A teaser (or "blind teaser") is a short, anonymous marketing document — usually one to two pages — that a sell-side adviser uses to introduce a company for sale to prospective buyers without revealing its identity. It is the first piece of deal material a buyer sees and the gate through which a buyer must pass — by signing a non-disclosure agreement — to receive the full Confidential Information Memorandum.
What a teaser contains
A teaser describes the business in enough detail to provoke interest while keeping it unidentifiable:
- A blind business description — what the company does, its industry and model, written so competitors and customers cannot recognize it.
- Investment highlights — the three to six reasons the business is attractive (market position, recurring revenue, growth, margins, management).
- High-level financials — revenue and EBITDA for the last few years and a forward estimate, often as ranges or rounded figures.
- Geography and headcount — broad region rather than a city; approximate employee count.
- Transaction rationale — owner retirement, growth capital, divestiture.
- Adviser contact and a project code-name ("Project Falcon").
Why it is anonymous
Confidentiality is the whole point. If word that a business is for sale reaches its employees, customers, suppliers or competitors, it can trigger staff departures, customer flight and competitive attacks — damaging the very value the seller is trying to realize. Keeping the teaser blind lets the adviser cast a wide net while controlling exactly when and to whom the company's identity is disclosed (only after an NDA is signed).
How it is used in the process
The adviser sends the teaser to a screened and tiered buyer list (built during sourcing and preparation). Recipients who want to learn more sign the NDA and receive the CIM. The conversion rate from teasers sent to NDAs signed is an early read on market appetite and helps the adviser calibrate the process timetable and price expectations.
Teaser vs CIM
| Teaser | CIM | |
|---|---|---|
| Length | 1–2 pages | 30–80+ pages |
| Identity | Anonymous | Named |
| Gate | None (sent broadly) | After NDA |
| Detail | Highlights only | Full business, market, financials |
A weak teaser quietly kills a process before it starts: if the highlights do not land, strong buyers never sign the NDA and never see the CIM. A good one is therefore written with as much care as the document many times its length.
See also
- Confidential Information Memorandum — The detailed marketing document that follows the teaser. Usually 30–80+ pages covering business overview, market, financials, customers, employees and growth opportunities.
- Non-disclosure agreement — A confidentiality contract executed before a buyer receives the CIM. It binds the buyer to use the target's information only to evaluate the transaction.
- Sell-side M&A process — The deal cycle from the seller's perspective: preparation, marketing materials, buyer outreach, IOIs, LOIs, exclusivity, due diligence, definitive agreement and closing.
- Deal sourcing — The activity of identifying and engaging acquisition targets — through bankers, broker networks, proprietary outreach, conferences, screened lists and inbound referrals.
- Indication of interest — A non-binding, written response from a buyer giving a preliminary valuation range, structure preferences and key conditions. Used to short-list bidders before LOIs.
External resources
Practitioner guides from Main Street Wealth, the M&A advisory firm that sponsors M&Apedia (how this works):
- Sell a business — Sell-side advisory process, timelines and seller resources.