Sarah’s company had been speaking to the prospect for months and was almost ready to sign a letter of intent, when all of a sudden, the seller changed his mind and walked away from the deal. Sarah and her team were stunned and left asking, “What happened?” Unfortunately, deals do fall apart for a variety …
Tag: Seller
Capstone’s John Dearing Talks Mergers & Acquisitions on the Physical Therapy Owners Club Podcast
Do you have a plan for the future? Whether you are looking to grow your business or cash out, having a strategic plan is key to success. As mergers and acquisitions activity becomes more and more heated in the physical therapy space, owners thinking of selling (or buying) must evaluate various factors and begin developing …
Do You Really Understand the Seller?
We recently had a situation where our client, the buyer, was pursuing the acquisition of one of their suppliers. The buyer expected the process to be relatively easy because he and the seller had known each other for years. However, when he tried to speak to the owner about possibly selling his company, he was …
How to Conduct Functional Due Diligence and Maintain Seller Confidentiality
Q: How often are you able to bring together both buyer and seller functional personnel during due diligence? Some sellers might be sensitive to confidentiality and not open to bringing their personnel into the fold. A: When conducting due diligence, we advocate a functional approach, where leaders from the buyer’s organization meet with the seller’s. There …
5 Ways to Quickly Lose a Deal
It goes without saying that the introductory meeting is a crucial step of the acquisition process. If it goes well, your partnership could result in a successful deal. If it goes badly, you may be throwing away a great opportunity and have wasted hours of time and resources chasing the deal. Your goal for the …
What Are Buyers Really Looking For in M&A?
What is the best way to position your company to be sold? I’ve often heard this question from owners and executives who aren’t quite ready to exit their business but who may be thinking about its future over the next five to 10 years. If you’re in this position, you’re wise to begin thinking about …
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 …
Why Price Is the Last Thing to Talk about When Buying a Company
Time your negotiations by understanding owner psychology. Everyone wants to talk about price in mergers and acquisitions. It’s often the number one focus of buyers and sellers…but for opposite reasons. Both are likely to say they are looking for a “good deal,” but this can have a completely different meaning depending on the perspective. Buyers …
High or Low? What Price Should You Put in the LOI?
I’m frequently asked about the “right” price to put in the letter of intent. As you will know, the LOI is an important milestone in the M&A process, because it establishes a “gentleman’s agreement” before the formal deal is settled. You have yet to compete due diligence at this stage, and figuring out the right …
