A checklist for business sales and acquisitions
A business sale is always a unique event. For most entrepreneurs, selling their business is the biggest and most important sale of their career. Both financially and mentally. An entrepreneur is rarely a professional in business sales themself. This is why the help of an experienced and multiskilled business broker is important for the future.
Selling or acquiring a business is a multistep process. It involves financial, financing, agreement and contract related, tax related, social as well as business operational issues. A business sale is all of these at the same time. Ignoring just one area or paying attention just to one thing might lead to a bad result.
What’s most important to the seller, isn’t necessarily important to the buyer. The more the business corresponds to the buyer’s needs and wishes, the easier the sale. In principle, it is not any more difficult than selling any mean of production. The buyer’s interests are affected by for instance the business’ functionality, image, location, operational reliability, general reliability, transparency, modernity, condition, contracts related to it and their terms, price and above all productivity. For instance fixed assets generally have less significance than people think. Businesses are regrettably rarely in the best possible selling condition as is, and preparations are needed.
Remember:
1. You should start preparing for the sale in time.
8. The buyer is ready to pay the asking price, when they understand why it is the asking price. Business sales and acquisitions don’t include misleading, bickering or auctions. Clearly justified valued assets and profits are sold in business sales. A justified price can’t be lowered much, which all parties of the transaction understand.
The business broker must develop a clear and extensive picture of your business before commencing the brokering. This why they’ll ask for many kinds of documents and even ask a few delicate questions. The broker is bound to secrecy, and your information will not be shared with anyone without your permission. The business broker’s job is to find suitable buyers and pick out the most potential ones for you.
The brokering proceeds in phases. When a buyer can be seen as very potential, they are given the necessary information about your business. This is to make sure that the information doesn’t unnecessarily leak to external parties. At this point, you’ll meet the potential buyer for the first time. You won’t be bothered with unnecessary questions.
At the fastest, a successor to your business is found within days, and at the slowest never. Our customer registers, with hundreds of potential buyers as well as the broker’s other marketing channels and broad networks help speed up the sale. The right buyer might be found immediately. Negotiations that are well-arranged from the start and professionally written business information increase the probability of success, makes it easier for the buyers to receive financing and speeds up the sale. The paperwork and receiving financing along with all negotiations still take a few weeks or months. This means there is no need to rush.
A successful business sale is flexible cooperation between all parties. We think that a successful business sale means that
a) the seller is happy with the selling price,
b) the buyer is happy with the business they have bought and business operations can continue from a sound basis,
c) the sale, even years later, doesn’t result in any backwash.
Unless you expressly want to practice business sales with your life’s work, turn to a professional in time.
