I was approached by a private equity group interested in purchasing my company. The partner said they’d looked at 48 companies in my market sector, and this was the first one they liked. They made a non-binding offer that I was happy with, and began due diligence. Ninety days later, they walked away from the...
It takes more than luck to sell your company for a premium price. You have to work on these four areas to generate buyer interest. Seneca, a first-century Roman philosopher once observed, “Luck is where the crossroads of opportunity and preparation meet.” Some business owners believe they’ll be able to “get lucky” and sell...
What does an entrepreneur do after he sells? First, selling a business is not necessarily what an entrepreneur thinks it is. Sellers are often associated with the company and materially benefit as part of a re-invigorated management team. Generally you can group the outcomes into three groups, but it is actually a spectrum where a...
A friend asked me to sell his company for him. It was a solid company with some good niche products in an M&A market much like today. He said “I won’t take less than $14 million” because that is the value based on what his country club, golfing buddy sold his company for. As a...
Selling a Business is Similar to Selling a Home A few years ago, close friends decided to sell their spacious home. The kids had left. Upkeep was now a burden. So, they set off on the journey many of us have traveled—replacing leaky faucets, tightening loose doorknobs, and knocking out a punch list of...
Selling your business can be painful; it takes a lot of hard work. It’s a challenging and time-consuming process, equally rife with opportunity as well as pitfalls. When you consider that you’re embarking on a long courtship process, searching out compatible partners and negotiating mutually beneficial arrangements, it’s not unlike searching for that perfect woman...
Allegiance Capital is the eighth company David Mahmood built. As an entrepreneur and an investment banker, I’ve learned from my own mistakes and the mistakes I’ve watched others make. Beware of these pitfalls: 1. Putting off the exit planning exercise I can’t tell you how many times Allegiance Capital has been brought in to help...
Allegiance Capital specializes in representing family owned businesses in the sales process. Here’s an example of how, despite a number of challenges and obstacles, the Allegiance Capital team led the successful sale of a family owned business, a construction company in Arizona. The majority owner and CEO of this family owned business was the founder’s...
At Allegiance, we are very good at getting premium prices for our sellers and successfully closing transactions for our buyers. Our secret is educating the seller (whether we are representing the seller or not) on how to get a better offer (price and terms). The better the offer the seller gets, the more likely the...
Many entrepreneurs think that the best time to sell is when market multiples are at their peak. But is trying to time the market really the way to go in hopes of getting the best deal? Let’s take a closer look at this idea. Understanding Market Multiples Market multiples compare a company’s valuation to similar...
It’s fall! The leaves are turning colors, the weather is cool and crisp, and the days are growing shorter. Many people are starting to make plans for the upcoming holidays. For many businesses, it’s also time to start planning for next year. Does your company have its own planning and budgeting...