What is it really like to sell a company? Over the next few months we are going to be covering the sale process from the point of view of a mythical – but hopefully typical – owner-manager! We will be covering a period from the...
Continue readingJust returned from 10 days very well earned holiday in Barbados to a letter from one of our national competitors indicating some interest in our business. To be honest I haven’t yet given much thought to exiting the business but spending more time in the...
Continue readingI did go along to that “Maximising Value” seminar. Very informative, I must say. I reckon we’re not too badly placed as a business – we certainly have strong customer relationships and run a tidy ship. I do need to improve and formalise the management...
Continue readingJust enjoyed a fantastic week on the slopes with the extended family – even grown up kids will come if I pay! Really must come to a decision regarding the potential sale of the business. Spoke to offspring and they were supportive either way –...
Continue readingIt is clear that we’ve got a few more things to sort out before we can go to market. Fortunately financial performance is strong, but we’ve got work to do on the sales pipeline and specific contractual terms with some of our customers to name...
Continue readingOne bit of me just wants to get this thing going but Prism are nothing if not rigorous. They keep reminding me that to go off “half cock” is about the worst thing you can do – analogous to launching a new product or service...
Continue readingWe’ve finalised the Information Memorandum (a substantial and professionally produced document, and a truthful one) and I’ve pressed the go button for Prism to start speaking with potential acquirers. It has certainly taken a while to get here but it feels good to get going...
Continue readingMet with Prism earlier in the week to get some coaching on initial meetings with potential purchasers. They pointed out that negotiation begins with the first contact and I am now much more conscious of how my comments, pauses etc. may be interpreted by the...
Continue readingWe now seem to be at the business end of the process. At the outset Prism gave me an idea about the likely range of offers – and – now that indicative offers are in – it seems they were broadly right. We’ve have 5...
Continue readingI’ve finally signed the Heads of Terms (HoT’s)! Prism have managed to substantially improve the terms of both the offers in play, but in the end the decision of which one to choose was relatively easy. We all felt that the potential for a successful...
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