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Build, Transfer, or Protect
February 4, 2016 / in Exit Planning, Sell a Business / by Exit Strategies
Research indicates that most business owners have 60-80% of their wealth tied up in their businesses. Yet in our experience few owners have a clear idea about the value of their business and few have done much thinking or strategizing about how to build, transfer, or protect years of hard-earned wealth. Let’s examine these options. Build means to invest for growth. This involves time and money. As you near retirement, it may be less prudent …
Exit Strategies Sells Advanced Components Technology to Strategic Acquirer
January 17, 2016 / in News / by Al Statz
Exit Strategies is pleased to announce the sale of Redwood City-based Advanced Components Technology, Inc., a contract manufacturer of precision sheet metal enclosures, machined parts and electro-mechanical assemblies to medical equipment, automotive, defense, lighting and instrumentation OEM’s operating in Silicon Valley. ACT has been a preferred supplier to Keysight Technologies, HP and Agilent for many years, and is a Tier 1 supplier to Tesla Motors. ACT provides quick-turn prototypes, with extensive DFM support, and low to moderate production volumes. The acquirer, METALfx, provides precision metal …
Good Exit Planning: First and Foremost, A Valuation of the Company
December 28, 2015 / in Business Strategy, Exit Planning, Sell a Business / by Bob Altieri
With the baby boomer generation retirement rush beginning to take hold, many business owners lack sufficient information about the value of their business for retirement planning purposes and don’t foresee the deal killers that await them. A Deal Killer is a condition that, if undetected and unresolved before the sale of a business, will kill the transaction. The purpose of pre-sale planning is to maximize sale proceeds (as well as to achieve other non-financial goals), …
Why M&A Deals Fail
December 21, 2015 / in Sell a Business / by Jim Leonhard
Companies that make multiple acquisitions are much more likely to have successful merger and acquisition (M&A) transactions than companies that have made one or less acquisitions in the past five years, according to a recent Boston Consulting Group (BCG) article. In fact, over 50 percent of all M&A transactions result in negative shareholder returns. The main culprits appear to be related to post-merger integration, especially: Poor integration of the target organization Higher complexity than anticipated …
2016 Promises to be a Banner Year for Mergers and Acquisitions
December 14, 2015 / in Sell a Business / by Al Statz
Deciding how and when to retire is one of the toughest decisions in a business owner’s life. Selling to a strategic buyer, investment group or management team represents the culmination of years of hard work and investment. Going to market when the owner is personally prepared, and the business is ready, and market conditions are conducive offers the best opportunity to maximize results. M&A activity in 2015 has been strong and 2016 market conditions look …
Interest Rates Likely to Rise After December FOMC Meeting
December 9, 2015 / in Business Valuation, News / by Louis Cionci
It is widely believed that the Federal Reserve will raise the rate it charges banks for overnight deposit lending, commonly called the federal funds rate at the December 15-16 meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee. The Federal Reserve controls the three tools of monetary policy–open market operations, the discount rate, and reserve requirements. The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System is responsible for the discount rate and reserve requirements, and the Federal …
Defending Your Price
November 15, 2015 / in Sell a Business / by Don Ross
A critical component in any business transaction, whether it be a simple sale of a used car or a complex transfer of ownership of a business, is usually PRICE. The art of “the deal” is dependent upon the two parties arriving at a price they can both live with. In both cases, each party must persuasively defend their price. Market valuations are often based upon a multiple of past and future earnings. Multiples usually fall …
Terminal Value Meets the Butcher and the Skilled Craftsmen
November 9, 2015 / in Business Valuation / by Exit Strategies
I got involved in a friendly debate with a business intermediary the other day. He was talking cynically about how easy it is to manipulate valuation results by playing games with the cost of capital and the growth rate. “It’s easier to slap an industry multiple to it, without all the fiction of precision,” he said. Specifically, he was objecting to “terminal value” for growth companies. In growth companies, terminal value can often comprise 50%-70% …
Where’s the Seller Tsunami?
October 27, 2015 / in Exit Planning, Sell a Business / by Al Statz
The Wall Street Journal published an article this month titled “The Missing Boom in Small-Business Sales — An expected rush in sales of small firms by the baby boomer generation has yet to materialize.” The article points out that despite predictions that a flood of private businesses would be coming up for sale as baby boomers reach retirement age, many of these owners are holding on longer than expected. We’re seeing the same thing here at Exit Strategies. …
The Significance of Disclosure in a Business Transaction
October 9, 2015 / in Acquire a Business, Sell a Business / by Don Ross
Full disclosure by buyer and seller is a vital component in any successful business sale/purchase transaction. In a small business transaction, buyer and seller disclosure statements are customarily exchanged and reviewed before or during the due diligence process. Hopefully there are no significant surprises at that point and the transaction proceeds smoothly. When the buyer is an individual, the buyer’s disclosure statement generally focuses on the buyer’s personal, professional, and financial background and reorganization plans. …