CFA Team posted an article on Max Value | Exit and Growth Strategies for Mid-Sized Companies - Feb 6, 2012, 3:41 pm
Part 5 After selling companies for over thirty years, I have found that it is near impossible to convince a business owner to sell until the business and personal reasons align. But once they do, no good ever comes from delaying a sale. Over the past few weeks, my blog posts have focused on signs i...
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CFA Team posted an article on Max Value | Exit and Growth Strategies for Mid-Sized Companies - Jan 24, 2012, 1:22 pm
Part 4 Entrepreneurs are successful because they are versatile and are unafraid to take on the challenge of doing what needs to be done at each stage in the life cycle of their company.  So it’s natural for company owners to want to take on the task of selling their company as one more personal ...
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CFA Team posted an article on Max Value | Exit and Growth Strategies for Mid-Sized Companies - Jan 12, 2012, 1:38 pm
They say nothing’s certain but death and taxes…but I’m not quite sure how certain taxes really are.  Don’t get me wrong.  I know they’ll always exist.  But tax laws are constantly changing.  And, taxes become very relevant when we contemplate large life events – like selling one’s ...
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CFA Team posted an article on Max Value | Exit and Growth Strategies for Mid-Sized Companies - Jan 5, 2012, 3:42 pm
Part 4 Selling your business, which is perhaps your largest asset, can be a difficult decision. It has been part of you and part of your family. It has been good to you like an old friend. You have loved it – you have cursed it – you have nurtured it, you have seen it from birth through the tee...
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CFA Team posted an article on Max Value | Exit and Growth Strategies for Mid-Sized Companies - Dec 27, 2011, 2:36 pm
Part 3 Most private company owners are used to doing things for themselves.  Many founded the companies that they run, and they took care of sales, operations, and financing alone before their company grew large enough to have an organization to manage those functional areas.  Entrepreneurs are s...
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CFA Team posted an article on Max Value | Exit and Growth Strategies for Mid-Sized Companies - Dec 16, 2011, 2:28 pm
Risk vs. Reward May Signal The Time To Sell A Business Your business – it has been part of you and part of your family. It has been good to you like an old friend. You have loved it – you have cursed it – you have nurtured it, you have seen it from birth through the teen years and into maturi...
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CFA Team posted an article on Max Value | Exit and Growth Strategies for Mid-Sized Companies - Dec 14, 2011, 2:07 pm
Part 2 As I mentioned in my last blog post, some company owners choose to handle the process of selling their company themselves.  Some of these owners successfully sell their company for a high valuation.  Many of them successfully sell their company, but for a lower price or on weaker terms tha...
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CFA Team posted an article on Max Value | Exit and Growth Strategies for Mid-Sized Companies - Dec 7, 2011, 2:49 pm
Part Two Your business – it has been part of you and part of your family. It has been good to you like an old friend. You have loved it – you have cursed it – you have nurtured it, you have seen it from birth through the teen years and into maturity. Unlike us, it can live for generations –...
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CFA Team posted an article on Max Value | Exit and Growth Strategies for Mid-Sized Companies - Nov 29, 2011, 2:32 pm
Part One Most private company owners are used to doing things for themselves.  Many founded the companies that they run, and they took care of sales, operations, and financing alone before their company grew large enough to have an organization to manage those functional areas.  Entrepreneurs are...
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CFA Team posted an article on Max Value | Exit and Growth Strategies for Mid-Sized Companies - Nov 23, 2011, 3:19 pm
Selling your business, which is perhaps your largest asset, can be a difficult decision. It has been part of you and part of your family. It has been good to you like an old friend. You have loved it – you have cursed it – you have nurtured it, you have seen it from birth through the teen years ...
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CFA Team posted an article on Max Value | Exit and Growth Strategies for Mid-Sized Companies - Nov 18, 2011, 4:13 pm
You may sell your business only once…but chances are you will seek a true business valuation multiple times.  Even if business owners are years away from selling a business, it is still important to know what the business is worth today.  Guessing what your business is worth just won’t cut it....
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CFA Team posted an article on Max Value | Exit and Growth Strategies for Mid-Sized Companies - Nov 17, 2011, 1:59 pm
There are five deal factors so significant that they don’t just affect price, they affect the fundamental ability to sell your company and complete a deal.  For this reason, these are considered Deal Killers.   If a company has one or more of these attributes, it will be difficult to find any b...
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CFA Team posted an article on Max Value | Exit and Growth Strategies for Mid-Sized Companies - Oct 26, 2011, 12:54 pm
The Numbers Tell The Story Owners who are waiting for “market conditions” or “value multiples” to improve before they take action to sell their companies are missing one of the best “seller’s market” I have seen in many years of dealmaking. This is clearly demonstrated by the numbers...
