Articles & Case Studies

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. And when it comes to selling your business, value is in the eye of the buyer. Lower-to-mid-size businesses typically go to market without a preset asking price. You will set an internal benchmark with your M&A advisors, but we won’t publish or discuss your value expectations with […]

When selling your business, you need to decide what to do with your business real estate. Do you want to sell it or hold on to it? And what should happen if you don’t own your real estate? Those are important questions to answer as you plan to sell. You lease. Let’s start with businesses

When selling your business, your M&A advisor has multiple roles. Primary, of course, is marketing your business. They negotiate the sale on your behalf, steer the process through due diligence, and ensure everyone is on the same page around key negotiation points. But your M&A advisor is the quarterback, not the whole team. Your advisor

Timing isn’t everything, but it means a lot.   When you’re ready to sell your business, timing the market matters more as your business size increases. Over the last six years, multiples (an industry metric for business valuations) in Main Street have stayed pretty consistent within a 10 percent range, while lower middle market multiples

“The time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining.” So said John F. Kennedy in his 1962 State of the Union address, trying to drum up support for his anti-recession policies. As I came across this quote, it got me thinking about today’s market and how we should all be taking advantage

Recently, we did an estimate of value (EOV) for a company, calculating that it would sell for around $8 million or $9 million in the current market. It’s a nice business and I think that number is achievable. We might even get a bit more with a strategic buyer. The business owners were surprised, as

If you are a business owner, one of the best things you can do for yourself is to understand the value of your business. A valuation helps shape your exit strategy, informs your financial planning, and can be critical to creating a contingency plan that adequately protects your family. But more than future planning, a

If your business has an enterprise value of $10 million or more, we strongly recommend you get a quality of earnings report before putting your business on the market. A quality of earning (QoE) report reviews the earning power of the business to determine those earnings are accurate and sustainable. Kind of like getting a

As a general rule, no one customer should account for more than 20 to 25 percent of your company revenue. While having large customers can be good for your bottom line, it introduces risk to the next owner. As you build your business, pay attention to what a future buyer will want. They’re looking for

By any account, 2018 was a good year for M&A, continuing one of the longest seller markets in modern history. We expect that momentum to carry well into 2019. Deal activity is being driven by a number of factors, including record amounts of dry powder, a positive lending environment, and interest rates that, while rising,