Sat, 21 Nov 2009 22:37:03 PST http://www.allbusiness.com/buying-exiting-businesses/4967388-1.html AllBusiness.com - Buying and Selling a Business en-us Copyright 1999-2009 AllBusiness.com All Rights Reserved. http://www.allbusiness.com/asset/image/general_site_image/3472344.gif http://www.allbusiness.com/buying-exiting-businesses/4967388-1.html 46 144 http://www.allbusiness.com/government/public-finance-taxes-taxation/13424812-1.html http://www.allbusiness.com/government/public-finance-taxes-taxation/13424812-1.html I recently visited a prospective client with an interesting, growing business that he wishes to sell. He paid no taxes, but in reality the business produced over $1 million in earnings. As I learned more, I began to worry that he had crossed the line, and that would make it a challenge to sell. Where is that line? Fri, 20 Nov 2009 03:00:00 GMT http://www.allbusiness.com/company-activities-management/company-structures-ownership/13415705-1.html http://www.allbusiness.com/company-activities-management/company-structures-ownership/13415705-1.html OK,desperate is probably too strong a word, but many private equity groups are getting anxious about getting deals done. They have raised and now are sitting on their funds, but for the past two years have had a hard time finding good investments. Many now see this as a great time to buy. Read what they have to say... Thu, 12 Nov 2009 06:55:00 GMT http://www.allbusiness.com/company-activities-management/company-structures-ownership/13411398-1.html http://www.allbusiness.com/company-activities-management/company-structures-ownership/13411398-1.html We recently negotiated the execution of a Letter of Intent (LOI) for the acquisition of our client’s company. It is a crucial milestone on the way to a sale, but it isn’t a time for celebration. This is what the LOI really means: ... Mon, 09 Nov 2009 01:25:00 GMT http://www.allbusiness.com/company-activities-management/company-structures-ownership/13353928-1.html http://www.allbusiness.com/company-activities-management/company-structures-ownership/13353928-1.html As my regular readers know, I use a small plane in the course of my business of selling businesses. I usually carry a camera along in the cockpit, and here are the best of my flying photos from the past few years. Mon, 02 Nov 2009 06:00:00 GMT http://www.allbusiness.com/trends-events/talks-meetings/13301336-1.html http://www.allbusiness.com/trends-events/talks-meetings/13301336-1.html I’ve heard of acquisitions that have but a few minor issues and close in record time. I’m assuming I’ll get one of these at some time in my career, but so far it hasn’t happened. A deal I’m working on right now was a great candidate, with extremely smooth sailing all the way through receiving ten offers. Too smooth. Mon, 26 Oct 2009 12:10:00 GMT http://www.allbusiness.com/trends-events/talks-meetings/13177973-1.html http://www.allbusiness.com/trends-events/talks-meetings/13177973-1.html We have packaged the company, marketed it, screened potential buyers, received a healthy number of offers and conducted conference calls. Last week was the time for the critical buyer / seller meetings. Mon, 12 Oct 2009 04:25:00 GMT http://www.allbusiness.com/company-activities-management/company-structures-ownership/13119993-1.html http://www.allbusiness.com/company-activities-management/company-structures-ownership/13119993-1.html There are always some surprises in the process of selling a company and every time it is something new. Here are some examples of surprises and challenges during the last two weeks of a $12 million deal that we recently closed. Mon, 05 Oct 2009 10:40:00 GMT http://www.allbusiness.com/safety-accidents-disasters/disasters-forest-fires/13034804-1.html http://www.allbusiness.com/safety-accidents-disasters/disasters-forest-fires/13034804-1.html I fly a small plane around the west coast to meet clients and conduct buyer/seller meetings, and I occasionally write about the more memorable flights in this blog. Last Tuesday, I flew right by Mt. Shasta and on past a raging forest fire to visit a new client in Central Oregon. Fri, 25 Sep 2009 01:35:00 GMT http://www.allbusiness.com/company-activities-management/financial-performance/12946713-1.html http://www.allbusiness.com/company-activities-management/financial-performance/12946713-1.html It is commonly known that a strategic buyer will sometimes pay more for a business than a purely financial buyer. However, this fact sometimes gets twisted in the notion that strategic buyers don’t care much about financials, and that they will overlook financial weaknesses in a business. Tue, 15 Sep 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://www.allbusiness.com/company-activities-management/company-structures-ownership/12860768-1.html http://www.allbusiness.com/company-activities-management/company-structures-ownership/12860768-1.html The past nine months has been an interesting ride in middle market M&A. Fine, seemingly solid companies with soft financials get little activity, while companies with strong financials get more offers (30 or more!) than a few years ago. This will change (and in fact already shows signs of change), and I will be glad when it does. Thu, 10 Sep 2009 12:10:00 GMT