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CFA Team posted an article on Max Value | Exit and Growth Strategies for Mid-Sized Companies - Oct 20, 2011, 4:10 pm
Company value is a function of the buyer’s expectation of future cash flow, factored for the buyer’s perceived risk of not achieving that cash flow.  There are many factors that will affect the buyers’ perceived risk.  These include things like whether the company’s industry has good growt...
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CFA Team posted an article on Max Value | Exit and Growth Strategies for Mid-Sized Companies - Oct 6, 2011, 12:17 pm
No written history of the United States and the world will be complete without reference to and reverence for Steve Jobs. His visionary creation and leadership of Apple, Inc., his technology innovations and their revolutionary impact on our world, will be felt forever because of Steve Jobs. His uni...
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CFA Team posted an article on Max Value | Exit and Growth Strategies for Mid-Sized Companies - Sep 28, 2011, 4:55 pm
If I sell now then I will have to retire or find another job. . Selling Business Myths – Part 7 You’ve just sold your business.  Congratulations!!!  Now what?  Ok, hopefully you and your Investment Banker have worked something out prior to even taking your company to market.  It’s a big d...
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CFA Team posted an article on Max Value | Exit and Growth Strategies for Mid-Sized Companies - Sep 23, 2011, 1:45 pm
A sale will have negative effects on my employees.   Selling Business Myths – Part 6 The single most valuable asset to a buyer is the employees.  Imagine the worst case scenario…the buyer purchases a company and the key employees depart.  An empty facility full of equipment that does not p...
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CFA Team posted an article on Max Value | Exit and Growth Strategies for Mid-Sized Companies - Sep 19, 2011, 1:45 pm
In the best of times it’s still challenging to access growth capital for small and lower middle market sized companies.  Other than bank loans and economic development agencies there are few substantial sources of organized capital available for early and growth stage companies. However, some oft...
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CFA Team posted an article on Max Value | Exit and Growth Strategies for Mid-Sized Companies - Sep 16, 2011, 1:56 pm
Overseas Investors See Value in US Middle-Market Businesses In an earlier blog, I made the suggestion to look beyond our borders for possible acquisition targets, specifically in Brazil, where capital from the US as well as from European and Asian nations had been flowing at increasing rates over t...
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CFA Team posted an article on Max Value | Exit and Growth Strategies for Mid-Sized Companies - Sep 13, 2011, 3:58 pm
Once my business is on the market my competition will find out. Selling Business Myths – Part 5 Confidentiality is a key in selling your business.  Many sellers worry that their customers or competitors will find out they are for sale and that it will have a negative impact on the business.  C...
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CFA Team posted an article on Max Value | Exit and Growth Strategies for Mid-Sized Companies - Sep 9, 2011, 2:41 pm
I know everyone in my industry; I’ll call them up and work out a sale.  Selling Business Myths – Part 4 Industry buyers are great buyers! They know your industry and already have the logic behind why it would be a good deal. They may even be actively in the acquisition mode and have a few don...
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CFA Team posted an article on Max Value | Exit and Growth Strategies for Mid-Sized Companies - Sep 6, 2011, 3:08 pm
It’s Always About Access to Capital Whether you are a start-up entrepreneur, a growth oriented middle market company CEO, or a seasoned company owner seeking an exit sale to ride off into your retirement sunset – access to capital for business is and should be a topic about which business owner...
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CFA Team posted an article on Max Value | Exit and Growth Strategies for Mid-Sized Companies - Sep 2, 2011, 3:38 pm
Selling Business Myths – Part 3 You may think that because the markets are depressed that there is no point in even trying to sell right now.  There is no way I will get full price for my business today, right? The reality is that Private Equity Groups (PEGs) and strategic buyers are still acti...
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CFA Team posted an article on Max Value | Exit and Growth Strategies for Mid-Sized Companies - Aug 30, 2011, 1:33 pm
Selling Business Myths – Part 2 Is your business at the top of its game? You have considered selling your business, but are holding out for that “one more” good year? Just recently I had a seller client who received a full price offer on his business…more than he had ever expected. You know...
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CFA Team posted an article on Max Value | Exit and Growth Strategies for Mid-Sized Companies - Aug 25, 2011, 4:50 pm
Divorcing – Maybe selling some of your company to an ESOP is an efficient solution. Divorce is never pleasant, but once that decision has been made, dealing with the split of martial assets should be done in as efficient manner as possible, aside from emotion.  In most cases if one the parties (...
