Sell a Business Insights
Why business transactions don’t close: Signs of a flaky Buyer/Seller
September 17, 2019 / in Sell a Business / by Exit Strategies
Selling or buying a business is time consuming, emotional and stressful, and having a deal fall through can be demoralizing. But the reality is that only a fraction of potential business acquisitions actually close. Many deals never really get off the ground. Even deals that make it to the letter of intent (LOI) phase often don’t close. When it comes to selling or buying, you really need to find out if the other party is …
Exit Strategies Advises Olympus Controls on Sale to Applied
August 26, 2019 / in Exit Planning, News, Sell a Business / by Al Statz
PORTLAND, OR (August 22, 2019) — Exit Strategies Group, Inc. is pleased to announce that Olympus Controls Corp. has been acquired by Applied Industrial Technologies. We represented Olympus and its shareholders as their exclusive M&A advisor. Established in 1998, Olympus Controls is a leading distributor of world-class machine automation products focused on assemblies and engineered solutions. Olympus specializes in motion control, robotics, machine vision, sensor and IIOT technologies, and is one of the largest and …
Profit from Intangible Assets in a Business Sale
August 10, 2019 / in Business Strategy, Exit Planning, Sell a Business / by Al Statz
The sale of a business includes intangible assets. This article explains what intangible assets are and how articulating, supporting and protecting them enhances business sale outcomes. Let’s get started. What is an Intangible Asset? Intangible assets are things that are non-physical in nature that you can identify, describe, document (e.g. a contract, list, logo, drawing or schematic) and, most importantly, transfer. Intellectual property is an example of an intangible asset. The Financial Accounting Standards Board …
Phase I Environmental Assessment in M&A Transactions
August 6, 2019 / in Exit Planning, Sell a Business / by Al Statz
A Phase I environmental site assessment is commonly required by buyers and lenders in merger and acquisition transactions that include commercial real estate. One may even be called for when the target company (seller) uses or stores hazardous materials at a leased facility. Sellers are generally rewarded for conducting a Phase I assessment before taking a deal to the marketplace. Understanding environmental risk allows sellers to argue for a higher price and increases the likelihood …
Roundup of Recent Sale Transactions
July 19, 2019 / in Exit Planning, News, Sell a Business / by Al Statz
Sitting down and writing quality articles on business valuation, exit planning, mergers and acquisition strategy has taken a back seat this year, thanks to a strong M&A market. In this post I will recap many of the transactions for which Exit Strategies (ESGI) provided sell-side advisory services during the first half of 2019. I haven’t included deals that we were asked not to announce. Nor have I included the internal buy-sell transactions, management buyouts and …
The Sale of a Business May Actually Excite Employees
June 20, 2019 / in Sell a Business / by Exit Strategies
Many sellers worry that employees might “hit the panic button” when they learn that a business is up for sale. Yet, in a recent article from mergers and acquisitions specialist Barbara Taylor entitled, “Selling Your Business? 3 Reasons Why Your Employees Will Be Thrilled,” Taylor brings up some thought-provoking points on why employees might actually be glad to hear this news. Let’s take a closer look at the three reasons that Taylor believes employees might …
Steps in a Management Buyout
May 2, 2019 / in Exit Planning, Sell a Business / by Al Statz
As a friend of Exit Strategies you know us as M&A brokers and appraisers, but you may not know that we advise on management buyouts. By management buyout (MBO) I mean selling a company or business unit to managers and key employees using a combination of equity and debt. The assets and cash flows of the company are used to finance most of the purchase price, with the equity portion supplied by management or a …
Financial exit planning, Is your business ready?
March 13, 2019 / in Business Valuation, Exit Planning, Sell a Business / by Mike Lyman
I recently had a client looking to sell their medical supply business and retire. I worked with management to pull together all the documentation and financials needed, and conducted conduct a probable selling price analysis. With report in hand I met with our clients to review the results and plan a go-to-market strategy. Unfortunately, the probable selling price fell slightly short of what the client needed to retire (after taxes). We identified excessive inventory as one …
Exit Strategies Group Advises Axis on Sale to Motion Industries
March 5, 2019 / in News, Sell a Business / by Al Statz
BOSTON, MA (March 1, 2019) – Transaction advisory firm Exit Strategies Group served as exclusive M&A advisor to Axis of New England and New York on its successful sale to Motion Industries, Inc., a subsidiary of Genuine Parts Company (NYSE: GPC). Axis, with facilities in Danvers Massachusetts and Rochester New York, is a leading provider of advanced industrial automation products and engineered systems, specializing in robotics, motion controls, machine vision, sensors and IIOT technologies. Axis, …
Business sale planning: Three lessons from Shark Tank
February 1, 2019 / in Exit Planning, Sell a Business / by Louis Cionci
As an M&A advisor having participated in the sale of businesses ranging in price from $500 thousand to $100 million, I enjoy watching ABC’s Shark Tank. On the show, entrepreneurs pitch their businesses to a panel of five investors (“sharks”) who then decide whether or not to invest. Today I want to pass along three key takeaways from Shark Tank for every business owner who plans to sell their business some day. 1. The business valuation …