Each hour, thousands of U.S. businesses are sold. Yet for lack of proper preparation many would-be sellers must remain owners. Studies suggest that between 20 and 30% of companies offered for sale actually sell. Adherence to the following suggestions will increase the likelihood of a timely and successful sale. Begin preparing now. Are you considering selling [...]

To ensure an M&A process runs smoothly, business owners should confirm the investment bankers who represent them know how to properly qualify buyers. Otherwise, owners will be stuck in a time-consuming process that goes nowhere and increases the chance their confidential data will be sent to a competitor. Here are the main areas to consider [...]

An earn-out provision in a sale agreement provides business owners future payments based upon company performance after the sale. Often when an owner believes his business is poised for exceptional growth and thus worth more than average market values, earn-out provisions can bridge the gap between the buyer’s valuation and the seller’s expectations. Here are [...]

When considering the sale of your company an important consideration is : “Which type of buyer will be right for me”? To achieve the best possible outcome, an owner must select the buyer or investor most complementary for his personal goals and his company. Buyer types are best classified into three basic types of buyers/investors: [...]

The two most common investors/buyers are strategic buyers and financial buyers, such as private equity groups. To determine the best buyer, owners should familiarize themselves with the difference between the two. Strategic Buyers: Strategic buyers may be direct competitors looking to expand market share or obtain proprietary advantages. They sometimes will pay premium values for [...]

The short answer to the above question is this: in general, business owners need to begin developing relationships at least five years before they intend to phase out of their business. Owners not ready to retire often believe it is too early to consider an exit strategy. For this reason, many business owners miss out [...]

There is no easy way to sell your company, at least not properly. Yet surprisingly, many owners put less planning into selling their company than planning their company picnic.  If after considering your options, you decide to sell with IndustryPro, below is our typical process: Step One: Strategic Planning & Preparation of Materials Timing 3-4 [...]

In the lower middle and middle market, equity groups prefer to structure the purchase of a company as a recapitalization, or recap.  This is most common when a company is large enough to be an equity group’s platform and the owner is willing to stay with the company as a significant shareholder after the sale. [...]

The simple answer to this question is this: your company is worth what someone will pay for it. That said, the method by which an investor values your company involves fairly complex financial modeling.  Because strategic investors have different motivations and a variety of valuation methods, here we try and give you a few simple [...]