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Token Holder Buyout Guide

Last updated on Apr 14, 2026

Token Holder Buyout Guide

Sister article to the institutional-buyer-facing guide at

https://chatwoot.help/hc/secondarydao-help/articles/1761039317-institutional-buyout-guide

You just got an email about a buyout. Here's what it means.

Someone — usually a private equity firm, family office, or strategic investor — wants to buy the entire property your tokens represent. They've made an institutional buyout offer: a public, on-chain offer to acquire 100% of the property's tokens at a specific price.

This guide explains what that offer means for you as a token holder, what your options are, and what happens if you do nothing.

The short version

  1. You always get paid the offer price if you sell. Whether you accept voluntarily or get force-bought at the end, your per-token payout is the same.

  2. You can tender voluntarily, hold out, or have your existing sell order auto-processed. Three options, explained below.

  3. "Doing nothing" has two possible outcomes:

    • Outcome A (threshold reached): If 51% of tokens not already owned by the buyer are voluntarily tendered before the deadline, a forced buyout triggers automatically. Every remaining holder — including you — is paid at the offer price. You don't have to do anything; USDC hits your wallet.

    • Outcome B (threshold NOT reached): If fewer than 51% tender by the deadline, the offer expires. If you did not tender, you keep all your tokens. If you DID tender, you're already paid — the buyer keeps the tokens you sold them, and the offer ends without forcing anyone else to sell. The buyer becomes a partial holder alongside everyone who held out. Secondary trading resumes.

  4. Secondary market trading is paused during the offer window. You can't list new sell orders or execute market trades while a buyout is live. This is by design — the mandatory-buyout mechanic replaces the order book for that period.

  5. The offer lasts 2–7 days. Shorter than traditional tender offers because we have instant on-chain settlement and email notifications.

Your three options when you get the email

Option 1 — Tender your tokens voluntarily

If you're happy with the offer price, go to the buyout page for your property and tender your tokens. You receive USDC instantly (minus a small platform fee — typically 2–5%). No further action needed.

Why tender voluntarily instead of waiting for a forced buyout?

  • You remove any uncertainty. Your payout is locked in regardless of whether threshold is reached.

  • You help push the offer across the threshold faster. Every voluntary tender moves the forced-buyout trigger closer.

  • You have control over timing. If you want your USDC today instead of "whenever the threshold crosses," tender manually.

Option 2 — Do nothing

If you don't tender, there are two possible futures:

  • If threshold is reached by the deadline: A forced buyout fires. Your tokens are automatically transferred to the buyer, and you're paid USDC at the offer price. Same fee applies. You don't have to click anything — the contract handles it.

  • If threshold is NOT reached by the deadline: The offer expires. If you did not tender, you keep all your tokens. If you tendered at any point during the window, you're already paid — the buyer keeps those tokens and becomes a partial holder. The offer ends without forcing anyone else to sell. Secondary trading resumes and you can sell (or buy) at market.

Doing nothing is a legitimate strategy if you think the threshold won't be reached (so you keep your tokens and possibly sell later at a better price), or if you're happy to be paid at offer price but don't want to act manually.

Option 3 — You already have a sell order listed

This is handled automatically when the offer is created. Two sub-cases:

  • Your sell-order price was ≤ the buyout offer price: Your order is auto-tendered at the buyout price (which is equal to or higher than what you were asking). You receive USDC immediately; no action needed. You get an email confirming the transaction.

  • Your sell-order price was > the buyout offer price: You weren't willing to sell at or below the offer price, so your tokens are auto-returned to your wallet. You get an email. Your sell order is cancelled. You can manually tender via the buyout page if you change your mind, or do nothing (see Option 2).

The 51% mechanic, in detail

The "51%" threshold is based on uncontrolled tokens, not total supply. If the buyer already owns some tokens going into the offer, they only need 51% of the rest to trigger forced buyout.

Example:

  • Total supply: 5,039 tokens

  • Buyer already owns: 1,500 tokens

  • Uncontrolled tokens: 3,539

  • 51% threshold: 1,805 tokens need to be voluntarily tendered (not 2,570 — the global 51% of supply)

This prevents gaming by pre-accumulating tokens to "get credit" for them under the forced-buyout math.

Once the threshold is crossed, the smart contract immediately:

  1. Marks the offer as completed

  2. Force-transfers all remaining tokens from non-tendering holders to the buyer

  3. Pays each forced-out holder USDC at the offer price (same as voluntary tenders)

  4. Transfers reserve funds and renter security deposits to the buyer

The fees, from your perspective

When you sell (voluntarily OR via forced buyout), you pay a platform fee deducted from your payout. Typical range: 2–5%, locked at offer creation so it cannot change mid-buyout.

Example:

  • Offer price: $52 per token

  • Your holdings: 100 tokens

  • Gross: $52 × 100 = $5,200

  • Platform fee (3%): −$156

  • Net USDC to your wallet: $5,044

The exit premium and buyer fee are paid by the buyer — not deducted from your payout. They go to the platform treasury. Your per-token price is the offer price; you don't need to care about those other fees.

The timeline

  • Day 0 — Buyout offer created. Email hits every holder. Trading halts. Existing sell orders auto-process (tender or return). Secondary market locked.

  • Days 1–6 — Offer window. Holders manually tender voluntarily, or wait. You get a daily reminder email with progress + time remaining.

  • Day 7 (or earlier if threshold reached) — Offer resolves:

    • If 51% reached at any point → forced buyout fires immediately, every remaining holder paid.

    • If 51% not reached by end of day 7 → offer expires, non-tendering holders keep tokens, tendering holders get tokens back.

If the buyout completes before day 7, the property is fully acquired and secondary trading is dead permanently (one owner now).

FAQ

Q: Can the buyer change the offer price mid-window? A: No. Price and fees are locked on-chain at offer creation.

Q: Can I sell to a different buyer at a different price during the buyout? A: No. Secondary trading is paused. The buyout offer is the only price available for that window.

Q: What if I don't trust the buyer? A: You don't have to tender. If you hold out and enough other holders also hold out, the threshold isn't reached, the offer expires, and nothing changes. If enough other holders DO tender, you're force-bought at the offer price regardless — same as everyone else. Either way, the platform ensures you get paid at the offer price when tokens move.

Q: What happens to my rent distributions during the buyout? A: Distributions continue normally. Any rent deposits due before the buyout resolves are paid to current holders (including tendering holders for the portion of the month they held tokens).

Q: What if I'm offline for the entire buyout window? A: You don't need to be online. If threshold is reached, you're paid automatically at the offer price. Check your wallet USDC balance after the offer deadline.

Q: What's the "post-buyout mode"? A: After a completed buyout, the new sole owner chooses whether to continue the property as a managed investment (CONTINUE_MANAGED) or exit (EXIT_TRANSFER_OUT). This affects reserve fund disposition but not your payout — you're already paid.

Links

Questions not answered here? Reply to any buyout email or contact [email protected].