Business Exits & Acquisitions Summit

Business Exits & Acquisitions Summit is a premier full-day event designed for business owners, buyers, and industry professionals engaged in the world of business transitions. Whether you’re preparing to sell, planning to buy, or guiding clients through the process, this event provides the insights, resources, and relationships to help you succeed.

Who Should Attend

• Business owners considering retirement, selling or another exit within the next 5 years (you should be preparing now!)
• Entrepreneurs and investors exploring acquisition opportunities
• Financial professionals, advisors, and consultants supporting clients in business transitions
• Lenders, accountants, attorneys, and brokers specializing in M&A transactions

What to Expect

• 2 Buyer-Focused Workshops
  Roll your sleeves up on the nitty-gritty of buying a business including including how to source opportunities, structure offers, and securing financing
• 2 Seller-Focused Workshops
  Learn everything you need to know about buyers and their lenders so you can prepare your business in advance for smooth sailing when you exit
• 2 Expert Panels
  Dive into the good, bad and ugly of buying or selling a business and how to come out if it with your sanity in-tact and create a win-win for everyone involved as you hear directly from lenders, legal experts, accountants, and M&A professionals about current market trends, financing options, and best practices in due diligence and more.
• 1 Riveting Keynote
  Avoid the trials, pitfalls and challenges along throughout the buy/sell process all while having a good laugh about the bloopers our keynote speaker has seen over years of deal making.
• Deal Row: 40 Highly Qualified Exhibitors
  Connect with fellow entrepreneurs, advisors, and 40 highly specialized service providers positioned to help you through every step of the buy/sell process.

Why Attend? You'll Leave with:

• Actionable buy / sell strategies
• Trusted contacts
• A clear roadmap for your next steps — whether that means preparing your business for sale, buying into a new opportunity, or expanding your professional network in the acquisitions ecosystem!

The better question is: why aren't you attending? If you're buying a business or looking to exit your business in the next 5 years, now is the time to prepare and there is no other place in San Diego where you'll be able to gain access to this amount of knowledge and resources in one day.

Thristy for more? Scroll down to see the full agenda and description of the sessions.

Info: A current, data-driven overview of the San Diego and Southern California M&A market in 2026, covering deal trends, valuation dynamics, and buyer and seller activity shaping the lower middle market right now. This session gives both business owners and prospective buyers the market context they need to make the most of every conversation that follows throughout the day.

Info: 5 Active Small Business Acquisition & Commercial Lenders take the stage for a moderated discussion covering the full landscape of acquisition financing, what lenders look for when underwriting a deal, and what financial issues can reduce the price a buyer can offer. Buyers will learn which lenders are most active in their deal size and how financing certainty becomes a competitive advantage — sellers will learn exactly what makes their business lendable.

Info: This hands-on for sellers explores how the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS) builds the operational foundation that makes a business more valuable, more financeable, and more attractive to buyers. Business owners will leave with a clear picture of the six components that buyers and lenders evaluate — and the gaps most likely to reduce their multiple or K*ll their deal.

Info: A dedicated workshop for for buyers and investors focused on building a deal sourcing strategy, working effectively with brokers, and navigating the SBA pre-qualification process. Attendees will leave with a practical framework for finding quality deal flow and positioning themselves as the buyer sellers and brokers want to work with.

Info: This panel if seasoned experts - CPA, Business Broker, Buyer, Attorney, and Wealth Advisor - lift up the veil in this rare opportunity where they shared unfiltered perspectives on how deals are killed and how to make sure yours doesn't suffer the same fate. Insight like this only comes fro mthe front lines by sitting at the closing table on hundreds of deals. You'll learn about what kills deals after the LOI, what sellers consistently get wrong, and what makes buyers stand out. Audience Q&A is built into the session, giving attendees the rare opportunity to put their own deal questions directly to a multi-disciplinary panel of experts.

Info: This workshop is custom-made for sellers who will work through a practical due diligence framework — understanding exactly what a buyer and their lender will scrutinize, how to prepare a clean data room, and what issues discovered late in the process most commonly lead to re-trades or deal collapse. Sellers will leave with a prioritized checklist of what to fix, clean up, or document before going to market.

Info: Buyers won't want to miss this workshop where they'll focus on deal structure and the path from a signed LOI to a successful close, including asset versus stock sales, earnout provisions, seller financing, and the SBA closing timeline. Buyers will leave with a clear framework for structuring offers that protect their interests and give sellers the certainty they need to say yes.

Info: 40 highly qualified exhibitors that specialize in helping YOU through every step of the process of buying or selling a business

Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.

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Host or Publisher San Diego & Imperial SBDC Network