Merger & Acquisition Insights

Imagine building your business over several decades, beginning to plan your business exit, then dying unexpectedly before you can implement your plans. Business owners rarely think about how an unexpected death or permanent incapacitation can derail even the most carefully created plans. And it makes sense: If you were always worried about what could go wrong, chances are you’d have never started …

As a business owner, you likely have plenty on your plate. You have a business to run, perhaps a family to care for, and many other responsibilities that require your time. So, why should you consider pursuing Exit Planning? Can it help address issues relevant to you without eating into what little time you have? Whether you’re thinking about exiting …

Many business owners take pride in the businesses they’ve built. Some of those owners are so proud and dedicated to their businesses that they’d be happy dying at their desks, doing what they love. They believe that they can wait until they’re ready to begin thinking about what happens when they exit the business, either by choice or otherwise. A …

Exit Planning can be complex. Between setting your exit goals and transferring your business, you’ll attempt to build business value, find an appropriate successor or buyer, navigate perplexing tax implications, and keep your key employees onboard. And that’s just a few of the things you’ll do! With so many considerations surrounding your business exit, you may want to consider creating …

As you consider your business exit, you may find that approaching it alone is prohibitively challenging. You may also find that some of the advisors with whom you’ve worked don’t have all of the skills, tools, and strategies necessary to help you exit on your terms. While planning for your future is the key, you know that results are how you’ll judge your business …

Planning a business exit can seem like a lot of work at first. From building business value to developing capable successors to figuring out exactly what you want to do with your life after you leave, Exit Planning might look like too much work for one person to do. In our experience, Exit Planning isn’t something that business owners can …

When business owners start their businesses, they often create a written business plan to guide them toward success. However, many successful owners don’t mimic that process when they begin to approach the end of their business ownership. There are three areas in which forgoing planning for the future can create unintended consequences for business owners: money, time, and successors. Consider …

If you’re considering transferring your business ownership to family, you might be tempted to put your family’s wants over your own goals. While this altruism may be admirable, it can also cause more problems than it solves. Consider the case of Darnell Orie. Darnell Orie was unsure how to approach his business exit. His son, Hannibal, was the main reason …

After building a successful business, many business owners decide that they want to transfer their ownership to their children. Too often, those owners assume that a transfer to children will go smoothly and simply, requiring little more than informing their kids of the date they’ll be taking the reins. Owners who make this assumption commonly realize that without planning, they …

For many business owners, a sale to a third party is their assumed Exit Path. Some business owners even start their businesses with the goal of finding a larger, more deeply pocketed buyer; selling the business; and retiring early. The potential to sell the business for cash draws business owners to third-party sales. If you are considering a third-party sale, …