Notes from BTF Alberta in Calgary

I sat on a panel at the ninth annual Business Transitions Forum Alberta in Calgary on April 21, 2026. The session, “Selling a business 101: why, who, when, where, what and how,” was Session 1A in Imperial 1/2 at the Hyatt Regency Calgary, sponsored by KALOS. It was moderated by Shanna Benson of Scotiabank. I shared the stage with Diana Noble of People 1st Realty and Othello Tuason of Fort Capital Partners.

One number framed the whole session. Industry estimates suggest 50 to 70 per cent of businesses marketed for sale fail to close. Most of those failures are preventable. They are prevented by what the owner does in the 24 to 36 months before the deal, not what happens at the closing table.

We worked through six questions. A few of the points that landed hardest.

On why. Owners who cannot answer cleanly, in writing, why they are selling are not yet ready. Your Why defines deal structure, terms and buyer type.

On when. Twenty-four to 36 months from decision to close is normal. Most owners assume six to 12. The lifetime capital gains exemption has a 24-month qualifying window, with restrictions on excess cash and passive assets in the corporation (CRA, LCGE). Start tax planning the day you decide to sell.

On what. Buyers buy normalized EBITDA, not revenue. A business reporting $600,000 in net income can sometimes show $1.2 million in normalized EBITDA. At lower middle-market multiples, the gap is worth millions. The suppressors are predictable. Owner dependency costs 20 to 40 per cent. Customer concentration above 20 per cent triggers a discount. Find them first.

On how. Competitive tension determines final price. One buyer is no leverage. Five qualified buyers can produce a final price more than 30 per cent above the opening offer on the same business. And the hardest part of the deal is not signing day. It is Monday morning three months after.

Thank you to Shanna, Diana, Othello, KALOS and the Cube Business Media team. The next BTF Alberta is April 20, 2027.

The six-question structure maps to the early chapters of Selling Your Canadian Business.

Read a free sample or order at Amazon.ca: amazon.ca/dp/B0GFXWJVXQ