So you have prepared your company for sale and now you want to do it. This is usually a major emotional commitment and many entrepreneurs find it hard to let go. Research clearly shows that many owner managers fail to achieve full or fair value for their business during the exit process. The key reasons for this failure are:
- Unrealistic value expectations and timescales
- Poor preparation within the business prior to the sale
- Unwillingness to use professional advisors
- Inadequate resources allied to the exit process
The exit strategy blog discussed preparing the business for sale to achieve the maximum
value and the need to use professional advisors in the process. Deal Team The sale process is immensely time consuming, often frustrating, an emotional roller coaster and fraught with difficulty. The need for solid, experienced professional advisors is paramount.
You will need to appoint a Deal Team to include a:
- Specialist Corporate lawyer
- Tax Accountant
- Mergers & Acquisition /Commercial Deal / Corporate Finance advisor (the names vary but usually mean the same thing)
The fees relating to these advisors will normally be paid from the proceeds on completion and cannot be charged to the company.
Getting the Highest Price From a Trade Sale To obtain the highest price from a Trade sale you need at least the following:
- To have prepared yourself for sale – see blogs Exit strategy and planning – Getting the most for your company when you decide to sell Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 for more information
- A well researched target list of potential acquirers and a positioning statement for each buyer which clearly sets out why buying your business makes great commercial sense to them
- A Mergers & Acquisition advisor who is fundamentally both an accountant, an experienced businessman and a salesman, who is focused on finding and exploiting the “halo” effect and who is capable of making the right pitch needed to sell your company
- Following that, more than one buyer prepared to make an acceptable bid
To find out how we can help you sell your business, contact us today. Or for more information sign up for our newsletter.
