[lazide]

I’ve anecdotally heard of sellers being strategically strung along to distract them/tie them up, to help their portfolio company get additional market traction.

This is by some less than ethical Chinese investors.

That said; it could also be (unsuccessful) sellers remorse.

[ibejoeb]

Absolutely. You can get squeezed by a potential buyer. You're exposing your books, and if the buyer is particularly shrewd, it can manifest a very unfavorable position, especially for small companies. They squeeze, back out, and come back in 6 months if you're still around. If you're looking to sell your company, you need to know this and set up milestones to mitigate this.

[paulddraper]

Acquisition by competitor is a quite dicey affair...beyond a concern for resources, the information transfer itself is also concerning.

[lazide]

Yup. Also a common situation.