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CFA Team posted an article on Max Value | Exit and Growth Strategies for Mid-Sized Companies - Aug 24, 2011, 5:57 pm
Business Selling Myths – Part 1 Would you feel comfortable going into open heart surgery with a doctor who had never performed the procedure before?  So, why would you try to sell your business alone, or let your CPA try?  Your business is your precious child.  Hire someone who is seasoned and...
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CFA Team posted an article on Max Value | Exit and Growth Strategies for Mid-Sized Companies - Aug 19, 2011, 2:14 pm
I hear from many people and have experienced clients saying “Why did the buyer reduce the EBITDA multiple after we signed the LOI?” In many cases, the perceived fall in the multiple has led to the seller withdrawing from the process at worst and bad feelings at best. In many transactions, the mu...
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CFA Team posted an article on Max Value | Exit and Growth Strategies for Mid-Sized Companies - Aug 17, 2011, 2:35 pm
I just returned from CFA’s Summer Conference in Chicago. One of the highlights of the event was a panel of Private Equity experts talking truths about the state of the middle market M&A industry from their perspective….that of the financial buyer.  In cutting to the chase…if you own a success...
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CFA Team posted an article on Max Value | Exit and Growth Strategies for Mid-Sized Companies - Aug 12, 2011, 2:52 pm
Seek professional advice to gain maximum value before selling your business. As a good friend was getting ready to sell her home, she was advised to contact a Stager for assistance.  A Stager, I then learned, is someone with a good eye for home decorating and, especially, a good sense for homebu...
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CFA Team posted an article on Max Value | Exit and Growth Strategies for Mid-Sized Companies - Aug 9, 2011, 12:20 pm
The stock market plunge yesterday is another clear indication that financial markets abhor uncertainty. Whether unchecked growth of government debt or unresolved corporate and personal federal tax policy, each of these, together with their European counterparts, have contributed greatly to yesterd...
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CFA Team posted an article on Max Value | Exit and Growth Strategies for Mid-Sized Companies - Aug 4, 2011, 4:46 pm
How a management buyout works: in today’s market where there is a lack of credit,  which drives valuation multiples,  whereby there is a lack of cash available, a lack of liquidity for a greater  breadth of potential buyers for one’s company,  you need to focus on the needs of the principals...
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CFA Team posted an article on Max Value | Exit and Growth Strategies for Mid-Sized Companies - Jul 29, 2011, 4:41 pm
CFA Advises Saturday Capital, LLC in its Acquisition of first aid training company Code Red LLC. July 6, 2011 – Chicago, IL – Corporate Finance Associates  is pleased to announce that Saturday Capital, LLC has acquired Code Red LLC. Code Red’s founder, Brian Leonard invested alongside Sat...
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CFA Team posted an article on Max Value | Exit and Growth Strategies for Mid-Sized Companies - Jul 27, 2011, 1:37 pm
What You Need to Know Now The hour that I spent listening to an overview of the Manufacturing Industry M&A Market Monday morning was time well spent.  More than anything it confirms what I already knew to be true…even looking at a very narrow sector of the market…times, they are improving…al...
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CFA Team posted an article on Max Value | Exit and Growth Strategies for Mid-Sized Companies - Jul 22, 2011, 1:10 pm
As business owners approach retirement at a faster rate than ever, many are finding out that exiting has been the one strategic aspect of their business they have paid least attention to.  Exiting requires planning.  Will the business simply be shut down and the employees laid-off when the owner n...
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CFA Team posted an article on Max Value | Exit and Growth Strategies for Mid-Sized Companies - Jul 19, 2011, 3:03 pm
The biggest issue that we have with selling a business, that drives value, is the organizational depth.  A business owner that does everything from start to finish has a much tougher time getting full value out of the business.  A buyer is going to want to see organizational depth and structure: ...
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CFA Team posted an article on Max Value | Exit and Growth Strategies for Mid-Sized Companies - Jul 14, 2011, 1:19 pm
Although it may sound contradictory, expanding through acquisitions may prove a sound phased exit strategy for some. There are companies whose size makes them too large for individual, life-style investors and too small for financial or strategic investors. In those cases, growing through acquisiti...
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CFA Team posted an article on Max Value | Exit and Growth Strategies for Mid-Sized Companies - Jul 12, 2011, 4:06 pm
Whether you’re selling a business, buying a business or growing a business…securing affordable funding is an absolute must.  But, what’s affordable and available to one company may simply not be an option for others…depending on the circumstances.  Our July Middle-Market Pulse took a very ...
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CFA Team posted an article on Max Value | Exit and Growth Strategies for Mid-Sized Companies - Jul 8, 2011, 3:45 pm
The private equity firms really don’t want to run a business.  They want you to do that.  They will provide guidance and support, and at a board level provide you resources that you probably don’t have today.  The object of the game is that with their help you can build the company to a much ...
