them in consolidating competition and there could be the greatest number of synergies that help A+B be a very compelling C.
It’s ok to hate the competition. It’s ok to not consider them as a future potential suitor. But for a moment, remove the emotions and rationally think about where you can get optimal value from selling your company? If you can get that optimal value from others besides a despised competitor, great. But if you believe that could bring you the highest overall value, then rise above the emotions and do what’s best for you, your shareholders and employees.
