There&#x27;s a range of answers to this question, but the simplest answer to &quot;Why take N years of earnings today and give up the business?&quot; is &quot;Because then I get N years of earnings today <i>and can spend my next N calendar years doing something else</i>.&quot;<p>The exact setting for N comes down to a variety of factors, market conditions, and a negotiation between a particular buyer and a particular seller.  As someone who happens to be long SaaS companies at the moment I would prefer N=50 but I know SaaS owners whose lives would be improved by a sale at 2.  (As mentioned in sibling comments, market right now is 3ish.)