Among those who make acquisitions for a living, there are contrasting views about different types of seller. Some buyers will only purchase from founders; others will never touch companies being sold by venture capitalists. Yet others target only distressed situations.
Over the years I have bought from all sorts of vendors, and my experience has been that there is no golden rule as to whom one should do deals with – it all depends on the specific circumstances.
Bidding for companies on the stock market is fee-laden and highly regulated. The buyer receives no warranties and is generally obliged to pay in cash, with no deferred element to the consideration. Exclusivity is hard to obtain and completion can take months. But publicly traded companies are frequently mispriced, and all the legal rigmarole can put rival buyers off. I have done a few public-to-private deals: they involve a huge amount of work, but can certainly pay off, because quoted investors are often very short term in their outlook.