Healthcare

Time on Market: 12 months

Client Objective: “Should I use an M&A advisory firm that specializes in my industry?”

Discovery Meeting: The owner had built an incredible business with revenues in the mid 30MM range. He knew selling for the price he wanted would be a difficult task, so he was interviewing M&A firms that specialize in their industry. They had met with four other firms and had not yet found “the right fit.” They asked if we had ever sold a company like theirs. We replied that we had not and explained that we are industry agnostic because our unique process is effective with any type of company. The owner stated that he was now confident he had found the right firm and engaged ATK Ventures to sell his company.

Assessment: We knew this would be a challenge, however, this was a great business with a lot of synergistic value and scalability for the right strategic buyer.

Sales Process: We targeted various buyers and explained that this was a niche business and that we were looking for a very specific type of acquirer. We enticed two offers within the market value range. Our client decided to decline rather than have us counter as both offers were well under the target purchase price.

Major Challenge: Several months later our client called an emergency meeting and stated that due to recent changes to Medicare reimbursements, they were now losing six figures per month. He explained that if the business was not sold within four months, the business would go bankrupt. Our client said he would now accept any reasonable offer.

Solution: We identified our client’s largest competitor and reached out to see if they would have interest in a strategic acquisition that would double their size. The owner of that company was interested and flew in to meet. We enticed an offer that was around the same as the two previous offers we had received. We reasoned with this buyer that a typical market valuation was not applicable due to the synergistic value this acquisition would provide. We knew this strategic buyer would realize substantially more profit, with essentially no additional costs, therefore, our clients would not sell unless the price was right. Realizing this was true, the buyer increased their offer by an incredible 67%, which was in line with the original target price.

Result: Closed transaction for an incredible 67% over market value.

Conclusion: The “market value” of a company can be significantly lower than the “synergistic value.” Several years later this has proven to be a win/win transaction. This single transaction almost doubled the cashflow of the buyer’s business and accomplished our client’s exit goals.