CIM (Confidential Information Memorandum)

Definition

The broker's marketing document, shared after an NDA and written to sell.

Why It Matters

It is your main screening input, and the thing to hold onto is that it is advocacy, not disclosure: a broker wrote it to sell. Read it for what is missing as much as what is there, and always against the tax returns rather than instead of them, because the gaps are where the real diligence questions start.

In numbers: A CIM for the same $4,000,000 deal runs 25 to 50 pages behind the NDA: three years of financials, the customer mix, org chart, lease terms, and the asking multiple's justification. Reading one against the tax returns, not instead of them, is where screening actually starts.