Exit Planning Exchange

By David Hoffer As a CEO in a competitive industry, you know who’s likely to buy your business. You’ve been watching these companies since the day you opened. You’ve tracked their every move. You’ve followed their successes and failures. You may even know their senior managers personally. And why not? There are only a few of these companies — the [...]

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By Laura Kevghas and Donald Richards Top Five Buyer Blunders and How to Avoid Them Many of the past Viewpoints we’ve published have advised sellers on how to secure a great deal in the M&A market. In this issue, we take a seat on the other side of the conferencetable to highlight five common and [...]

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By Joseph C. Marrow Choosing the best exit strategy for a company is a daunting task.  The goal for business owners is to maximize the value of the enterprise for themselves, their employees and their stockholders.  Some popular exit strategies include a sale to the highest bidder or a strategic partner, a public offering in [...]

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By Charles A. Wry, Jr. The after-tax consequences of buying or selling a business can vary dramatically depending on how the transaction is structured.  Often, what’s good for one party is bad for the other.  The structure of the transaction, therefore, can be driven by the relative bargaining positions of the parties and, in any [...]

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By Sarah C. Richmond The day you dreamed of has arrived: SuperCo has just offered big bucks to purchase your company. Before buying the Porsche, keep in mind that the purchase price is only one factor that determines how much money you will get out of the deal. The founder who is aware of the [...]

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By William A. Duratti Recent changes to Mergers and Acquisitions accounting has given rise to new questions, confusion, and sometimes even hesitation over completing a deal. Requirements under FAS141R are behind it all, and companies will have to comply beginning in calendar year 2009 – a date that looms large for many who are considering [...]

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By William S. Andronico Much has been made of the anemic mergers and acquisitions market over the past two years as economic turmoil and tightening of available credit slowed transactions to a snail’s pace.  Profitable deals were few and far between, and with IPOs also trending downward, the lack of exit opportunities provided little motivation [...]

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By Andrew Crain and Rod Robertson The knockdown wave that paralyzed merger & acquisition activity in the lower- and middle-market since September 2008 has rapidly receded, promising a rising tide of dealmaking in 2011.  All the components for an active M&A market are in place:  pent-up deal supply, as frustrated sellers adjust valuation expectations and [...]

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By Andrew Crain The purchase agreement documents the legal sale of the company’s assets or the shareholders’ company stock to the buyer, and the terms of the purchase agreement are just as important as the purchase price in determining the seller’s economic benefit from a transaction.  To help you better understand the purpose and contents [...]

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