Selling your business is a daunting exercise that requires careful preparation and real-time vigilance. In this whitepaper, we define some practical steps business owners can take to ready their businesses for the best transaction outcome. These steps include identifying the right kind of buyer and transaction design, setting expectations for the timeline to consummate a transaction, hiring an advisor, understanding the various advisory fee structures that best suit each transaction scenario, as well as a few considerations every owner should contemplate before bringing their business to market.

Our experience is that some if not most members of a board weighing an acquisition proposal do not have the background to thoroughly evaluate the buyer’s shares. Even when financial advisors are involved there still may not be a thorough vetting of the buyer’s shares because there is too much focus on “price” instead of, or in addition to, “value.”