BlueThrone · B2C · app buying and growth studio
Pay half at closing and guarantee the other half 12 months later
Lets them offer a higher price because their risk is lower; no numbers
Workedexit-mafinancing
What they did
When buying an app, pay 50% at closing and guarantee the remaining 50% after 12 months regardless of KPIs or app performance. Unlike an earnout (payment tied to e.g. keeping downloads at current levels), payout isn't tied to performance, which sellers see as fair, and the lower upfront risk lets the buyer offer a higher valuation. Alternatives discussed: all-cash, earnout, equity plus cash (e.g. 70/30), revenue share.
What happened
Used often; enables higher valuations for sellers.
“I'm going to pay you 50% today, and then I'm going to guarantee you the second 50% after 12 months, irrelevant of KPIs, irrelevant of performance.”
“This is a uh structure we often use at Bluethrone, because it's we feel like it's very fair.”
“It's going to enable us to give you a higher valuation, cuz our risk is lower”
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