Help for owner-run companies on both sides of a deal, selling or buying, with senior bankers at the table until the money is wired.
Selling the company you built happens once in a career, and it rarely goes to plan without preparation. The buyer you choose, the terms you accept, and the way the process is run will decide not only what you are paid, but what becomes of your employees, your customers, and your name in the community.
Price is only part of it. Two offers at the same number can be worlds apart once you look at how much is paid at closing, how much depends on future results, what you are asked to guarantee, and how long you are expected to stay. Our job is to put those differences on the table in plain language.
We start by studying the business the way a buyer will: its earnings, its customers, its people, and the risks a careful acquirer is bound to find. That lets us fix what can be fixed before going to market, and tell the company’s story with confidence once we do.
When we represent a buyer, we bring the same discipline from the other side of the table, helping decide what to look for, approaching owners directly, and negotiating terms that hold up after closing.
Owner-run companies and the acquirers who want to buy them.
You have never sold a company and want an advisor who will explain each step and fight for your interests.
You want to hand the business to family members or your management team, and need a fair plan that can be financed.
You are ready to add a competitor, a new territory, or a new capability, and want help finding and closing the right deal.
Six types of engagement, each run by a senior banker from start to finish.
We get the company ready to show, find corporate and investor buyers with a real reason to want it, and run a competitive process on a set timetable. You see every offer, and you decide which ones to pursue.
Suited to: owners ready to step away who want the best overall result.
Outside money takes a piece of the business, frequently the larger piece, while you hold on to the remainder and usually keep running things. You put money in the bank now and share in the upside when the company is sold again.
Suited to: owners who want to take chips off the table without walking away from the business.
Together we write down what a good target looks like, dig up the businesses that match, and call their owners ourselves, even ones who have never considered a sale. From there we lead valuation, structure, and negotiation.
Suited to: companies and investors adding locations, products, or territory through acquisition.
The managers who already run the place take ownership, funded by a lender, a note you carry, and now and then an outside backer. We help settle a price everyone can live with and debt the company can carry comfortably.
Suited to: owners who want the company to stay in trusted hands.
Moving a company to the next generation calls for a fair valuation, a funding plan, and clear agreements between siblings and in-laws. We bring an outside view and keep the plan practical.
Suited to: family businesses planning a handover within the next several years.
When one part of the business no longer fits, we plan its separation, find buyers who value it, and protect the operations you are keeping.
Suited to: companies narrowing their focus or raising cash from a side business.
Signing on with us to closing day usually runs six to nine months. Below are the steps, roughly how long each lasts, and your part in it.
We go through your books, customers, contracts, and crew, then give you a plain-spoken view of value and of anything a buyer is likely to question.
From you: several sit-down sessions, and the last three years of books and tax filings.
We put together the numbers buyers will test, draft the offering memorandum, open a secure document room, and settle with you which buyers hear about the company first.
From you: help gathering documents and reviewing drafts, with one or two key managers brought in quietly.
Interested parties start with a one-page teaser that leaves your name out. Once a nondisclosure is signed, they receive the memorandum, visit with you and your managers, and put early bids in writing.
From you: a handful of meetings with serious buyers, each one rehearsed with us.
We lay the offers out side by side on price, cash at closing, earnouts, and conditions, push the best buyers to sharpen their terms, and negotiate the letter of intent.
From you: decisions on what matters most to you when the offers differ.
The buyer’s accountants and lawyers dig in. We keep their requests flowing, coordinate with your own advisors, clear obstacles as they appear, and hold the deal to its schedule.
From you: quick answers to questions and a steady hand running the business.
Commitments we make to every owner we represent.
The person you hire is the person who does the work and takes your calls.
If something could hurt the deal, you hear it from us first.
A short update every week or two, with buyer activity and next steps.
The lion’s share of our pay depends on the deal closing.
Most profitable companies with a few years of reliable financials and a team that can operate without the owner every day will attract buyers. We can usually tell you in one or two conversations whether now is the right time or whether some preparation would pay off.
Multiples vary widely by industry, size, growth, and risk, so a rule of thumb from a friend can be far off. We look at your actual earnings, recent sales of similar companies, and which buyers would gain most from owning yours, then give you a range with the reasoning behind it.
No. Many owners sell a majority or minority stake, keep the rest, and continue to run the company. That route gives you cash now and a second payday later, and we can model it next to a full sale.
Buyers are approached with an anonymous summary, and nothing that identifies the company is shared until they sign a confidentiality agreement. Inside your own walls, we plan with you who gets told, at what point, and in what words.
Usually larger companies in your industry, businesses in related fields looking to expand, private equity firms, and family investment offices. We approach a mix, because competition between different kinds of buyers tends to lift both price and terms.
We handle the outreach, paperwork, and negotiation. You will be needed to help prepare information, meet serious buyers, and make the key decisions, but most owners keep running their company day to day throughout.
Often for a transition period of several months to a couple of years, depending on the buyer and how much the business relies on you. The length and pay for that period are negotiated up front, so nothing catches you off guard.
Typically a small upfront or monthly fee, with the bulk of our pay coming as a percentage of the deal when it closes. That means we do well only when you do. Every term is written into an engagement letter before work begins.
Drop us a short email on the company and the decision you are mulling over. You will hear back from a senior banker, not an assistant, and the conversation stays between us.