Imagine a buyer has offered you a six-multiple on EBITDA in their initial letter of intent. Unfortunately, you don’t have clean financials that have been tested and scrutinized by an outside party. Once the buyer vets your financials, they uncover some adjustments they don’t agree with and revenue that was accounted in the wrong period.
Lower-to-mid-size businesses typically go to market without a preset asking price. You will set an internal benchmark with your M&A advisors, but we won’t publish or discuss your value expectations with potential buyers.
Recently, we did an estimate of value (EOV) for a company, calculating that it would sell for around $8 million or $9 million in the current market. It’s a nice business and I think that number is achievable. We might even get a bit more with a strategic buyer.
Last year set new records for M&A activity. Big corporations drove the market, and that momentum was also reflected in the lower middle market and Main Street. But not everyone got a deal done last year. Let’s review why some business transitions go sour:
“Some business owners plan to sell when they reach a milestone age like 55 or 65. But planning to sell at a particular age means you aren’t planning to sell when your business is worth the most.
Timing is right to sell. If you’re thinking about selling in the next few years, get an estimate of value and talk to an advisor right now. Here’s why valuations are at all-time highs:
“Professionals have coaches; amateurs don’t.” I heard this at a conference recently, and the idea stuck with me.
A sudden death or disability is a tragedy we hope never to face. But planning for those tragedies is a necessary part of life. If we don’t, we leave behind a legacy of stress and confusion for those we care about most. If you own a business, a contingency plan is critical for the sake of your family and for everyone else who depends on your organization.
In The E-Myth Revisited, author Michael Gerber suggests that each business owner has three personalities: entrepreneur, manager, and technician. For many, the technician is the dominant type. These owners are skilled tradespeople, scientists, and service professionals, and they excel at the hands-on work of their company.
Love is blind, so the saying goes. I’m certainly not going to suggest I’ve ever seen friends make questionable choices in their love life, but I have seen business buyers so enamored with an opportunity that they either ignored certain warning signs or willfully chose not to look.