When it comes to the sale of large businesses such as manufacturing and distribution companies inventory is usually included in the sale price of a business. For the sale of small retail businesses, typically inventory is not included in the sale price of the business.
For businesses that don’t include the inventory in the price of the business, normally the buyer takes a physical inventory right before the closing and then pays for an amount in addition to the purchase price based on the cost that the seller paid for the inventory. In some cases, the inventory price can be adjusted down for items that are old and not very sellable. The theory behind not including inventory in the purchase price of a business is that it fluctuates so this can affect the value of what is being transferred and therefore there should be an adjustment for the inventory on hand.
Sometimes a minimum dollar value of inventory is included in the sale price and if the inventory is lower than that amount then the price will be adjusted down based on the amount of inventory below the specified amount.