Buying and Selling

We believe the small-to-midsize business mergers and acquisitions market looks positive going into 2021.  More Clarity and Certainty  As we put 2020 behind us, what does 2021 hold for us in the SMB M&A industry? We are now entering a new year where lockdowns give way to a vaccine, and there is more clarity around taxation, spending, and related policy from an expected divided government. These factors along with Q4 signs of substantive activity led us to believe the small-to-midsize business (SMB) mergers and acquisitions (M&A) market looks positive going into 2021.  2021 Market Factors  Looking at the details at the time of this writing, no one knows how to call the [...]

I have met thousands of business owners over the decades, and the majority of small to medium-sized business owners/entrepreneurs are “do-it-yourselfers.”   Most have survived many challenges along with some failures but have continued to work diligently which is why they are successful today. They believe in themselves, as they should, and many believe they do not need an M&A advisor - they can do it themselves.   Many studies have been completed over the years by various associations and the conclusions are consistent:   A competent, experienced M&A advisor will:   Remove a great deal of emotion from the owner, allowing them to make logical [...]

The COVID-19 pandemic put a temporary halt to virtually all M&A transactions earlier this year, and for good reason too. We’re about seven months into the pandemic and the future is still uncertain with no clear path forward. We are starting to see more deals put back on the table and buyers are reemerging to hunt for opportunities. The question is, how do sellers, buyers, investors, and their advisors find common ground to navigate these uncharted waters? As necessity is the mother of innovation, business owners and their advisors are adapting to the realities on the ground, developing unique strategies and [...]

Integrative negotiations seek to create value and expand the pie  Creating value is the name of the game in integrative negotiations and these principles also apply to the highly competitive realm of business negotiations. In the business world, why is competition so often the norm, while cooperation seems like an impossible goal? One of the most destructive assumptions we bring to negotiations is the assumption that the pie of resources is fixed. The mythical-fixed-pie mindset leads us to interpret the most competitive situations as purely win-lose.  For those negotiators who recognize opportunities to grow the pie of value (see also, [...]

When preparing to sell a business, a mistake you will want to avoid is failing to pay enough attention to the variety of legal issues involved in a business sale transaction. The wrong legal mistake can stop a sale in its tracks. Worse, it could cost a small fortune to unravel. Thus, it is critically important to carefully analyze all relevant legal angles to the sale of your business. This post will look at some of the key legal points sellers should consider long before putting their business on the market.  Mistake #1: Neglecting to Have a Non-Disclosure Agreement  A critically important step [...]

Most people engaged in the business of mergers & acquisitions were flush with deal flow and new business opportunities prior to the COVID-19 shutdown. However, as the pandemic struck, the switch was turned off and M&A activity went dark virtually overnight. It’s no secret that M&A is cyclical. But, unlike prior economic downturns that have affected M&A, there were no underlying market conditions facilitating this slowdown. The switch was turned off as the result of a global health crisis. So, what happens next? Will the post-pandemic M&A markets revert to pre-pandemic activity levels? Will companies continue to be bought and [...]