Buying and Selling a Business

An M&A; / Business Broker’s Guide to Valuation
April 25, 2008, 8:20 AM
I’ve gone through my blog posts and organized the posts related to business valuations. I think there is some good stuff here, and I've also made available a white paper we wrote on basic valuations principles.

A Successful Business Transfer: a Beautiful Thing
April 24, 2008, 12:05 PM
Fire season is almost here, and my thoughts turn to a company in which I assisted with the sale a few years ago. It was purchase by someone I'll call DD, for Dad of the Decade. Dad of the year just doesn't seem good enough. DD has two fire fighter sons, and he ...

Buying and Selling a Business: In the End, There Must be Some Degree of Trust
April 21, 2008, 5:55 PM
We recently had a deal fall apart because of a lack of trust on both the buyer and seller. Unlike a buying a house, a business deal often requires some amount of trust to get from offer to close of escrow.

Will the SBA Require Seller Financing on ALL Business Acquisition Loans?
April 16, 2008, 11:35 AM
The SBA has published new lending guidelines that direct lenders to all but require seller financing in business acquisition loans. Although not an unreasonable position, this is sure to cause some sellers some major aggravation.

Appraisal / Valuation Usually Worth the Effort
April 11, 2008, 8:45 AM
A business with real estate included was listed for 18 months for $2,600,000. The owner recently paid for a commercial property appraisal. The value of the real estate, without the business? $5,800,000!

Tax Returns Critically Important for Small/Medium Business Sales
April 09, 2008, 12:55 PM
Most businesses these days can produce a P&L; statement with a touch of a button but when it comes to documenting the performance of the business, the often misleading tax return is the official document, not the P&L.; Why the heavy reliance on tax returns?

Sales of Small Businesses Are Up
April 04, 2008, 10:45 AM
I talked to a leading business escrow company in California, and they indicated that smaller businesses were selling briskly. Why are small businesses sales up? One reason is the economy, believe it or not. Every time unemployment goes up, there is an influx of buyers that wish to be business owners. You can imagine the scenario...

Sometimes Business Acquisitions Just Don’t Work
April 02, 2008, 3:10 PM
...and about three brokers at once said, "which January?" "He bought the business this January, 2008" he said. The room erupted. All of us wanted to hear the story. What had gone so horribly wrong that someone who bought a business would give it up within a few short months?

The All Important Buyer / Seller Meeting
March 28, 2008, 9:30 AM
The buyer/seller meeting is fascinating. There is much at stake for both the buyer and seller and I get to shut up (pretty much) and just watch.

Business Valuations: The Paradox of Business Growth
March 18, 2008, 4:25 PM
What a difference! In a high growth tech company you can use a future earnings number which can drastically pump up a valuation over current numbers. However for other businesses you typically have to average in the past three years which can pull down the valuation substantially.