Acquiring with a partner: advantages and pitfalls
Introduction
You're considering acquiring a business and wondering whether it's better to go it alone or with a partner? This question is central to any SME acquisition project. It determines your investment capacity, operational organisation and future decision-making dynamics.
Acquiring with a partner offers concrete advantages: sharing financial risk, complementary skills, and increased investment capacity. But it also involves pitfalls: strategic divergences, decision-making conflicts, or imbalances in involvement that can compromise the project.
Unlike starting a business where you build everything from scratch, acquiring an existing structure means working with an established organisation, existing clients and already trained teams. The choice between solo or partner directly influences your ability to manage this transition.
This guide compares both approaches factually. You'll find the advantages and risks of each option, the essential agreements to plan for, and the criteria for choosing the right partner or favouring a solo acquisition. The objective: to help you make a decision aligned with your profile, resources and entrepreneurial goals.
📌 Summary (TL;DR)
Acquiring a business with a partner offers financial and operational advantages: risk sharing, complementary skills and increased investment capacity. But this decision also involves risks: strategic divergences, decision-making conflicts and involvement imbalances.
Before committing, plan a detailed shareholders' agreement that defines capital distribution, responsibilities, decision-making mechanisms and exit clauses. The choice between solo or joint acquisition depends on your profile, financial resources and ability to share decision-making power.
📚 Table of contents
Acquiring alone or with others: the fundamental differences
An acquisition with a partner profoundly changes the project structure. Alone, you retain total decision-making autonomy and all the profits. With others, you share financial risk, operational responsibilities and strategic decisions.
The choice depends on your financial capacity, your skills, the size of the target business and your risk tolerance. An SME worth 5 million francs rarely requires the same resources as a structure worth 500,000 francs.
Consult our guide on the 8 steps to a business acquisition to understand the complete process.
The advantages of acquiring with a partner
An acquisition partner brings concrete benefits that can transform a project's feasibility. The main advantages include:
- Reduction in required personal contribution
- Complementary technical and commercial skills
- Sharing of operational workload
- Expanded professional network
- Increased bank borrowing capacity
- Moral support during difficult phases
- Enhanced decision-making
These elements can make the difference between a viable project and one that's too risky.
Sharing financial risk and investment capacity
A joint business purchase divides personal financial exposure. If you need to contribute 300,000 francs alone, two partners reduce the individual contribution to 150,000 francs each.
Banks generally grant higher amounts to multiple acquirers. The combined borrowing capacity provides access to larger or better-positioned businesses.
This pooling opens up opportunities that would be inaccessible solo. To understand financing alternatives, consult our article on acquisition with no down payment.
Complementary skills and expanded expertise
A commercial profile combined with a technical profile creates a stronger team than a generalist alone. Effective combinations include finance/operations, sales/production, or strategy/execution.
This complementarity reassures sellers who want to guarantee their business's continuity. It also reassures banks assessing the acquisition project's solidity.
Sellers often favour acquirer teams capable of covering all critical aspects of the business from day one.
The risks and pitfalls of acquiring with a partner
Acquiring with others involves real challenges that must be anticipated. The main risks include:
- Medium-term strategic vision divergences
- Conflicts over investment decisions
- Profit sharing that reduces individual remuneration
- Operational involvement imbalances
- Increased administrative and legal complexity
- Relational tensions under pressure
These challenges aren't insurmountable, but they require rigorous preparation and clear formal agreements from the outset.
Strategic divergences and decision-making conflicts
Disagreements about development strategy, investment priorities or exit timing generate operational blockages. One partner may want rapid growth whilst the other favours consolidation.
These divergences often intensify after the first few months, when operational reality replaces initial enthusiasm. Vision alignment must be verified before commitment, not after.
Plan formal conflict resolution mechanisms: mediation, arbitration, or early exit clauses. These provisions prevent total deadlock situations.
Imbalances in involvement and contribution
A partner who invests less than expected creates immediate tensions. Imbalances concern time devoted, energy deployed, or quality of contributions.
These situations directly affect the acquired business's performance and generate resentment in the more involved partner. The actual workload often exceeds initial estimates.
Formalise involvement expectations from the start: weekly working time, precise responsibilities, measurable objectives. Plan regular reviews of contribution balance.
Essential agreements to plan before the acquisition
Formal partnership agreements protect all partners and secure the project. Essential documents include:
- Detailed shareholders' agreement
- Capital and share distribution
- Exit and separation clauses
- Each party's remuneration terms
- Decision-making process
- Non-compete clauses
Never neglect these agreements, even between friends or family. Get support from specialised legal experts. Consult our partner network to find lawyers experienced in business acquisitions.
The shareholders' agreement: central document
The shareholders' agreement formalises the rules of engagement between partners. Although not legally mandatory, it's indispensable in practice for any acquisition with a partner.
Essential clauses include: share distribution and voting rights, voluntary or forced exit terms, non-compete clauses, conflict resolution mechanisms, and share transfer conditions.
This document prevents misunderstandings and offers a clear framework in case of disagreement. Have it drafted by a specialised lawyer, not with a generic template.
Capital and responsibility distribution
Capital distribution must reflect actual contributions: financial, skills, time, network. A partner who contributes 60% of the capital but works 30% creates an imbalance that must be anticipated.
Distinguish active partners (operationally involved) from passive partners (financial contribution only). This distinction affects remuneration: salary for active partners, dividends for passive ones.
Formalise each person's precise operational roles: who manages what, who decides on which matters, who represents the business. Clarity prevents territorial conflicts.
Exit clauses and separation scenarios
Anticipating separation before even starting may seem pessimistic, but it's an absolute necessity. Scenarios to plan for include: voluntary departure, serious disagreement, death, disability, or personal bankruptcy.
Common mechanisms include buy-sell clauses (mutual buyout), right of first refusal (buyout priority), and exit valuation formulas (EBITDA multiple, fixed price, independent valuation).
These clauses must be defined BEFORE the acquisition, when relations are good. Negotiating an exit in the midst of conflict is infinitely more difficult and costly.
How to choose the right partner for an acquisition
Finding a suitable partner requires rigorous assessment. Essential criteria include:
- Real complementary skills
- Alignment of values and life objectives
- Verifiable financial capacity
- Actual (not theoretical) availability
- Mutual trust built over time
- Similar risk tolerance
Test the relationship before formal commitment: work together on a pilot project, spend time in stressful situations. Consult our article on red flags to watch for to identify warning signs.
When to favour a solo acquisition
Acquiring alone remains preferable in certain specific situations:
- Small structure (under 500,000 francs) not justifying sharing
- Complete expertise covering all aspects of the business
- Sufficient financial capacity for the contribution and working capital
- Need for total decision-making autonomy
- Simple sector not requiring multiple skills
Solo autonomy offers decision-making speed and administrative simplicity. Honestly assess your capabilities before choosing. Explore the businesses available on Leez to identify those matching your profile.
Acquiring a business with a partner offers significant advantages: sharing financial risk, complementary skills and increased investment capacity. But this formula also involves real pitfalls, particularly strategic divergences and involvement imbalances that can weaken the project.
The key to success lies in preparation: a solid shareholders' agreement, clear distribution of capital and responsibilities, and well-defined exit clauses. Your partner choice must be guided by complementarity, value alignment and transparent communication from the start.
Whether you're considering a joint or solo acquisition, the essential thing is to structure your project on solid legal and financial foundations. Explore acquisition opportunities on Leez and find the business that matches your profile. Need legal or financial support? Our expert network is here to guide you through every stage of your acquisition.
