Technology

Time on Market: 4 months

Client Objective: “Sell my company and invest in another business venture.”

Discovery Meeting: The owner had previously hired a business broker that was not able to introduce any qualified buyers. Once that listing agreement expired, the owner decided to try and sell his company on his own. He was eventually introduced to a potential buyer and negotiated an acceptable price for the purchase of his company. This buyer took an excessive amount of time in due diligence, so after much frustration, the owner eventually decided this buyer was not capable of closing. The owner realized he had wasted a lot of time which had caused the business to suffer. He needed to sell his business fast as the window was closing on an opportunity to invest in another venture.

Assessment: After listening to the owner’s story and reviewing company financials, we were confident we could help and were engaged to sell the business.

Sales Process: We quickly identified and qualified a financial buyer and facilitated a meeting with our client. The meeting went extremely well and the buyer submitted a full-price offer. We reviewed the offer with our client and executed the LOI (Letter of Intent).

Major Challenge: Two weeks before the scheduled closing, the client called in a panic stating that when he had previously tried to sell the company on his own, he had signed an LOI (Letter of Intent) with a buyer. That buyer somehow found out he was selling his business and threatened legal action. As is typical, there was a clause in the LOI stating the seller could not market the company to other buyers prior to its expiration or he would be liable for any buyside expenses incurred prior to closing.

Solution: We knew we were about to close the transaction. We advised our client to meet with the previous buyer and settle for a reasonable dollar amount in exchange for a signed release from the LOI. We advised our client on how much to offer the previous buyer agreed to the settlement and released our client from their agreement.

Result: Closed transaction for 29% over market value. Our client was able to invest in the new venture.

Conclusion: Selling your business without an experienced M&A advisor is like representing yourself in court without an attorney. An experienced intermediary can remove emotions from the negotiating process and help maximize your purchase price and net proceeds.