Touchstone Business Strategies
Valuations - Growth & Turnaround Consulting - Brokerage
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Helping You Realize the Value of Your Business

 

BUSINESS BROKERAGE

We understand that selling your business can be the single most important thing you do with your company. As a business owner you need to feel comfortable, both personally and professionally, with the firm you hire to work on your behalf on this most important mission. Discussed below are two important subjects regarding the engagement of a business broker. We have the experience and expertise to successfully help you execute your exit strategy and realize the full value of your business.

WHY USE A BUSINESS BROKER

There are many good reasons to use a business broker instead of trying to sell the business yourself. Some of the more important ones are:

  • Confidentiality - We protect the identity of your business from customers, suppliers, bankers and opportunistic competitors.

  • Valuation Experience - We can help you determine a realistic selling price and we have the expertise to market and explain that value to potential buyers.

  • Preserve Value - We lead and manage the business sale activity so that you, the owner, can continue to focus on operating and preserving the business value.

  • Buffer Negotiations - We work for you and we do that to the best of our ability. However, we do not get caught up in the emotional issues that often accompany negotiations. It is better for you to have an impartial buffer in order to provide time for reflective answers to buyer questions and to keep a big picture focus on maximizing value.

  • Marketing - We have access to many different channels to market your business nationwide including other M&A professionals, numerous M&A publications and websites, industry specific mailing lists and other broad based and/or narrowly focused avenues to put your business before the group of buyers most likely to enter into a transaction to buy your business.

  • Outside Professionals - We work with your lawyers, accountants and financial advisors in order to coordinate the selling process. Our expertise allows us to prepare and respond to certain aspects of the engagement that these outside professionals would have to do otherwise, thereby saving you outside professional fees.

  • Faster Closing - Our primary focus is on selling your business, not running it. We are working full time to market it, negotiate the transaction and close the deal. As such we are usually able to sell your business faster than you can do it as the business owner.

STANDARD BROKERAGE SERVICES

There can be many facets to a business brokerage engagement. The main focus of our service is to lead and manage the business sale process. The services we provide as part of that process include the following:

  • Basic Exit Planning - If you have not done so already we help you sort out your personal and professional goals. We work with you to sort out business preparedness issues such as the condition of required due diligence records and other issues that can hinder or derail a possible sale. We can also help you plan your personal post sale business activities.

  • Target Price - We perform a business valuation to determine a realistic selling price and to gain an understanding of the value to be marketed to prospective buyers. We also interact with your outside professionals to ensure that the net proceeds of the sale (target price less professional fees and taxes) meet your financial requirements.

  • Marketing Material - We assemble and prepare various marketing materials. These include a blind "teaser" that describes the business without revealing the identity or specific location. It also includes a detailed confidential offering memorandum that thoroughly describes your business. This memorandum includes historical financial information, "recast" income information that adjusts for discretionary owner expenses, and projections of future performance if warranted.

  • Prospect Screening - We work with you, the owner, to establish an approved list of people to send the general blind teaser. This ensures that no marketing info is deliberately sent to parties that you do not want to be involved with.

  • Qualify Buyers - We qualify prospective buyers who respond to the general teaser by obtaining background and financial information from them to determine that they have the ability and resources to execute a transaction.

  • Ensure Confidentiality - We obtain a signed confidentiality agreement from qualified buyers and only then do we provide a copy of the detailed confidential offering memorandum.

  • Due Diligence - We help you respond to requests from prospective buyers for due diligence information.

  • Lead Negotiations - We lead the sale negotiations while at the time obtaining your input and keeping you informed of the status of the various parties and negotiations.

  • Complete Closing - We work to obtain a letter of intent and/or signed purchase and sale agreement. We then work with you and your outside professionals to close the deal and get you your money.

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Perspective

PRESERVING VALUE

Selling a business to maximize value takes time. It usually takes 6 - 12 months or longer from the start of the process until closing. During that time a business owner needs to focus on running the business and preserving its value. Poor business performance during the selling process is one of the worst things that can happen. It calls into question the value behind the targeted selling price. Poor performance can cause a trust issue because prospective buyers may come to believe that the business is for sale due to undisclosed problems. Business owners need to focus on running the business and preserve value in order to maximize their return from the selling process.