I was recently talking to a consultant that we have worked with for many years. During the course of our conversation, I mentioned that we were working on completing a valuation assignment for a business where the son was considering buying the business from his parents. Depending on the valuation results and other family dynamics, we were either going to assist in structuring a transaction to transfer the business to the son, or take the business to market to sell to a third party. For internal transfers such as this, we would not only value the business, but would also negotiate the transaction, presumably in a tax friendly manner, and assist in obtaining financing.
The consultant that I was talking to commented that, even though we had worked together for years, he was not aware that we provided that kind of service, although it was a logical application of our core capabilities. Although our primary service is representing the owners of privately held businesses in the sale of their business to a third party acquirer, we also provide a suite of collateral services, including:
- Opinions of Market Value (“OMV”) This is our opinion of what the business would sell for to a third party under current market conditions. Although it is not a formal appraisal to be used for IRS matters or litigation purposes, the OMV can give business owners a good idea of what their business is worth for internal planning purposes. The cost of an Opinion of Market Value will vary with the complexity of the assigment, but typically costs $1,950 to $4,850. If the client elects to use our services to take the business to market, a substantial portion of those fees will be credited against transaction fees.
- Investment Banking Services As a principal of an affiliated investment banking firm, CFA Colorado, LLC*, I can provide investment banking services for larger, more complex transactions, such as minority and majority recapitalizations, mergers, and business acquisitions structured as a stock purchase. CFA Colorado, LLC is affiliated with Corporate Finance Associates, an international network of investment banking firms with offices in the U.S., Canada, South America, Europe, India, and Hong Kong.
- Retained Buyer Searches Although the majority of our services relate to representing Sellers of existing businesses, in certain situations we will also work with buyers that have defined criteria and are able to act decisively when the right business is identified. In a Retained Buyer Search we would enter into an agreement with the buyer to identify, solicit, screen, and negotiate a transaction on the buyer’s behalf. This service is particularly attractive to motivated buyers that have been unsuccessful in acquiring a business using conventional methods.
We would be pleased to meet with you on a confidential, no obligation basis to discuss these services.
(originally published in October 2012 eNewsletter)