This Week in M&A Issue #221

When many entrepreneurs go to sell their business, they’re more focused on their business than on the buyer.

Understanding how buyers approach an acquisition, particularly when it comes to funding and deal structure, can help you position your business for the most profitable exit.

In this podcast episode, Greg explains how buyer financing, SBA loans, and deal structure impact your business exit and final sale price.

He also covers common mistakes that cause deals to fall apart, how seller financing and earnouts can be used to close stronger deals, and why setting up a US entity can significantly improve exit outcomes.

If you are planning to sell your business now or in the future, this episode will help you think like a buyer and position your business to be easier to finance, more attractive to buyers, and more likely to sell at a premium.

Amazon is no longer the playground it used to be for casual side hustlers.

According to Marketplace Pulse, in 2025, new seller registrations fell to just 165,000, the lowest in a decade and a 44% drop from 2024, indicating a shift toward more seasoned, well-funded operators.

Analysts are calling this change the Great Compression. Sellers face higher tariffs, overseas competitors taking advantage of enforcement gaps, and rising expectations driven by AI. Advertising costs are now mandatory for visibility, platform fees are up, and Chinese sellers make up over half of all active accounts. Together, these factors discouraged new sellers from signing up.

Interestingly, even as seller numbers fell, from 2.4 million in 2021 to 1.65 million in 2025, the opportunity for remaining sellers has grown.

Amazon’s third-party U.S. sales hit $305 billion, with global sales reaching $575 billion. Traffic per active seller increased 31% since 2021, and the number of sellers generating over $1 million annually rose from roughly 60,000 to over 100,000. Those earning $100 million or more jumped from 50 to 235.  Sellers who can master Amazon’s complexities and scale strategically are reaping big rewards.

The profile of new sellers is changing too. Chinese sellers accounted for 59.9% of 2025’s new registrations, slightly down from 62.3% in 2024, likely due to stricter tax reporting. American sellers made up just 16.3%, continuing a long-term decline.

For anyone thinking of starting on Amazon, casual, part-time operations face steep challenges. Success now requires capital, strategy, and the ability to handle fees, tariffs, and stiff competition. Sellers who want to thrive must operate at a more professional level from day one.

AI chats are quickly becoming a place where consumers search for products, compare options, and make buying decisions. Shopify’s goal is to ensure merchants can sell wherever those conversations happen with the launch of the Universal Commerce Protocol, or UCP.

With UCP, Shopify merchants will soon be able to sell directly inside Google Search AI Mode and the Gemini app, using native checkout experiences managed from the Shopify Admin. Shopify is also expanding its Microsoft Copilot integration with a new embedded checkout that allows purchases to happen directly inside Copilot.

UCP is designed to work across platforms and accommodate the many ways businesses sell online. It supports key checkout steps like applying discount codes, selecting subscriptions, confirming loyalty details, and handling preorders or final sale terms. The protocol works with any payment processor and gives AI agents a clear framework to complete purchases or request additional information from shoppers when needed.

A major change is Shopify opening its Catalog to all brands through a new Agentic plan. Businesses no longer need a Shopify storefront to sell through AI channels.

Brands on any platform can now use Shopify’s infrastructure to list products once and have them appear across AI tools like ChatGPT, Google AI Mode, Gemini, and Microsoft Copilot. Shopify’s catalog uses AI to standardize and enrich product data so items surface more accurately during discovery.

For small business owners, the opportunity is significant, but it comes with challenges. Adopting AI-driven sales channels may require new skills, better product data, and careful attention to security and integration.

Overall, Shopify’s Universal Commerce Protocol signals a future where AI plays a central role in retail. Businesses that adapt early are likely to be better positioned to reach customers, stand out in crowded markets, and grow as shopping continues to evolve.

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