Blog

What You Need to Know About Family Businesses

Family businesses are critical to both the US and World economies. In fact, in the US alone, there are approximately 5.5 million family owned and controlled businesses.  While much of the world’s wealth is a byproduct of family-owned businesses, the fact is that most are not actually prepared to sell in a way that will profit the owners for their life’s work. Many owners of family businesses...Read More

Justifying Your EBITDA

All too often a business owner decides to sell, only to learn a number of harsh realities. For example, oftentimes a business owner discovers that their lack of financial data represents a major problem. The simple fact is that prospective buyers will dive in and scrutinize every aspect of EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation & Amortization) when looking at their...Read More

Alternatives for Owners of Eroding Industries

Let’s assume that you own and operate a company that manufactures a product in an industry that is eroding or going downhill. What are your choices or alternatives? Run the company as a “cash cow,” resigning yourself to the fact that your industry is slowly declining or is no longer a growth industry. Keep what you are doing profitable even if you have to increase prices and/or cut costs....Read More

Highest Price is Not Always the Highest Priority

Many M&A experts believe that the highest price may not be the most important factor in putting a deal together. Here is one such expert’s opinion of the most important factors: The assurance that the sale will close promptly. The deal terms, e.g., cash, stock, notes, all cash at closing, earnouts, contingencies, etc. Total price and/or consideration. Legal issues. In many cases, the...Read More

What Do You Need to Do to Get Your Business Ready to Sell?

In his recent article in Smart Business entitled, “How to get your business, and yourself, ready for sale,” author Adam Burroughs explores the key points of getting your business ready to sell.  Burroughs points to the truism that, at some point, almost every business owner must sell his or her business.  For this reason, it is critical to think about what it takes to get your business ready...Read More

Selling Your Business, Taxes & Tax Structures

It is never too early to start thinking about what tax structure you should use when it comes time to sell your business.  A simple, but undeniable, rule of life is that taxes matter and they can’t be overlooked.  Author Tim Fries at The Tokenist has written an excellent and quite detailed overview article on what tax issues business owners need to consider before selling their business.  His...Read More

Improving Your Prospects for Selling

According to a Price Waterhouse Coopers survey of more than 300 privately held U.S. businesses that have been sold or transferred, the most common steps companies take to improve their prospects for a sale, prior to taking the company to market, include: Improving profitability by cutting costs Restructuring debt Limiting owners’ compensation Fully funding the company pension plan Seeking the...Read More

Over and Above the Numbers

A close review of the financial statements is always in order when considering the acquisition or merger of a company. However, that is only part of what a buyer is acquiring. Other important assets are: Repeat customers or clients  Patented product, government approvals, profitable copyrights Broad customer or client base (diverse & growing)  Long-term contracts  Recognizable brand or...Read More

What Serious Buyers Look For

Obviously, serious buyers want to carefully look at the financials of a company under consideration and all of the other major aspects of the company. However, there are a few other areas that the serious buyer will investigate that sellers may overlook. The Industry – The buyer will want to take a serious look at the industry itself, the customers, the suppliers, the competition, etc. This...Read More

Deal Structure: Thinking Outside the Box

The price gap between buyer and seller can often prevent a deal from closing. However, if the principals really want the deal to work, and their advisors really want to help, the following ideas might get the juices flowing so that all of the parties involved can think outside the box in order to make the deal work for everyone. If the seller owns the real estate, let him or her lease it to...Read More