M&A Process  

Over 27 years of experience and over 125 successful engagements have resulted in an effective, proven process for selling your business to the right buyer for the best price.

After many years of working with owners of companies who initially express interest in selling their businesses, we've learned the importance of approaching each prospective engagement as a dialogue. Critical to our decision to engage a client is an assessment of values alignment and mutual expectations.

Almost by definition, entrepreneurs invest their very life force into their businesses. The potency of the drive required for an individual to own and run his or her own business must be matched with a team of advisors with a deep breadth of experience in business transactions, and whose expertise includes exceptional creativity and openmindedness.

Once we and a prospective client agree to work together, we engage a disciplined process to determine the appropriate course of action.

Step One:

The first step involves the collection of information to assist in an in-depth evaluation of the business, as well as to clarify short- and long-term goals of the business owner.

After review and discussion of our assessment, we mutually decide if further steps are warranted in pursuit of the sale of the business. An alternative solution might include defining and implementing specific actions to improve business value for a future sale.

Step Two:

If the decision is made to continue with the sale process, we proceed to prepare the business for sale.  We develop a business valuation to determine an economic value range for an asking price for the company. This valuation takes into account current trends in the economy as well as the sale and acquisition market, industry and competitive trends, and important qualitative factors that affect business value.

Step Three:

Step three in our process is the preparation of a confidential offering memorandum, which is created to facilitate discussions with qualified buyers.  At this time we also begin to develop the advisory team which will work collaboratively to complete the transaction.

Step Four

Step four is a confidential search for qualified, serious buyers for your business. We typically create a customized search, based on the several factors, such as geographic criteria and marketing synergies, to find the best matched buyers. We prefer to work on our clients' behalf with strategic corporate buyers; depending upon the situation we entertain interest in our clients' businesses with experienced individual buyers.

Step Five:

Step five, the last step, includes assistance with negotiations, advice on structuring the deal, preparation of letters of intent and purchase and sale agreements, and coordination of transaction details through the closing.