---
title: "What Is Strategic Buyer? Private Equity Glossary"
description: "A strategic buyer is a company that buys another company to gain customers, products, locations or other benefits that fit its own business."
url: https://capstreet.multisites.ai/glossary/strategic-buyer
publisher: Capstreet
phone: +1-713-332-2700
contact: https://capstreet.multisites.ai/contact
---

Fundamentals

# Strategic Buyer

A strategic buyer is a company that buys another company to gain customers, products, locations or other benefits that fit its own business.

A strategic buyer is usually an operating company, often a competitor, a supplier or a customer. It buys because your business helps its own. It may want your customers, your people, your technology or your territory.

For example, a regional services firm buys a smaller rival in a nearby state. It plans to merge back-office work and cut duplicate costs. These savings let it pay more than a purely financial buyer.

Strategic buyers matter because they can pay for fit. The trade-offs are that your team may be cut, your brand may disappear, and you may not stay involved. Some owners also worry about sharing data with a competitor.

Compare them with a [financial buyer](https://capstreet.multisites.ai/glossary/financial-buyer), such as a private equity firm, which often keeps your team and brand and backs growth. See the pros and cons in [private equity vs strategic buyer](https://capstreet.multisites.ai/compare/private-equity-vs-strategic-buyer). Related: [private equity](https://capstreet.multisites.ai/glossary/private-equity).

[Read nextPrivate equity vs strategic buyer: which one should buy your business?](https://capstreet.multisites.ai/compare/private-equity-vs-strategic-buyer)

## Related terms

-   [Financial Buyer](https://capstreet.multisites.ai/glossary/financial-buyer)
-   [Private Equity](https://capstreet.multisites.ai/glossary/private-equity)
-   [Exit Strategy](https://capstreet.multisites.ai/glossary/exit-strategy)

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