15-30% Purchase Price Via Earnouts | Growth-Based vs EBITDA Metrics | Seller Involvement +10-20% | Risk Mitigation | 2026 Guide Earnouts (contingent payments tied to post-close performance) represent 15-30% of typical M&A transactions in the UK, allowing buyers to share future upside with sellers. Structuring earnouts strategically can maximize founder proceeds by 10-20% vs all-cash deals through: (1) growth-based metrics that reward seller involvement, (2) clearly achievable