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.