Deal fatigue

Definition

The point where everyone stops fighting for a deal because it has dragged.

Why It Matters

It is a real cause of dead deals rather than a mood: an owner who has answered questions for five months starts thinking about the customers they have not called, a lender's file goes stale and gets re-underwritten, and a buyer stops arguing points worth arguing. Speed is a term of the deal, which is why exclusivity periods are short and why a diligence list that arrives in one batch beats three.

In numbers: A deal signed at 60 days of exclusivity is on its second extension at month five, and the $9,000 of diligence already spent is the only reason either side is still at the table.