MCA EXIT CONCIERGE SERVICE™

IMPORTANT QUESTIONS

If you are selling your business or entering a significant transaction with your business, you must have answers to these questions, to maximize your outcome.

PART I

Strategic Vendors and Specialty Resources

• There are more than 100,000 investment bankers in the US? Do you trust that you have the best investment banker for your transaction?

• Is your investment bank correctly incentivized to ensure the best outcome for you, your family, your employees, and your shareholders?

• How much diligence have you done on the buyer to be sure that they have the cash and wherewithal to consummate your transaction?

• Do you have an experienced M&A lawyer, who understands your unique situation?

• Have your lawyers made your earn-out as painless as possible for you and your key partners, since working for a company, and having a “day job,” is often very difficult for freedom-loving former business owners.

• Do you have a transaction-focused accountant who understands, and is up to date on, tax strategies for transactions like yours?

• Do you have the best virtual data room software; and have you and your team stocked it correctly so that buyers gain more confidence in your company?  (see data room documents below).

PART II

Seller Exit Readiness Questions

• Have you discussed locking in your legal fees to save time and money?

• Are you doing an asset sale or an entity sale?

• Who are the three “Trusted Resources” on your team that will help you do all the heavy lifting on the transaction; and who will keep everything strictly confidential for the 6 to 8-month closing cycle?

• Do you fully understand the difference between selling your business to a strategic buyer, who may pay far more, versus selling your business to a financial buyer, who will pay a pre-established EBITDA multiple for your business, using an industry playbook?

• Do your investment bankers and advisors have a “know-it-all” mentality when it comes to exit valuations?  This means that since they already know that your business could sell for 5 times the revenue (as an example), they may be far less likely to brainstorm for out-of-the-box ideas to attempt to enhance your exit price.

• Are you confident that you and your team have provided all necessary information to the buyer; so that they can’t use any implied information shortfall to attempt to renegotiate the terms of the deal at the last minute, while you have deal fatigue?

• Are your key vendors and clients on board with the transaction and will they keep things confidential?

• How are you incentivizing your team both pre-sale and post-sale?

• Are your contracts locked down and finalized for all key employees?

• Have you considered taking some or all payments in the form of stock ownership in the buyer, instead of all cash, to give you more upside potential long-term?

• Have you discussed locking in your legal fees to save time and money?

• Are you doing an asset sale or an entity sale?

• Who are the three “Trusted Resources” on your team that will help you do all the heavy lifting on the transaction; and who will keep everything strictly confidential for the 6 to 8-month closing cycle?

• Do you fully understand the difference between selling your business to a strategic buyer, who may pay far more, versus selling your business to a financial buyer, who will pay a pre-established EBITDA multiple for your business, using an industry playbook?

• Do your investment bankers and advisors have a “know-it-all” mentality when it comes to exit valuations?  This means that since they already know that your business could sell for 5 times the revenue (as an example), they may be far less likely to brainstorm for out-of-the-box ideas to attempt to enhance your exit price.

• Are you confident that you and your team have provided all necessary information to the buyer; so that they can’t use any implied information shortfall to attempt to renegotiate the terms of the deal at the last minute, while you have deal fatigue?

• Are your key vendors and clients on board with the transaction and will they keep things confidential?

• How are you incentivizing your team both pre-sale and post-sale?

• Are your contracts locked down and finalized for all key employees?

• Have you considered taking some or all payments in the form of stock ownership in the buyer, instead of all cash, to give you more upside potential long-term?

PART III

Exit Concierge Enhanced Planning

• Have you considered remedies in the event the deal takes longer than expected?

• How will you keep yourself and your team focused on growing the company and keeping the company objectives/rhythms alive, while the deal is consuming vast resources, like time, attention, and money?

• Do you have audited financials to give more confidence to the Investment bank and the buyer community and potentially increase the sale price of your business?

• Have you gotten a Quality of Earnings report completed with a top-10 national accounting firm?

• Do you have a trusted, experienced deal advocate between you, your bankers, your lawyers, your accountants, and the buyers, so you have a dedicated accountability partner, a shoulder to cry on – and a person to speak to who has “been there and done that” – at critical times during the transaction cycle?

• Have you done a thorough auction to ensure that you have the best bankers, the best buyers, and the best terms?

• Have you structured the deal so that you get an optimized amount of cash or stock up-front, along with a back-end payout that you are confident you’ll receive?

• How are you handling confidentiality with your team? With your clients? With your industry?  With your family?

• When the deal gets hairy, and it WILL get hairy, who are you going to call for advice at midnight on a Saturday night?

• How are you planning to manage your money after the sale?

• Do you have the proper estate plan in place?

• Do you have a clear and executable employee/business transition and integration plan for post-exit?

The Exit Concierge ensures that all these questions are answered and managed appropriately.

We are accountable to our clients for two objectives:

  1. We help you to develop a comprehensive Exit Plan customized to meet your individual needs.
  2. We successfully execute the plan.

Book An Exit Discovery Call

Address

Plaza of the Americas, North Tower

Dallas, TX 75201

Email

info@MutualCapitalAlliance.com

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