Playbook Corporate Advisory
Playbook Corporate Advisory, Inc., operating as Playbook Advisory, is a Chicago-based business brokerage and M&A advisory firm that states it has operated since 2016. Its public materials describe sell-side and buy-side representation, targeted M&A searches, valuation services and transaction support for businesses across several sectors.
What stands out about Playbook Corporate Advisory
Playbook publicly presents a confidential, success-fee-based advisory model serving Chicago and Illinois businesses, with targeted M&A searches described for buyers and strategic buyers nationwide and in Chicagoland. Its published revenue criteria are not identical across pages: the About page states $2 million to $20 million, while the homepage states $1 million-$15 million.[1][2][3][4][5]
What does Playbook Corporate Advisory do?
Playbook Corporate Advisory, Inc., operating as Playbook Advisory, identifies itself as a Chicago-based business brokerage and M&A advisory firm. The firm identifies Jim Peddle as founder and president and states that it has operated since 2016.
Its public offering includes sell-side and buy-side representation, targeted M&A searches, business valuations, pre-sale evaluations, marketing, negotiation and closing support.[1][2]
Playbook publicly describes sell-side representation, buy-side representation, targeted M&A searches, business valuations and pre-sale evaluations. It also describes marketing, negotiation and closing support.
The firm states that its process includes initial listing, active marketing, negotiation and closing. Its website also states that sellers incur no upfront costs and that the firm provides access to marketing, due-diligence, valuation, lending and transaction-attorney resources.[1][2][3]
Owners comparing intermediaries can also review Auxo’s business broker, M&A advisor and investment bank comparison, advisor-selection guide, and M&A advisor fee guide.
What should a business owner evaluate before hiring Playbook Corporate Advisory?
An owner evaluating Playbook should reconcile the firm’s two published revenue ranges: $2 million to $20 million on the About page and $1 million-$15 million on the homepage. The owner should also confirm the applicable industry and geographic criteria for the proposed mandate.
The engagement should be reviewed for the exact success fee, any minimum fee, expenses, exclusivity, tail and termination provisions. The owner should clarify how buyer qualification, financing capacity and confidentiality are handled, which work is performed directly by Playbook, and which matters are assigned to attorneys, accountants, lenders or other providers.
Playbook’s published examples include closed transactions across manufacturing, distribution, food, property management, retail and other businesses. The active-listings page does not consistently provide transaction dates, enterprise values, consideration terms or complete buyer identities, and the About page does not provide transaction values, closing dates or consideration terms for each listed engagement.[1][3][4][5]
Which revenue, EBITDA, industry and geographic criteria determine whether a mandate is accepted
What exact success fee, minimum fee, expense reimbursement, exclusivity, tail and termination provisions apply
Which portions of the process are handled directly by Playbook versus outside attorneys, accountants, lenders or diligence providers
What size transactions does Playbook Corporate Advisory handle?
Playbook’s official website identifies Playbook Corporate Advisory, Inc. as the legal entity, names Jim Peddle as founder and president, and states that the firm has operated since 2016. The website also identifies the firm as an Illinois Registered Business Broker and displays registration number 310001536.
The firm states that its founder and president runs every deal personally with an experienced M&A team based in Chicago.[1]
The firm presents a transaction model centered on confidential business sales, qualified-buyer marketing, negotiations and closing support. Its stated services also include buy-side representation and targeted acquisition searches.
Playbook states that its brokerage engagements are success-fee based and custom tailored to the seller’s goals. The applicable fee terms and engagement provisions should be confirmed directly for a particular mandate.[2][4][5]
Playbook identifies Chicago and Illinois as core markets. It states that it assists owners selling Chicago-based businesses and buyers acquiring businesses in Illinois.
The firm also publicly describes targeted M&A searches for buyers and strategic buyers nationwide and in Chicagoland.[1][2]
What does Playbook Corporate Advisory publicly disclose about fees and engagement terms?
The success-fee page does not publish a universal success-fee percentage, minimum fee, tail period or termination schedule.
The active-listings page does not consistently disclose transaction dates, enterprise values, consideration terms or complete buyer identities for listed completed transactions. The About page identifies numerous completed engagements but does not provide transaction values, closing dates or consideration terms for each listed engagement.[3][4][5]
Playbook’s official website identifies Playbook Corporate Advisory, Inc. as an Illinois Registered Business Broker and displays registration number 310001536.
The Illinois Business Brokers Act states that every person engaging in the business of business brokering must be registered with the Office of the Illinois Secretary of State under the Act. The official website establishes the firm’s stated registration identification but does not independently establish additional regulatory permissions or status.[1][6]
Playbook states that its transaction process includes initial listing, active marketing, negotiation and closing. It describes its brokerage engagements as success-fee based and custom tailored to the seller’s goals, and states that sellers incur no upfront costs.
The active-listings page states that listings are confidential. Prospective buyers are required to contact the office, provide background information and sign a nondisclosure agreement.
The success-fee page does not publish a universal success-fee percentage, minimum fee, tail period or termination schedule. Those terms should be confirmed in the proposed engagement.[1][3][4][5]
Questions to ask before hiring Playbook Corporate Advisory
Which revenue, EBITDA, industry and geographic criteria determine whether a mandate is accepted?
What exact success fee, minimum fee, expense reimbursement, exclusivity, tail and termination provisions apply?
Which portions of the process are handled directly by Playbook versus outside attorneys, accountants, lenders or diligence providers?
How are buyer quality, financing capacity and confidentiality controlled?
Can the firm provide recent seller references and disclose the dates, consideration structures and buyer types for comparable completed transactions?
Sources & research notes
- Official website / firm overview
- Services / capabilities
- Services / capabilities
- Public Process
- Public Process
- Structure / regulatory context
How this profile was researched
Auxo profiles are prepared from publicly available primary and authoritative sources and reviewed for entity identity, factual support and disclosure consistency. When a fact cannot be supported by the reviewed public record, the profile identifies it as something to confirm directly rather than inferring it.
Independent research profile
This profile was prepared by Auxo Capital Advisors from publicly available information believed to be reliable and is provided solely for informational and educational purposes. It is not an endorsement, recommendation, ranking, solicitation, or representation regarding the profiled firm, its services, qualifications, transaction experience, regulatory status, financial condition, or suitability for any particular person, company, transaction, or investment.
Information obtained from third-party and public sources may be incomplete, inaccurate, outdated, or subject to change, and Auxo Capital Advisors makes no representation or warranty, express or implied, as to its accuracy, completeness, or timeliness. Readers should conduct their own independent diligence and consult appropriate professional advisers before engaging any advisor, intermediary, investor, lender, acquirer, or other transaction counterparty.
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