NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement)
An NDA, or non-disclosure agreement, is a contract under which a prospective buyer agrees to keep the fact and details of a business sale confidential, restrict use of the information, and return or destroy materials if the deal ends.
Why NDA Matters in a Laundromat Sale
A laundromat NDA should cover more than documents: the fact of the sale itself, non-solicitation of employees and named commercial accounts, and no contact with the landlord, vendors, or lender without permission. Enforcement is slow and expensive relative to a small transaction, so the NDA's practical functions are to raise the cost of talking, document what was disclosed and when, and filter out people unwilling to sign. Sequencing does the actual protecting.
Example
A prospective buyer signs an NDA covering the transaction's existence, a two-year non-solicitation of the store's employees and commercial accounts, and a prohibition on contacting the landlord. The seller keeps a dated log of every document released under it.
What to Check
- Cover the existence of the sale, not just the documents.
- Add non-solicitation of employees and named commercial accounts.
- Keep a dated log of every document released under it.
Where This Comes Up
- Laundromat NDAs: What a Real Confidentiality Agreement Covers
- Selling a Laundromat Confidentially: The Disclosure Ladder
- Selling a Laundromat to a Competitor Without Getting Burned
- Laundromat Valuation: How Stores Are Priced and Why
Related Terms
- Blind Teaser — A blind teaser is a one-page marketing summary that gives a prospective buyer enough financial and physical detail to self-select while revealing nothing tha...
- CIM (Confidential Information Memorandum) — A CIM, or confidential information memorandum
- Buyer Qualification — Buyer qualification is the process of verifying that a prospective purchaser has the capital
See the full laundromat glossary for all 78 terms.
The Next Step
This page is general information about laundromat transactions, not legal, tax, or investment advice, and not a guarantee of sale price, timing, or financing approval. Verify current rules with your own CPA, attorney, lender, and the relevant state or municipal agency before acting.