Previous owner can start the same business immediately and poach all the clients, reducing the value of the sold business to zero. Buyers obviously anticipate this and won't buy the business without the non-compete.

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hedgehog 4 hours ago | parent [-]

That would violate a non-compete attached to the sale.

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dismalaf 4 hours ago | parent [-]

The posted article is literally about banning non-competes.

	▲	hedgehog 4 hours ago \| parent [-]
		...for employees. For business owners there are different rules (IIRC > 1% ownership threshold).