By: Mike Bloom
Each step of the sell-side process is here to position you to maximize your odds of a successful sale of your business. There are at least 6 ways we add value to your transaction:
1. Exit Planning
2. Increase Certainty to Close
3. Coaching Owners
4. Identifying Potential Purchasers
5. Leading the Transaction
6. Negotiating the Transaction Terms
Exit Planning – One of the first things we do is help you determine the range of value that your company is likely to sell for in the current market. The preliminary valuation helps determine if there is a valuation difference between your expectation and what the market is currently paying. The preliminary valuation also helps determine if there is a difference between your financial needs that have been agreed upon by your CPA and wealth manager and what the market is currently paying.
If there is a valuation difference between what you are expecting and what the market is currently paying, we advise you with ways to increase business value. The business valuation also helps determine if it makes more sense for you to continue paying yourself from the business cash flow instead of selling your business.
The process of selling your business is one that requires establishing trust, mutual respect, honesty, and candor between the parties. To set the stage, your advisors on this transaction should be people that you can trust, those that you can be honest with and you can count on to be honest with you, and with people whose company you enjoy.
Increase Certainty to Close – We help you present the strengths of your business and show how it is postured to grow to the next level of growth and profitability. We help you prepare detailed financial exhibits, models, and projections that give the buyer confidence about moving forward with a transaction. Lastly, we help you facilitate a speedy due diligence process for the buyer.
By determining if there are issues and resolving them before the transaction, business value will be preserved and certainty to close will be increased.
Coaching Owners – While you are an expert at running your business, we have dedicated ourselves to assisting sellers with M&A transactions. Most business owners only sell a business once, so it’s important to have senior leadership from your advisory group throughout the process.
Identifying Potential Purchasers – We leverage relationships in our professional network to identify many potential purchasers to facilitate a more competitive bidding process. This increases the odds of finding a mutually beneficial transaction that works for both you and the buyer and helps you achieve more favorable terms than you would on your own without the representation of an investment banker.
Leading the Transaction – Selling your business is a process that lasts six to nine months, sometimes longer. When we lead the transaction, we control the flow of information and keep your transaction team in sync so you can continue to lead your business.
By taking on most of the day-to-day work of the transaction, we help mitigate business disruption by enabling you to preserve your focus on leading your business and the day-to-day operations of your company. This helps prevent the financials results of your business from deteriorating.
Negotiating the Transaction Terms – Experienced negotiators independently advocating for your interests can help you add favorable terms to the transaction that matter most to you, and help you overcome what appear to be insurmountable hurdles.
When the terms of a transaction are mutually beneficial, seasoned negotiators understand when compromises need to be made strategically to keep the transaction moving forward and when a point cannot be compromised. Our negotiating experience can help you understand what items should and should not be placed on the negotiating table and help you walk away from a transaction when the terms are no longer favorable. We won’t negotiate terms independently of you; we will involve you, your attorney, and CPA when needed.
About Piedmont M&A Advisors
Piedmont M&A Advisors is a boutique investment banking firm specializing in buy-side and sell-side transactions for businesses with revenues between $10 million and $200 million. We also provide capital raising, valuation, and strategic advisory services.
To learn more about Piedmont M&A Advisors, or to discuss questions you might have today about selling your business, contact us today for a free consultation.
