FAMILY BUSINESS ADVISORY SERVICES

Mercer Capital provides financial education services and other strategic financial consulting to family businesses.

We help family ownership groups, boards, and management teams align their perspectives on the financial realities, needs, and opportunities of the business.

We also help family business boards and management teams explain strategic financial decisions to shareholders and help shareholders communicate preferences to boards and management teams.

We have had the privilege of working with successful family and closely held businesses for the past 40 years. Given our experience, we are convinced that an engaged and informed shareholder base is essential for the long-term health and success of a family or closely held business. Yet, cultivating an engaged and informed shareholder base is often difficult. We can help.

DEDICATED WEBSITE

Family Business On Demand Resource Center

Mercer Capital’s Family Business On Demand Resource Center is a dedicated website for enterprising families and their advisors facing the financial challenges that are common to family businesses.

On this website, we have curated and organized a diverse collection of resources from our staff of family business professionals, including short videos, articles, whitepapers, books, and research studies.

Our focus is on the financial challenges faced by family businesses, which include capital budgeting, capital structure, dividend & redemption policy, mergers & acquisitions, shareholder engagement & education, taxes, and valuation.

If you’ve ever had any questions about these topics – or know someone that does – please visit the Family Business On Demand Resource Center.

Services

Customized Board Advisory Services

We work with you to frame the decision to promote better outcomes, and help you formulate the relevant questions that need to be addressed and answered during board deliberations concerning your dividend policy, capital allocation, and capital structure decisions.

Management Consulting

We work with family business management teams to assess hurdle rates, develop sustainable capital budgeting processes, and evaluate potential acquisitions & divestitures.

Independent Valuation Opinions

We provide independent, unbiased, and reliable valuation opinions for gift & estate tax planning, buy-sell agreements, and shareholder liquidity programs.

Transaction Advisory Services

When an attractive offer arises, we work with family business directors to respond to acquisition offers, evaluate strategic alternatives, provide fairness and solvency opinions, and manage the marketing and sale of family businesses.

Confidential Shareholder Surveys

By designing, administering, and summarizing the results of a confidential shareholder survey, we solicit relevant and timely shareholder feedback so you and your fellow directors can make fully-informed decisions in light of the preferences and risk tolerances of your family shareholders.

Benchmarking / Business Intelligence

We turn available financial data from publicly traded peers and other sources into relevant information that helps you and your fellow directors make better corporate finance decisions.

Shareholder Engagement

If your family business is to function as a source of unity rather than division, your family shareholders need to be positively engaged with the business. We develop and provide customized financial education for your family shareholders and  present on a wide variety of topics.

Shareholder Communication Support

Poor communication is the most common cause of family shareholder angst. We help family business directors identify the appropriate frequency, format, and content of financial reporting to shareholders to preserve family harmony.

Research and Resources

Professionals

Estate Planning Opportunities in the Current Environment

As family business leaders tackle the many operating challenges thrust upon them by the COVID-19 pandemic, it is tempting to let tasks like estate planning fall to the bottom of the to-do list. While estate planning may appear to be less pressing than other issues, the positive impact of effective planning on the long-term health of both the family and the family business is hard to overstate. If your family business is overdue for some ownership transitions, you should not miss the current opportunity for tax-efficient estate planning transfers.