Sell-Side Advisory

This may be the only time you sell your business; or this could be one deal across a prolific deal-making career of yours. Either way, you want an experienced hand – one you trust and one who relentlessly pursues your best interests. This is our mission.

We have three sell-side offerings:

Exclusive Advisory

We get started with a monthly or one-time retainer and will earn a mutually agreed-upon transaction fee when the deal closes. Generally these assignments are 24 months, giving us enough time from preparation through market monitoring through diligence and close.

Co-Advisory

We can also play a co-advisory role alongside another investment bank; for these assignments we work on a monthly retainer and a shared success fee with another advisor. Typically there is a lead and a co-lead; we play either role.

Pre-Transaction Strategic Consulting

We recommend this path when / if we see significant valuation gaps that can be "buttoned up"; in these situations, we provide tactical and consultative help relating to a variety of key issues, such as acquisitions, personnel gaps, expansion or growth initiatives or performance benchmarking.

How We Deliver on a Sale Assignment

Our team has executed several billion dollars in sale transaction volume for our clients, bringing this experience and expertise to each assignment. This leads to an efficient and value-maximizing process, enabling management teams to keep their focus on the business while secure the best deal.

1) Immerse ourselves in the business and its potential

We do a lot of prep before we engage any prospective buyers. We need to understand all the strengths, all the weaknesses, all the opportunities and all the risks of a business AND the potential transaction. Then we assess what risks and weaknesses can be addressed and how. Finally we develop, and seek input from our client, how the business should be positioned to maximize value in the transaction.

2) Develop the Content

Once we have a positioning thesis, we then begin painting the picture with information on the business, the management team, the industry, the competitive dynamics and the growth strategy. Our guiding principle is to paint the picture as completely and with as much supporting factual detail as possible.

3) Identify and Approach Buyers/Investors

What is important here is that we identify all of the right buyers and avoid all of the wrong buyers. Sometimes this means a group of 5 to 10 potential suitors and sometimes this can mean 100 or more. Just because there are lots of potential suitors doesn’t mean you should talk to all of them.

4) Lead and Manage the Process

Once buyers are engaged, the flow of information needs to be closely and carefully distributed and monitored. We also withhold certain information that might jeopardize competitive dynamics. Based on the quality of the subsequent interactions, we can develop some important perspectives on the various buyers that we then share with our clients.

5) Negotiate and Close on Terms

The key terms that are negotiated do not necessarily follow a set path. Sometimes a buyer will emerge and “must have” the business. In situations like this, a pre-emptive bid may follow and it is important for us to advise the pros and cons to our client accordingly. We have great experience in these situations. In other situations, we may see key terms change late in the process and we will need to have a strategy in place to manage through this.