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CFA Team posted an article on Max Value | Exit and Growth Strategies for Mid-Sized Companies - Jul 5, 2011, 1:21 pm
Brazil continues to be a magnet for investment. Over five times as much capital found its way to the South American dynamo from January to April of this year as in the same period last year. Private equity and buy-out groups are setting up shop in the country, led by the likes of Carlyle, Blackstone...
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CFA Team posted an article on Max Value | Exit and Growth Strategies for Mid-Sized Companies - Jul 1, 2011, 7:29 pm
At our recent Winter Conference in Scottsdale, a select group of private equity firms participated in a discussion on the state of the M&A Industry, both from a current prospective and looking forward to 2011 and beyond.  Although each participant had a slightly different point of reference, there ...
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CFA Team posted an article on Max Value | Exit and Growth Strategies for Mid-Sized Companies - Jun 29, 2011, 1:08 pm
A Holistic Approach to Selling a Business To me the compelling reason for somebody to buy a business is “why?”  So, our objective is to find strategic buyers where the answer to “Why am I buying this business?” makes sense.   So, when we back up from there, we start a research process th...
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CFA Team posted an article on Max Value | Exit and Growth Strategies for Mid-Sized Companies - Jun 24, 2011, 1:45 pm
“I’m ready to sell my business now, so what is my first step?” is a question we often hear from private business owners.  A better question might be, “I’m going to be ready to sell my business in 12 to 24 months, so what should I be doing to better position my business for maximum sale pr...
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CFA Team posted an article on Max Value | Exit and Growth Strategies for Mid-Sized Companies - Jun 21, 2011, 4:00 pm
Above average financial performers are still accounting for the bulk of completed business sales during the first quarter of 2011.  Valuations and multiples have held steady for three consecutive quarters and the market seems poised to continue its slow yet steady improvement.    For an explana...
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CFA Team posted an article on Max Value | Exit and Growth Strategies for Mid-Sized Companies - Jun 14, 2011, 1:52 pm
. Who Really Pays? Pursuant to the federal health care legislation of March 2010, a new section 4191 was added to the Internal Revenue Code.  This new code section provides for an excise tax of 2.3% on sales of medical devices other than eyeglasses, contact lenses, hearing aids, and other medical ...
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CFA Team posted an article on Max Value | Exit and Growth Strategies for Mid-Sized Companies - Jun 8, 2011, 12:42 pm
2010 was a difficult year for the oil and gas industry, but if we’ve learned anything about the resiliency and adaptability of the industry is that 2011 could very well signal a reversal of fortune.  M&A activity in Q1 of 2011 has heated up, the global energy markets are expanding and a new oil s...
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CFA Team posted an article on Max Value | Exit and Growth Strategies for Mid-Sized Companies - May 24, 2011, 2:03 pm
DOES YOUR COMPANY HAVE ONE OR MORE OF THESE POTENTIALLY FATAL ISSUES TO SELLING A COMPANY? As we enter the second half of 2011, many companies’ sales and earnings are recovering.  For the first time since 2008, owners are seriously thinking of selling. This is a good time, too, for private comp...
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CFA Team posted an article on Max Value | Exit and Growth Strategies for Mid-Sized Companies - May 19, 2011, 3:14 pm
I want to sell my company, but my business is down from the economy.  What should I do?  You want to sell right?  You have a personal compelling reason to sell, right?  Then what we have to do is find a way for you to do it.  So how do you do it?  One way is to wait.  But you say “I don’...
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CFA Team posted an article on Max Value | Exit and Growth Strategies for Mid-Sized Companies - May 12, 2011, 3:22 pm
You may be asking yourself  “Is this the right time to sell my business?”  Well, the answer just may lie in the condition of the capital markets. When the capital markets dried up during 2008 and 2009, the percentage of equity in completed transactions hit levels not seen in years. In order t...
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CFA Team posted an article on Max Value | Exit and Growth Strategies for Mid-Sized Companies - May 4, 2011, 1:56 pm
How do you value a business? It’s an analytical process.  Everyone has a little bit of a different twist to it.  But first we take the company’s accounting financial statements and adjust them for the ownership benefits and costs to usually produce a better, more profitable picture.  Then we...
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CFA Team posted an article on Max Value | Exit and Growth Strategies for Mid-Sized Companies - Apr 25, 2011, 3:56 pm
The financial crisis has reduced the number of potential buyers, thus reducing demand. Strategic buyers are far more focused and private equity groups have been forced to put more equity into transactions. In addition, many business owners have delayed the sale of their business waiting on the recov...
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