- Navigating Financial Advisory Transitions: A Comprehensive Guide
- Regulatory Shift? The Supreme Court Challenges SEC’s Authority
- FINRA Arbitrator Grants Expungement Of 2011 Customer Dispute For Illinois Advisor
- E-Signatures: From Convenience To Compliance Minefield
- Tucson Advisor Granted Expungement Of Disputes — One Dating Back To 1994
Any advisor who has gone through a sale knows that it all comes down to selecting the right team to complete the transaction. You’re not only selling your company — you’re also selling your name, clients, and reputation. This is not the time to take shortcuts.
In order to get the best deal possible, maintain confidentiality, and avoid costly mistakes, seek knowledgeable counsel to guide you through the process and negotiate a sale that meets all of your objectives.
Researching and vetting potential buyers takes time and great attention to detail. Below are some insights based on AdvisorLaw’s expert experience valuing advisory firms, sourcing buyers and sellers, drafting contracts, merging businesses, and completing seamless transactions on both sides of the aisle.
We believe these steps are vital to achieving a successful sale.
Entrepreneurial Background
The best way to ensure that your business continues to expand and evolve is by finding a team who is familiar with the intricacies of starting a new business. Even after witnessing hundreds of transactions, a career banker or broker may never truly comprehend what it’s like for an entrepreneur to sell a firm that has been their passion and identity for so long. Selling a business can be one of the most difficult decisions a business owner will ever make. M&A experts with a business or entrepreneurial background can provide insight that will help you achieve a better sale, both financially and personally.
Collaborative Team
Selling a business is a collaborative effort that requires a diverse set of abilities, including sales, finance, negotiation, and more. It’s rare for a single person to master every one of these skills, so it’s important to look for a well-rounded team who can utilize their expertise for a variety of business needs. If you’re looking to sell to a major, strategic buyer, you’ll most certainly need a team of M&A experts who are well versed in these transactions and able to traverse the process — especially because the buyer will have their own experts on the other side of the table.
Interested in a complimentary business valuation? Need assistance planning your succession?
Contact us today at (303) 952-4025 or click here.
Support And Consulting
Investment banks and brokers rarely provide hands-on support or in-depth consulting advice, and if they do, it’s usually at a premium. As a business owner, knowing what you need to do to raise the value of your company is crucial. But if you don’t know how to accomplish it, or if your current management team is overworked, having hands-on support from a team of M&A experts can make or break your sale.
Be aware of low-ball offers.
It’s not only investment banks and business brokers that employ a variety of tactics to take advantage of business owners when looking to make a purchase — even advisors’ own broker-dealers will offer unduly-low dollar amounts for a book. They know how much work it takes for an advisor to market a business and will take all the shortcuts they can to make the sale as quick and easy as possible.
Keep the following in mind:
It’s easy to sell your company for a low price.
If brokers see your business as difficult to sell, or if they don’t have the drive to find the elements that give your firm its strategic value, don’t be tempted to accept an offer for less than what you deserve. Finding the right M&A team to represent you and ensure that all of your needs are met and that your expectations are fulfilled is possible.
Negotiating a price is key to a successful sale.
Brokers are typically looking for a quick, low-effort, low-value transaction because it’s easier than undertaking longer, more time-consuming sales. Unfortunately, this is yet another way that owners are persuaded or even bullied into selling their practice at a lower price.
Interested in a complimentary business valuation? Need assistance planning your succession?
Contact us today at (303) 952-4025 or click here.
It’s easy to simply “list” a company and allow fast-moving financial buyers to dominate the selling process. It takes time and effort to research and manage a large pool of possible buyers, particularly strategic purchasers. In our experience, matching sellers with purchasers is the best way to successfully complete a transaction, both financially and culturally.
Ready to find your team of M&A experts? Look no further.
AdvisorLaw’s team of attorneys is well-versed in business and tax law, as well as in the nuances of the industry’s securities legislation. Our team can provide several in-house services, including buyer sourcing, complimentary valuations, custom drafting and contract review, succession planning, merger guidance, and more.
Our expertise lies in navigating and successfully completing these transactions. AdvisorLaw is a unique M&A advisory firm that was created with business owners in mind from the start. Because we represent advisors in all aspects of the process, we have gained a unique perspective of the industry’s landscape.
In addition to our merger and acquisition services, AdvisorLaw provides disclosure expungement counsel. Our team has been successfully removing meritless and false disclosures from the public record, for nearly a decade. If someone on your team has a negative disclosure on their BrokerCheck, CRD, IAPD, or IARD record, we can seek expungement through FINRA’s Dispute Resolution forum. This year, we achieved our 2,000th disclosure expungement. If you’re interested in utilizing your one shot at expungement, trust the best. Trust AdvisorLaw.
In this heated acquisition market, protect your rights and your livelihood with AdvisorLaw. Give us a call today, or contact us using the form below if you’d like to learn more.