Tell HN: Our VC turned the process of getting acquired into a nightmare

I run a startup I co-founded on the east coast, which is about as specific as I can be right now. The past three months has been some of the worst in my life but also provided some of the most valuable lessons learned. I thought I would use a throwaway account to blow of some steam and hopefully get some valuable feedback. This is the situation: My startup is profitable with a team of 10 or so people and with a very happy and loyal customer base. But after five years in business I have come to accept that it has failed to yield any really high growth. This has forced us to take a step back and look at how we can reframe our business. We need to find a new product/market fit to kick in the next gear and get back on track to higher growth. Three months ago, a favorable acquisition offer comes along. Part cash part equity, favorable terms. Because of our dwindling growth it is lousy timing valuation-wise. But right in this situation an acquisition might not be so bad because we know that