Selling a Business

A solid, factual and compelling offering memorandum maximizes the chances of not only selling a business, but obtaining the highest possible price.  An offering memorandum is also referred to as the selling memorandum, a confidential descriptive memorandum, or simply as “the book.” The memorandum, regardless of the terminology used, must be as factual as possible,…

Important questions to ask when looking at a business…or preparing to have your business looked at by prospective buyers. • What’s for sale?  What’s not for sale?  Does it include real estate? Are some of the machines leased instead of owned? • What assets are not earning money? Perhaps these assets should be sold off. • What is…

A January 2004 survey conducted by the DAK Group/Rutgers found the following breakdown of why businesses are for sale: Reasons To Sell Risk reduction      44% Competition or market changes   41% External pressures     27% Lifestyle factors (age, health, etc.)   14% Lack of capital      9% Ownership/management issues  07% Note: Multiple responses allowed;  Source: DAK Group/Rutgers It is interesting to note that the…

The closing is the formal transfer of a business. It usually also represents the successful culmination of many months of hard work, extensive negotiations, lots of give and take, and ultimately a satisfactory meeting of the minds.  The document governing the closing is the Purchase and Sale Agreement.  It generally covers the following: • A description…

Another important factor relating to the asking price is the amount of cash involved in the sale. There is an old saying that the higher the full-price, the lower the down payment – and vice-versa. The sale of almost any business involves some seller financing. The smaller the down payment, the higher likelihood of a…

Many business owners would like to receive all-cash for their business when selling. And yet they are often told that this is really not possible. Why? Most people are accustomed to financing just about everything – home, car, vacation home, even college for their children. The first question business brokers are often asked is, “How…

Structuring the purchase of a business is an issue that should be faced early in the selling decision. Ultimately, the final structure of the sale will be determined by actual negotiations between buyer and seller, but the seller must still answer the following questions: What is the lowest amount of cash acceptable from the sale?…

When contemplating the sale of a business, an important option to consider is seller financing. Many potential buyers don’t have the necessary capital or lender resources to pay cash. Even if they do, they are often reluctant to put such a hefty sum of cash into what, for them, is a new and untried venture.…

In the practical sense, when selling a business, goodwill is all the hard work and effort the seller has put into the business over the years. When acquiring a business, goodwill is the difference between the tangible assets and the purchase price. Goodwill value should not be confused with going-concern value. There is a big…

“Confidentiality Agreement – A pact that forbids buyers, sellers, and their agents in a given business deal from disclosing information about the transaction to others.” The M&A Dictionary It is common practice for the seller, or his or her intermediary, to require a prospective buyer to sign a confidentiality agreement, sometimes referred to as a…