Privacy Policy

E4 Business Brokers ("E4 Business Brokers", "we", "us", "our") is a business brokerage based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. We help owners sell businesses and help buyers acquire them, and we provide business valuations, franchise network development, expansion consulting, marketing for sale, financing introductions and exit strategy planning.

Because of what we do, people trust us with sensitive information — financial statements, ownership details, personal contact information, and the simple fact that a business may be for sale. This policy explains what personal information we collect through this website and through our brokerage services, why we collect it, who we share it with, where it is stored, and how you can access or correct it.

We handle personal information in accordance with Alberta's Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA) and Canada's Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), whichever applies to the interaction.

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1. Who is responsible for your information

E4 Business Brokers is accountable for the personal information under our control, including information handled on our behalf by service providers. Privacy enquiries can be directed to us using the contact details in section 15.

2. What we collect

Information you give us directly

• Contact form details — full name, phone number, email address, postal code, and anything you type into the message field. Name, phone, email and postal code are required fields on our contact form.
• Seller information — business name and location, industry, years in operation, revenue, cash flow, asset details, lease and supplier information, ownership structure, and any financial or tax documents you provide so we can value and market your business.
• Buyer information — acquisition criteria, budget, source and proof of funds, financing details, background and experience, and identity information used to qualify you as a serious prospect before confidential listing details are released.
• Confidentiality documents — non-disclosure agreements, letters of intent, offers and related correspondence.
• Broker applicants — the information you submit when applying to join our brokerage team.

Information collected automatically on this website

• IP address, approximate location derived from it, browser and device type, operating system, and referring URL.
• Pages visited, time on page, links clicked, and forms started or submitted.
• Cookies and similar technologies, as described in section 7.

Information from other sources

We may receive your information from a referral partner, a co-brokering firm, a lender, a listing platform, or from publicly available sources such as corporate registries, business directories and professional networking profiles — used to confirm what you have told us or to reach you about an opportunity that fits your stated criteria.

We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under the age of 18.

3. Why we collect it

We collect, use and disclose personal information only for purposes a reasonable person would consider appropriate in the circumstances, and only for the purposes below:

• To respond to your enquiry, arrange a confidential consultation, and answer questions about buying or selling.
• To prepare business valuations, blind profiles and marketing materials for a listing.
• To respond to and screen prospective buyers before releasing confidential information about a listed business.
• To introduce matched buyers and sellers, and to administer NDAs, offers, due diligence, closing and post-sale transition.
• To coordinate with lenders, accountants, lawyers and other advisors involved in a transaction, at your direction.
• To maintain our confidential database of listings and to notify registered buyers of opportunities matching their criteria.
• To send market updates and other communications where you have consented.
• To evaluate applications from people applying to become an E4 Business Broker.
• To operate, secure and improve this website and measure the performance of our marketing.
• To meet legal, regulatory, tax and record-keeping obligations, and to establish or defend legal claims.

If we want to use your information for a new purpose not listed here, we will identify it and obtain your consent first, unless the law permits or requires otherwise.

4. Consent

We collect personal information with your knowledge and consent. Submitting a form, sending us documents, or signing an NDA constitutes consent to use that information for the purposes identified at the time. For sensitive information — such as financial statements or proof of funds — we rely on your express consent.

You may withdraw consent at any time, subject to legal or contractual restrictions and reasonable notice. Contact us using the details in section 15. Withdrawing consent may mean we can no longer market your business, present you to a seller, or continue to act for you.

Marketing emails, calls and text messages

We send commercial electronic messages only with consent, in line with Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL). Every marketing email includes an unsubscribe link. If you have opted in to text messages, you can stop them by replying STOP. Message and data rates may apply. Opting out of marketing does not stop transactional messages about a transaction you are actively involved in.

5. Confidentiality of a business sale

Confidentiality is central to brokerage, so it deserves its own commitment. When you engage us to sell a business:

• We market using a blind profile that does not identify your business by name or exact location.
• We release identifying and financial information only to pre-qualified buyers who have signed a non-disclosure agreement.
• We do not disclose to your employees, customers, suppliers or competitors that your business is for sale, unless you instruct us to.
• Personal information collected from a buyer enquiry is never repurposed into public listing or advertising material.

Confidentiality obligations under a signed NDA or engagement agreement operate alongside this policy. Where the two differ, the signed agreement governs that specific engagement.

6. Who we share it with

We do not sell, rent or trade your personal information.

