Introducing DLI Direct: A Smarter Way to Sell Your Business

For owners of businesses with EBITDA between R5 million and R15 million 

Selling a smaller business can be surprisingly difficult. Many companies in the R5 million to R15 million EBITDA range are too substantial for informal buyers, yet too small to justify the cost and complexity of a full traditional M&A process.  

That is why we’ve created DLI Direct.  

These businesses are typically strong and well-run, with solid fundamentals. Yet they often fall outside the range that attracts institutional investors or large corporate acquirers. At the same time, the cost and complexity of a full traditional sale process can be disproportionate for businesses of this size, even when the owner wants a serious, well-managed path to market. 

As DLI’s Mid-Market Chief Executive, Rick Grantham, explains: “You can be too small for the big acquirers and too big for the casual buyers who are often underfunded, inexperienced, or not able to execute. That gap is exactly where processes tend to waste time, burn management attention, and produce weak outcomes. DLI Direct is designed to close that gap by giving owners direct access to DLI’s deal experience, systems, and buyer relationships, while reshaping the model to suit what these business owners actually need.” 

The essence of DLI Direct is straightforward: connect credible businesses directly with credible acquirers through a structured and efficient process focused on real outcomes.  

Direct Access to Proven Acquirers 

Direct access to credible acquirers is the engine behind DLI Direct. 

Rather than running a broad outreach process where many conversations go nowhere, the approach focuses on a curated group of buyers that DLI already knows, engages with, and understands in terms of strategy and deal appetite. 

These are not individuals hoping to buy a business if they can secure funding. They are proven acquirers who have completed transactions before, who have capital behind them, and who are actively pursuing acquisitions as part of a broader strategy. 

Because these relationships already exist, DLI can engage buyers directly through trusted channels rather than relying on mass marketing or anonymous listing processes. 

This dramatically improves the quality of conversations. Instead of a long list of speculative enquiries, the focus shifts to a smaller number of serious discussions with buyers who have both the capability and intent to transact. 

That directness shortens timelines, reduces wasted effort, and significantly increases the probability of reaching the table with an acquirer who can actually close. 

Reduced Lock-In 

Another key feature of DLI Direct is the shorter mandate structure, designed to give business owners greater confidence and flexibility. 

In traditional advisory models, sole mandates can run for extended periods, leaving owners feeling tied to an advisor even when the process is not generating meaningful traction. This can leave business owners still committed to a fee, even when the active mandate period has long since expired, and they did all the work! 

DLI Direct addresses this directly by structuring the engagement around a six-month sole mandate, with appropriate protection for work done but without the extended lock-in that can limit an owner’s options. 

This approach ensures that the process remains outcome-focused rather than contract-focused. 

If credible buyer engagement emerges, the process intensifies quickly and constructively. If it does not, the owner retains the flexibility to reassess, improve the business where necessary, and revisit the market at the right time. 

For many owner-managed businesses, this structure provides important peace of mind that the advisory relationship remains aligned with achieving a real result. 

A More Streamlined Process 

DLI Direct is a more streamlined sale process. Traditional M&A processes often involve extensive documentation and preparation designed to introduce the business to a broad buyer universe with no prior knowledge of the company or its market. While that approach makes sense for larger transactions, it can introduce unnecessary complexity and cost for smaller deals. 

DLI Direct takes a more focused approach. Instead of investing heavily in glossy documentation, the emphasis is placed on getting the fundamentals right. This includes ensuring the financial story is clear, identifying operational adjustments early, and addressing issues that could create surprises during due diligence. 

In this segment of the market, matters such as personal expenses, shareholder drawings, accounting treatment and once-off adjustments can quickly derail a transaction if they are not clarified before engaging buyers. 

A streamlined process does not mean cutting corners. It means prioritising the work that genuinely protects the deal and strengthens the credibility of the business when presented to a buyer. 

The result is a process that is more efficient, more practical and better aligned with the realities of selling businesses in this size category. 

A Practical Solution for an Underserved Market 

Taken together, these elements create a solution that is particularly relevant for owner-managed businesses, where the owner is often still deeply involved in operations and cannot afford to be distracted by a long, noisy sale process filled with speculative buyers. 

DLI Direct is designed for owners who want to take their business to market properly, benefit from experienced deal leadership, and engage credible, aligned acquirers. 

At the same time, it recognises that the traditional, resource-intensive model used for larger transactions is not always the right fit for businesses in the R5 million to R15 million EBITDA segment. 

DLI Direct does not attempt to be everything to everyone. It is a focused offering for a part of the market that has historically been underserved. 

Too often, businesses in this segment experience the worst of both worlds: they are ignored by larger advisory firms while being exposed to low-quality brokerage processes that prioritise lock-in over outcomes. 

DLI Direct is DLI’s response to that reality, bringing the discipline of a controlled sell-side process into a more focused, flexible model, while maintaining a high standard on who gets approached and how the transaction is run. 

If your business falls into this segment and you are considering your options, a short conversation can help determine whether this approach is a good fit for your situation and what the next step might be. 

If you would like to explore this further, get in touch with our team for a confidential discussion by emailing connect@dealleadersint.com.