Articles & News

Our firm has recently experienced a flurry of business owners considering the possibility of selling and many are already going down the path with a key employee or other interested party. Experience has shown us that although this appears to be a straightforward solution, especially for owners looking to retire, there are many different obstacles in the process that sellers learn about the hard way by trying to do it alone. Unqualified Buyers Many dream of owning their own business but when the acquisition process begins, frequently end up backing off when they realize the risks involved in a business

Business Acquisition in a Down Market Our firm continues to have daily conversations with both sellers and buyers on how the latest market conditions impact transactions of privately held businesses. Many owners are questioning whether it is a good time to sell as some watch their retirement accounts take a turn for the worse with high inflation hitting hard as well. If you can get past the initial knee jerk reactions, now is a still great time to sell due to these three long standing principles. 1) Cash (flow) is still king Especially in a bear market, many buyers tend

Several of our team members attended the IBBA/M&A Source Conference held in Denver last week. It had been many years since this semi-annual international conference was held in Colorado. While the pandemic caused cancellations and light attendance over the last couple of years, it was wonderful to see this event returning back to pre-pandemic levels with over 700 IBBA members and 200+ M&A Source members in attendance. These conferences are packed full of both instructor-led classes and expert panel workshops to help continually educate members on important topics and trends such as financing transactions, marketing/social media options, negotiation tactics, available

Our firm’s substantial increase in closings compared to previous years indicates that the M&A market remains active and healthy. Even though good businesses are still in short supply, buyers remain motivated and tend to move quickly when they find the right match. In this process, many buyers are starting to ask owner(s) to be more involved in the transition to help mitigate their perceived risk. For those business owners who have effectively built themselves out of the daily operations, the transition time may be minimal (less than 30 days). However, for those who are more involved in the day-to-day operations

Our firm continues to work with more and more industry buyers who are very active in today’s M&A market. In many cases, these buyers are in the same industry looking to acquire a business in Colorado or in a nearby geographic market. While working with industry buyers can help increase the market price of a business, there are disadvantages as well. Below are three key aspects to consider when selling to an industry buyer. Overhead Synergies such as financial reporting, accounting, and human resources can often help drive more cash flow to the bottom line.   An industry buyer with similar locations can leverage their overhead resources (commonly referred

Over this past year, our firm is seeing an increase in owners who need to sell quickly but they have not put the necessary time and effort into preparing their business to sell.  Though risky, some have decided to go at it on their own or have only had general conversations with their accountants or financial advisors without putting a real plan in place. While the range can vary based on the industry and uniqueness of each business, the average is 9-10 months from when the business goes to market to the closing table. However, we’re seeing more exceptions in

Below are 3 aspects to consider and avoid when selling a business. 1) Advertising Too Early While there are many reasons to start advertising a business as soon as possible (especially to take advantage of the high buyer activity seasons like at the first of the year), we constantly see businesses advertised too soon. When a buyer inquiries but financials are not in order and other key aspects of the business are still not available, this can really turn off well qualified buyers who are seriously looking for a business. This is often not the fault of the seller but

Will 2022 Be a Good Year For Selling A Business? As many start to plan for next year, there are several important factors to consider for those owners looking to sell their business in 2022.   While these past few years have been anything but normal, the following three key traditional factors in selling a business remain: 1. Multiples Determine Value  Whether it’s a multiple based on SDE or EBITDA for measuring cash flow, valuation multiples remain relatively the same compared to 2020 with one exception.   In the recent Q3 of 2021, for businesses valued over $5M, EBITDA multiples