Selling a Business

Family-owned businesses do have some options when it comes time to sell.  Selling the entire business may not be the best choice when there are no other family members involved.  Here are some choices to be considered: Internal Transactions Hire a CEO – This approach is a management exit strategy in which the owner retires,…

It has always been the American Dream to be independent and in control of one’s own destiny. Owning your own business is the best way to meet that goal.  Many people dream about owning their own business, but when it gets right down to it, they just can’t make that leap of faith that is…

Deals fall apart for many reasons – some reasonable, others unreasonable. For example: • The seller doesn’t have all his financials up to date. • The seller doesn’t have his legal/environmental/administrative affairs up to date. • The buyer can’t come up with the necessary financing. • The well known “surprise” surfaces causing the deal to fall apart. The list…

Your first question may be, “Just what is Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)?” We see CSR demonstrated in a variety of ways in areas such as: THE COMMUNITY: o Contributing to local community programs through financial support and personal involvement THE ENVIRONMENT: o Using packaging and containers that are environmentally-friendly o Recycling o Using low-emission and high mileage vehicles where…

Personal Goodwill has always been a fascinating subject, impacting the sale of many small to medium-sized businesses – and possibly even larger companies. How is personal goodwill developed? An individual starts a business and, during the process, builds one or more of the following: • A positive personal reputation • A personal relationship with many of the…

Mass Mutual Life Insurance Company provided the following survey results based on family-owned businesses. Although the survey was conducted several years ago, the results are still quite revealing, and still applicable. • Four out of five companies are still controlled by the founders. • 30% of family-owned companies will change leadership within the next five years. • 55%…

New accounting rules may require that acquirers and acquiring companies report earnout agreements as liabilities. Joel Johnson, president of Orchard Partners Inc., in his article, “Earnouts,” published by Valuation Strategies, states: “In a given year, 2% – 3% of announced mergers and acquisition agreements involve earnouts.  These figures probably understate their prevalence.  Earnouts tend to…

The following are situations where the price was not the deciding issue in the successful sell of a business. The ultimate buyer may be the only one who really understands the situation. A business intermediary really understands the issues and can lead the buyer and seller to a successful resolution. • One seller had 60 shareholders…

Basically, there are three major negotiation methods. 1. Take it or leave it. A buyer makes an offer or a seller makes a counter-offer – both sides can let the “chips fall where they may.” 2. Split the difference. The buyer and seller, one or the other, or both, decide to split the difference between what the…

Due diligence is generally considered an activity that takes place as part of the selling process. It might be wise to take a look at the business from a buyer’s perspective in performing due diligence as part of an annual review of the business.  Performing due diligence does two things: (1) It provides a valuable…