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Our business sale process is designed to facilitate the sale, not make it more complex. We ensure that you don’t suffer from the deal fatigue that can result when the process is not professionally managed.
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1 Building a Foundation of Trust
We don’t sell your business for you; we sell it with you. A mistake many business owners make is thinking that their business sale advisor will sell their business much like a realtor sells a house. But selling a business doesn’t work that way.
We try to minimize the time you have to spend, but we need your involvement to ensure we’re aligned with your goals for the sale, and that you understand what’s happening each step of the way.
That means we have to develop a level of mutual trust.
Read more about building a foundation of trust for a successful business sale.
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2 Preparing Your Business for Sale
It’s important we know your business inside and out so we can prepare a thorough Confidential Information Memorandum (CIM), and discuss your business with prospective buyers and your other advisors.
The more information you are able to provide, the better job we can do presenting your business to buyers.
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3 Presenting Your Business: The Confidential Information Memorandum
As an entrepreneur experienced in sales, you know the importance of making a great first impression on buyers. So do we.
A Confidential Information Memorandum, or CIM, is a comprehensive overview of your business. CIMs are the vehicle of choice for large M&A firms and investment banks that are dealing with sophisticated buyers, and we believe they are just as important for your business.
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4 Customized Marketing Plan
Marketing your business is not just a matter of placing a few online ads and waiting for the phone to ring. That may work for very small operations, but businesses like yours demand a professional approach to marketing in order to find the right buyer efficiently and confidentially.
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5 The Investment Opportunity Teaser
After our buyer research, we will distribute an Investment Opportunity Teaser or, simply, an Investment Teaser. The teaser is a document used to introduce your business opportunity to prospective buyers.
Because confidentiality is critical, we are extremely careful to not include any information that in any way might provide clues about the identity of your business.
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6 Business Buyer Qualification
During the marketing phase, numerous potential buyers may enquire about your business. Many may be unsuitable. Business buyer qualification ensures that confidentiality is maintained and keeps the process moving forward without wasting everyone’s time on unsuitable buyers.
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7 The Non-Disclosure Agreement
After prospective buyers have been identified and targeted, they must sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement, also called an NDA or Confidentiality Agreement, before we provide them with the Confidential Information Memorandum or any other information about your business.
The NDA is critical as it protects your financial information and other sensitive information about your business from being disclosed.
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8 Letters of Intent / Offers to Purchase
After the buyer has shown interest in the business and both the buyer and seller have met to make sure they are a good fit, it is now time for the buyer to submit an LOI.
Interested buyers will submit a Letter of Intent (LOI) or an Offer to Purchase, which is essentially their formal proposal outlining the price and terms they’re proposing. This document initiates the negotiation phase, though it’s important to understand that the LOI isn’t legally binding. ABE will step in to facilitate these negotiations, ensuring both parties are in agreement as they move forward with the terms outlined in the LOI or offer.
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9 Negotiating the Sale
The sale of a business can be a highly emotional transaction. You are not just selling your business; you’re moving from one phase of your life into another. Similarly, the buyer is not just buying a business but making a significant investment in the future.
Negotiating the sale of a business is the most critical phase of the business sale process. Through careful management, ABE will guide both parties through the negotiation phase in a timely manner, keeping you and the buyer informed every step of the way.
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10 Due Diligence
The due diligence process is often difficult and challenging. You will be asked to provide a great deal of corporate and personal information— information you may have considered private and confidential that must now be disclosed.
The reason for due diligence is simple: buyers are making a serious investment. It’s only prudent that they determine that they are not exposing themselves to unnecessary risk. ABE will take steps to ensure that the due diligence procedures don’t exhaust you and cause you more stress than necessary.
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11 Closing the Sale
It’s not just you and the buyer anymore. There are now more people involved in the deal on both sides: accountants, lawyers, and tax specialists. Because each of these advisors sees the deal from their own perspective, there are bound to be many issues, and more requirements, that are brought up. Without someone to manage and guide all these parties, the process becomes chaotic.
We are the “glue” that holds all these people together.
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12 Sign and Celebrate!
Once the sale has closed, we get together and celebrate the next stage of your life!
