Can I be sued if a buyer I talked to tells a competitor my business is for sale?

This question usually runs the other way — if a buyer you shared information with under a confidentiality agreement tells a competitor your business is for sale, that's typically a breach by the buyer, and it's you who may have a claim against them, not the reverse. There's generally no legal exposure to you as the seller simply because a buyer you were negotiating with chose to leak something you asked them to keep confidential.

The practical concern is less about your own legal liability and more about the damage a leak like this can do — a competitor learning you're selling can affect employee morale, customer confidence, or your negotiating position with other buyers, and that harm doesn't necessarily come with an easy dollar figure attached for a lawsuit. If this happens, document what was disclosed and by whom, and consider both your remedies against the breaching buyer and how to manage the fallout with staff and customers directly. A Treadstone business lawyer can assess what recourse the confidentiality agreement actually gives you against the buyer responsible.