We disclose personal information only in these situations:

• Parties to a transaction — a qualified, NDA-bound buyer or seller, and their lawyers, accountants, lenders or landlords, where necessary to advance a deal you are part of.
• Co-brokers and referral partners — where another brokerage is involved in the listing or introduction, subject to confidentiality obligations.
• Financing partners — vetted lenders and financing sources, where you have asked us to make an introduction.
• Service providers — companies that host our website and customer relationship management system, deliver our email and text messages, provide analytics, e-signature and cloud storage. They may use your information only to perform services for us, under contract.
• Professional advisors — our own lawyers, accountants, insurers and auditors.
• Legal requirements — where required by a court order, subpoena, regulator, law enforcement request, or applicable law, or to investigate suspected fraud or a threat to safety.
• Business change — if E4 Business Brokers is itself sold, merged or reorganized, information may be transferred to the acquiring party under confidentiality obligations and used for the same purposes.

7. Cookies and website analytics

This website uses cookies and similar technologies to keep the site working, remember your preferences, understand which pages and campaigns perform, and measure form submissions. Some are set by third-party tools such as web analytics and advertising platforms.

You can block or delete cookies in your browser settings. Essential cookies cannot be turned off without affecting how the site functions, including forms.

We do not respond to browser "Do Not Track" signals, as there is no common standard for how they should be interpreted.

8. Where your information is stored — outside Canada

This is important and we want it stated plainly. Our website, customer relationship management system, email and messaging platforms are provided by service providers whose servers and support personnel are located outside Canada, primarily in the United States. Personal information you submit through this website — including your name, email address, phone number, postal code and the contents of your message — is stored and processed on those systems.

While it is outside Canada, that information is subject to the laws of that country, and may be accessible to foreign courts, law enforcement and national security authorities under those laws.

We require these providers, by contract, to protect your information and use it only to deliver services to us. If you want to know more about how we handle information outside Canada, or have questions about our practices and policies regarding foreign service providers, contact us using the details in section 15.

9. How long we keep it

We keep personal information only as long as it is needed for the purposes it was collected for, or as required by law and by our professional record-keeping, tax and audit obligations.

• Enquiries that do not progress — retained for a limited period after our last contact with you, then securely destroyed.
• Completed transactions — retained for the period required by applicable legal, tax and record-keeping obligations.
• Marketing lists — retained until you unsubscribe, after which we keep a minimal suppression record so that we do not contact you again.
• Unsuccessful broker applications — retained for a limited period, unless you ask us to keep your details on file.

If we use personal information to make a decision that directly affects you, we keep it for at least one year afterward so you have a reasonable opportunity to request access. Information no longer needed is securely destroyed, erased or anonymized.

10. How we protect it

We use safeguards appropriate to the sensitivity of the information, including access controls that limit files to the brokers working on your file, encrypted transmission of documents, password-protected systems, secure storage of physical records, confidentiality obligations for staff and contractors, and secure disposal.

No method of transmission or storage is completely secure. Please do not send financial statements, tax returns or identity documents through an unsecured web form or ordinary email — contact us and we will arrange a secure method.

11. Your rights

Subject to limited legal exceptions, you have the right to:

• Access the personal information we hold about you, and be told how it has been used and to whom it has been disclosed.
• Correct information that is inaccurate or incomplete.
• Withdraw consent to further use or disclosure, subject to legal and contractual limits.
• Unsubscribe from marketing communications at any time.
• Ask questions or complain about how we handle your information.

Send requests in writing using the details in section 15. We will respond within 45 days, or tell you if we need an extension and why. We may ask you to verify your identity first. There is normally no charge; if a request requires significant time or copying, we will give you a written estimate before proceeding.

We may refuse access where the information contains confidential commercial information about another party, is subject to solicitor-client privilege, was collected for an investigation, or would reveal personal information about someone else. If we refuse, we will tell you why and how to challenge that decision.

12. Complaints

Raise a concern with us first — most issues are resolved quickly. If you are not satisfied with our response, you may contact:

13. Third-party links

This website links to external sites, including our business listing platform and our social media profiles. Once you leave this site, this policy no longer applies. Please review the privacy policy of any site you visit.

14. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy as our services, technology or the law change. The revised version takes effect when it is posted on this page. If a change is significant, we will make it prominent. Continuing to use the website or our services after an update means you accept the revised policy.

15. Contact us