The Indication of Interest (IOI) is the document given to a seller by the interested buyer to indicate his or her genuine interest in purchasing the business. In order to write an IOI, a few key points must be included.

The biggest difference between private and public M&A transactions is whether or not the seller stands by his or her obligations post-closing. No type of deal is necessarily better than the other. It depends on what the buyer finds important in conducting a transaction.