Our Services

The central purpose of our services can be summed up succinctly: we help business owners sell their company

The Sale Process

How do we get to

the closing table?

The steps to reach the closing table can be divided into four major phases:

1. Preparation

2. Marketing

3. Diligence

4. Contract

Phase 1. Preparation

This is the pre-marketing phase in which we gather documents and create marketing materials. It is entirely internal and, as your advisor, we spend a significant amount of time understanding your company. This enables us to fully communicate its value to buyers.

Our goal is to be able to know your business well enough to answer 80-90% of buyer questions during the marketing phase, thereby reducing your time involvement at the later stages. Another objective is to identify key facts to disclose up front to buyers.

Phase 2. Marketing

This phase captures the effort to solicit bids on your company. Our firm runs this process with a high level of confidentiality and weeds out buyers who are not serious candidates. This phase concludes as we receive offers which typically come in the form of Indications of Interest or Letters of Intent.

Our goal is not only to generate competitive offers, but also elicit ones that buyers will stand firmly behind. We’re assessing, not only the offer terms, but the ultimate likelihood to close. We present your company on its best foot while bringing to light any potential issues that would kill a deal if revealed later in the process. This avoids a situation in which offers later need to be re-traded due to lack of sufficient core information provided prior to the offer.

With all offers reviewed and fully considered, the client selects the finalists. Management meetings are set up with the finalists fs to better evaluate the potential match. Terms and price are negotiated, a winning buyer is selected, and the offer is polished into a finalize Letter of Intent.

We strive move through this phase efficiently and effectively without losing momentum and ensuring that the owner has a full understanding of the terms of each offer and the personalities of each buyer. We also want to make sure the buyers are in full possession of all relevant information and will be motivated to execute the offer in expeditiously.

Phase 3. Diligence

With the Letter of Intent signed, the diligence period begins. During this time, the buyer will dig into all aspects of the company to fully understand their upcoming purchase. Once completed, the legally binding purchase agreement is signed and both parties move forward to closing.

This stage is frequently the most intense for clients as it can amount to a total audit of their personal business. Our goal during this stage is to help smooth workflow and avoid the transaction becoming bogged down. Through our role, we provide meticulous support to help keep the ball moving forward daily and ensuring that important details are not missed. Our firm assists with coordination between parties as well as document organization and review.

Phase 4. Contract

The phase begins with the execution of the purchase agreement, the formal binding contract. With the core diligence already completed, there is a high probability of closing once this stage is reached.

Tasks during this time period include closing out final confirmatory diligence items, preparing for transition and finalizing the closing documents. This is an attorney-driven phase and commonly less intensive than the diligence period for the seller.

Each transaction will vary, but often there are post-closing items to address and a full business transition can take a few weeks after the closing occurs. In other cases, sellers will have agreed to continue working for longer period of time at the company and will remain in contact with the buyer for an extended phase.