Transaction Advisory

It is common for business owners to get serious about exit strategies only after a potential buyer comes knocking on the door.

An initial private offering (IPO) is an offering of private company stock to the investing public through the regulated, public securities markets. For rmany reasons, the IPO route to shareholder liquidity or growth capital is unavailable to most private companies.

It is important for business owners to understand the factors that influence value in both the general economy and the acquisition market. This is certainly necessary for owners who are currently considering the sale of their business or may consider such a transaction in the near future.

As part of our transaction advisory and consulting services, Mercer Capital is often called upon to provide fairness opinions in transactions.

While this article highlights our experience in the banking industry, the strategies presented here are applicable for anyone in any industry engaging in a transaction.

Many business owners have not done a great deal of thinking about the value of their businesses. When we talk to these business owners about potential transactions, they often have no (or an unrealistic) notion of the economic benefits associated with their ownership interest in the business.

A variety of factors have been working together in the past several years to create opportunities for owners of private businesses to achieve liquidity by selling their businesses to private companies.

This article addresses some of the issues that a seller of a company must consider when evaluating and negotiating the sale of a business.

Corporate mergers and acquisitions are typically announced in a press release that expresses the enthusiasm of both the purchaser and the target. Like any wedding, a deal is an event that results in a great deal of excitement on the part of both participants, as well as a great deal of speculation on the part of those familiar with the union about whether or not it is a wise decision. And, like many marriages between a man and a woman, a significant number of corporate marriages result in disappointment for all involved.

Convertible securities, comprising convertible debt and convertible preferred stock, represent a hybrid ownership interest combining features of both “straight” debt and common equity.

The terms “Financial Buyer” and/or “Strategic Buyer” frequently arise in discussions about investment banking activities, particularly when discussing the sale of a business. This article describes some of the characteristics of each type of buyer, and briefly discusses potential situations in which one might be more appropriate than the other.

Acquirers of non-financial services companies tend to focus on various definitions of cash flow and value.