Can you earn a referral reward if the company already has a broker or banker?

Does a sale mandate block a data licensing introduction?

Usually not. A sell-side mandate covers the sale of the business, and a data license is not a sale: the company keeps ownership, licenses a defined set of records for AI training, and receives a one-time payment. So an existing broker or investment banker does not by itself stop the company from licensing data through SourceX, or stop you from earning a referral reward for the introduction.

What can get in the way is paper the company has already signed. Before you introduce, the owner and their advisers should look at the engagement letter, any letter of intent (LOI) and, if one exists, the signed purchase agreement.

Which clauses should the owner check first?

Four documents decide whether a license can go ahead during a sale and whether the banker or broker has a claim on it.

A mandate that ended recently can still carry a tail period, so check whether its definition of a covered transaction could reach a license.

How does the stage of the sale change the answer?

Timing matters more than the existence of the mandate. Because a license normally gives the data buyer AI-training exclusivity for a fixed term, any acquirer will ask to read it during diligence.

How does SourceX attribution work alongside a mandate?

Credit goes to the first valid referrer whose introduction leads to a verified company application within the attribution window. A sale mandate does not change that rule; the banker or broker is paid under the engagement letter, and the SourceX reward is a separate share of SourceX's fee.

In practice:

• If you introduce the company first and it applies within the window, you are the referrer, even though a banker represents it for the sale.
• If the banker or broker registers as a partner and introduces the company first, the credit is theirs.
• An application made through your referral link carries your code, so the owner can apply directly without losing your credit.

The reward never reduces what the company receives. Whether the banker's engagement letter entitles it to any fee on a license is a separate question between the company and its banker. The guide on separating a referral reward from the company's licensing proceeds shows how the money flows, and the page on broker referral fee norms covers how brokers handle their own referral sources.

What should you say to the company's banker or broker?

Bring the adviser in early. A banker who first hears about a license from a buyer's diligence request list will not thank you.

What if you are the banker or broker yourself?

You can introduce your own client, with the client's informed agreement. Two extra checks apply. First, tell the client in writing that you may receive a referral reward, so they can weigh your advice on timing. Second, if you hold a FINRA registration, your firm's outside-activity rules apply. FINRA reported that the SEC approved new FINRA Rule 3290 on outside activities on September 15, 2026, replacing Rules 3270 and 3280, with the effective date to be announced in a Regulatory Notice; until then the existing rules apply (FINRA update). Talk to your compliance team before you register.

This is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Confirm with your own counsel, tax adviser or professional body before acting.

The M&A advisor partner page covers the program for sell-side firms, and the guide to M&A referral fees explains how those firms pay their own referral sources.

When should you hold off?

• The company has signed an LOI whose no-shop could reach licensing, and counsel has not cleared it.
• The buyer is in confirmatory diligence and the owner does not want a new contract in the data room.
• The engagement letter's transaction definition plainly includes licenses and the owner has not discussed it with the banker.
• Someone has already licensed the same records for AI training.
• The company misses the baseline: it never reached 50+ full-time employees at peak (contractors excluded), lacks a multi-year operating record, cannot show it owns the records, or has nobody authorized to sign.

How does the reward work?

Partners earn 25% of the eligible platform fees SourceX actually collects from the referred company's licensing deals, capped at $100,000 per referred company. Payment comes only after the buyer pays and SourceX receives its fee; a signed license on its own does not trigger it, and no reward is guaranteed. See the rewards page for payout conditions and the plain definition of a referral fee for the general mechanics.

Next step

Ask the owner whether a license fits the sale timeline and loop in their banker or broker. Then register as a partner and send your referral link; an owner who would rather start alone can use sourcex.si/apply.