Is 5% a reasonable cut for a middle-man when selling shares privately?

I have fully-vested options in a private company which expire in Dec 2023. A company has reached out to me saying they have a buyer for the shares. The shares are worth > $300k.

I'd like to sell because they expire in Dec 2023 and I don't know if there will be a liquidity event before then, however they want to take a 5% cut.

Is this a normal cut for a middleman in this type of transaction? Is there a way I can connect with a buyer directly to avoid giving a % to a middleman like this?

I would push for 2% of net sale value. But my experience is limited to India where costs are lower.

It depends on the company, if it’s a Databricks or highly coveted unicorn, then 1% is more than enough. It ids a struggling startup or no-name, then 5% might be fair

Sounds like 5% might be a total bargain in the context, what will you lose if you miss the date?

5% sounds ok. If they reached out to you. Then maybe you can negotiate it down some.

There are private equity markets. You might be able to talk to a broker at a company that handles private equity (JPM?) and explain what you want to do. I would think their cut would be lower than 5%, but I have no idea.