Recently we met with members of a CEO peer group to discuss transition strategies for them and their companies. While the group included people in differing life stages, all shared the same concern: how long do I hold onto the business and when should I begin planning for the ‘next…

When contemplating or preparing for a transaction it is important that an experienced team is assembled. While the M&A advisor handles preparation, presentation, marketing, negotiation and the other myriad phases involved with the transaction, other expertise is needed. It is critical that the legal team be led by an experienced…

Adequate working capital is generally assumed to be part of the transaction in lower mid-market transactions. This can be a source of disagreement and misunderstanding. From a transactional point of view, working capital usually includes inventory plus accounts receivable less accounts payable. Cash is rarely included and short term debt,…

We recently completed a transaction of a company that was purchased as a bolt-on acquisition for a larger company, backed by a partnership of private equity groups. We started this project a year and a day before the closing. When we went to market we had a number of interested…

There are opportunities in every challenge presented to a business. Those who find constructive ways to deal with them usually succeed and in the process, enhance their position when it comes time for a sale. We specialize in selling companies in the lower mid-market. These are the businesses that are…

You may expect a newsletter from M&A advisors to encourage you to sell your business. After all, that is how we make most of our money. Having sold two small manufacturing companies of my own, I know the feeling that follows the sale can be incredibly liberating. Whether you are…

There are some truisms in business, “Everyone in the organization needs to be rowing in the same direction” or “The organization is only as strong as its weakest link”. There is also a truism when it comes to growth, “It is much faster to grow through acquisition than organically one…

Michael Coles, founder of The Great American Cookie Company, advances this formula when he discusses what he considers critical to establishing customer loyalty. Here’s the translation: Product plus Experience plus Service equals the Experience Factor. The experience factor is the way a customer feels about a business, and in part…

Twice a year we attend a deal expo with private equity groups and strategic buyers. It is part of a conference presented by The M&A Source, a professional association of intermediaries who work to bring mid-market buyers and sellers together. I have the honor of being chairman this year. Why…

Author and former Inc Magazine editor at large Bo Burlingham says there is more than money at stake during a business owner’s exit. He delivered a luncheon address at the M&A Source spring conference in Dallas Tuesday. He revisited research done for his book Finish Big. The book explores the…

Often one of the first questions we are asked during an initial meeting with a company owner is if we have experience in an industry. We do – in the transaction industry, researching and finding a target list of likely acquirers, preparing marketing documents, managing the sales process, and the…

Taking the ESOP route is not an all or nothing approach to business ownership transition. A presentation “Comparing the Big Exit Decision” by Steve Cohen, Esq and Tabitha Croscut, Esq. at AMAA New England in Boston September 28 made this clear. The two attorneys with Devine Millimet engaged in a…