Making an offer and closing the deal

By the time you are ready to make an offer, the hard verification work is behind you. You have completed due diligence (stage 4), you understand what the business earns and how it runs, and you are confident enough to talk price. Stages 5 through 10 are the closing arc of the Online Asset process: Offer, Letter of intent, Escrow, Sale and purchase agreement, Transfer, and finally Closed.

This guide walks through each of those stages from the buyer's side, so you know what happens, what you approve, and what your advisor handles alongside you. It also gives you an honest picture of what runs on the platform today versus what a real person coordinates for you off-platform, because a safeguard is only reassuring if you understand how it actually works.

Stage 5: Making an offer

An offer puts a price on the table. On Online Asset, offers are bidirectional, which means the conversation runs both ways: after an offer is made, each side can accept it, counter it with a different price or terms, or decline. That back-and-forth continues until both sides agree, or until one side walks away. Nothing is locked in until there is genuine agreement.

• Accept: the other side agrees to the offer as it stands, and the deal moves forward.
• Counter: the other side responds with different numbers or terms, and the ball is back in your court.
• Decline: the offer is turned down, though the conversation can often continue with a new one.

Because sellers can see your buyer level, they know they are negotiating with a verified party rather than an anonymous account, which tends to make the exchange more serious on both sides. When an offer is finally accepted, the deal advances to the letter of intent.

Stage 6: The letter of intent (LOI)

A letter of intent, or LOI, records the agreed price and terms before the final contract is drafted. Think of it as writing down what you and the seller just shook hands on, so that both sides are working from the same understanding as the deal moves toward its binding form. It captures the shape of the deal: the price you agreed, and the key terms that go with it.

The LOI is the bridge between agreeing a number and signing a contract. It gives everyone a clear reference point, and it sets up the steps that protect the actual exchange of money and assets: escrow and the sale and purchase agreement.

Stage 7: Escrow

Escrow is the safeguard that makes a large online transaction safe for both sides. Your funds are secured with a neutral third party before ownership changes hands. The seller can see that the money is real and set aside, and you can see that it will not be released until you actually receive what you are paying for. Neither side has to simply trust the other.

In practice this means your advisor guides you through funding escrow with the neutral third party and confirms it is in place, then reflects that status back in the deal room so the record stays current. You get the protection of escrow with a real person making sure each step is done correctly.

Stage 8: The sale and purchase agreement (SPA)

The sale and purchase agreement, or SPA, is the binding contract. It is reviewed and signed by both parties, and it is what actually governs the sale: what is being sold, at what price, on what terms, and what each side is responsible for. This is the document that turns an agreed intention into a legal commitment.

Read it carefully and make sure it reflects everything you agreed, including what you verified during diligence about which assets and contracts are included. As with escrow, signing is coordinated by your advisor off-platform for now and recorded in the deal room; in-app e-signature is part of the later phase. The commitment you are making is exactly as binding either way.

Stage 9: Transfer

With the contract signed and funds secured in escrow, the assets move from seller to buyer. Transfer is confirmed item by item, which matters, because an online business is really a bundle of separate assets, and each one has to actually end up in your hands.

• Domains move to your control.
• Accounts and platform logins are handed over.
• Code, content, and any technical assets are delivered.
• Contracts and supplier relationships are reassigned where they transfer.

Confirming each item one by one is what prevents surprises. This is where the transferability work you did during diligence pays off: because you already checked what could move and what needed a third party's approval, the handover has fewer unknowns. Your advisor helps coordinate the checklist so nothing is missed.

Stage 10: Closed

Once the assets have transferred and been confirmed, the deal reaches Closed. Ownership has changed hands and the funds held in escrow are released to the seller. Only then does the money move, which is the whole point of securing it first: payment and delivery are tied together rather than left to hope. The deal documents remain in the data room, so you keep a record of what was agreed and transferred.

1. 1

   Offer

   Make an offer; you and the seller accept, counter, or decline until you agree a price.

2. 2

   Letter of intent

   The agreed price and terms are recorded before the final contract.

3. 3

   Escrow

   Your funds are secured with a neutral third party, advisor-coordinated off-platform for now.

4. 4

   Sale and purchase agreement

   The binding contract is reviewed and signed by both parties, with signing coordinated by your advisor.

5. 5

   Transfer

   Assets move to you and are confirmed item by item.

6. 6

   Closed

   Ownership is transferred, escrow funds are released, and the documents stay in the data room.

What stays true across every stage

Two things hold from your first offer to a closed transfer. First, the same named advisor stays with you the whole way, which means continuity and accountability rather than a handoff at the moment things get complicated. On some deals two advisors work together, and both are simply your advisors. Second, the important decisions remain yours to approve: the offer you make, the price you accept, and the contract you sign. The advisor's role is to prepare, organize, and coordinate the steps, including the escrow and signing that run off-platform today, so that when a decision reaches you, you can make it with confidence.

That is the closing arc: a clear sequence, real safeguards, and a real person making sure each step is done properly, without anyone pretending a button exists that does not yet. When you are ready to begin, the offer is where it starts.