When negotiating for an acquisition, we always recommend you, as the buyer, try to match the seller’s negotiation team. Many owners are selling their company for the first time and in most cases their company will be smaller than yours. Arriving to the negotiation table with a swarm of lawyers can be overwhelming and may …
Tag: Negotiation
How Can You Avoid Negotiating in Circles?
We had been in negotiations with the seller, Martin, and his team all day and despite diverging perspectives on a few issues we had managed to nail down several important aspects of the agreement involving intellectual property and key employee contracts. The next afternoon when we resumed negotiations, Martin brought up the employee contracts again …
What Role Does an M&A Advisor Play in Negotiations?
During negotiations, a third-party M&A advisor acts as a buffer between buyer and seller. As you can imagine, negotiations can become quite intense and emotional on both sides and we want to do everything in our power to preserve a harmonious relationship between both parties. Having a good working relationship with the seller is important, …
Why You Shouldn’t Negotiate for a Win-Win in Acquisitions
When it comes to negotiation, we often hear about “win-win situations” where both sides benefit from the deal no matter what. While I understand the need to come to a consensus in order to move a deal forward, we’re not big fans of negotiation for a “win-win” because it implies you are also negotiating for …
How to Bridge the Price Gap in Acquisitions
Price is often the number one focus in mergers and acquisitions and everyone is eager to get down to the numbers. However, as you might expect, buyers and sellers have very different expectations on price, which can lead to friction between the two parties. On the one hand, most sellers plan to offer their business …
3 Ways to Maintain Momentum from LOI to Close
After signing a letter of intent, you expect the deal to close, but there are a number of reasons acquisitions fail ranging from regulatory hurdles to unexpected challenges that arise during due diligence to cultural clashes. In my last post, I discussed reasons deals fall apart even after both parties sign a LOI. Here are …
Remembering the Human Factor in M&A
For an owner of a privately-held company, the business is their baby and using hard-nosed tactics to negotiate for the lowest price is ill-advised. The human factor cannot be overlooked when pursuing M&A and establishing trust with an owner is critical. Buying a privately-held business is not like buying a car where you can negotiate the …
How to Negotiate When a Company Has Two Owners
Q: When a company has two owners that are equally involved is it advisable to ask them to choose only one negotiator, especially at the final stages? A: Negotiating with one owner of a company and convincing them to sell their business can already be challenging. The situation becomes more complex when the company you wish to …
Anheuser-Busch to Gain Access to Fast-Growing Markets through SABMiller Acquisition
SABMiller has agreed to Anheuser-Busch InBev’s $106 billion offer to acquire it. Together, they will form a global beer conglomerate with $64 billion in annual revenues that is estimated to make up 29% of global beer sales. The new company would be three times bigger than its next competitor, Heineken. Given that this is such …
Who is Your M&A Champion?
Q: Who is the internal champion on the M&A team? What is their role? A: The internal champion is an important member of your M&A team. Your acquisition team should include people from your own company such as the CEO, CFO, the internal champion, and functional leaders, and external experts such as lawyers, accountants, valuation experts, due diligence experts …
- 1
- 2
