Tag Archive for: DealConsideration

What Business Owners Should Know About Private Equity Buyers

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Since Allston Advisory Group’s founding in 2010, the private equity landscape has changed considerably. Around 2010, the United States had approximately 2,300 private equity firms. By 2024, that number had increased to approximately 6,000 firms. The number of private equity backed companies has also grown substantially. PitchBook data indicates approximately 6,400 U.S. companies had private equity backing in 2010. That figure approached 12,000 by 2024. For business owners considering selling to private equity, this growth has created a larger and more diverse universe of potential buyers.

Over the intervening years, private equity also expanded further into the lower middle market. Firms developed increasingly specialized strategies based on industry, geography, company size, and transaction type. For business owners, this expansion has created a much larger and more diverse universe of potential financial buyers.

However, more private equity firms do not necessarily mean more qualified buyers for every company. Each firm has a specific investment criteria, capital requirements, and return expectations. An experienced M&A advisor must therefore identify firms whose strategies align with the company and seller’s objectives.

Platform and Add-On Acquisitions

Private equity firms generally pursue acquisitions as either platform investments or add-on acquisitions. Understanding the distinction may help sellers evaluate the buyer’s strategy and potential transaction structure. A platform acquisition establishes or expands the private equity firm’s primary investment within a particular industry. The platform typically has sufficient scale, management, infrastructure, and market position to support future growth.

After acquiring a platform, the private equity firm may invest additional capital to expand the business. Growth may occur organically or through subsequent acquisitions. As the platform develops, management may pursue geographic expansion, new services, additional customers, or complementary capabilities. The private equity firm may also provide strategic resources and acquisition expertise.

An add-on acquisition involves purchasing a company that complements an existing platform investment. The platform company often participates directly in evaluating and completing the acquisition. Add-ons may provide new customers, geographic markets, employees, services, technology, or specialized capabilities. They may also create purchasing efficiencies or other operating benefits.

For the seller, the distinction may materially affect the transaction. A platform buyer may expect the existing management team to continue operating and growing the company. An add-on buyer may have different plans. It could integrate accounting, technology, purchasing, human resources, sales, or other functions into the existing platform.

The seller should therefore understand the buyer’s integration strategy and expected post-closing role before accepting an offer. The distinction may also affect value. A platform or add-on buyer may identify synergies unavailable to other financial buyers. Those benefits may influence how much a particular buyer is willing to pay.

Where rollover equity is involved, the buyer’s strategy becomes even more relevant. Sellers may retain an ownership interest in the platform rather than only their former company. If the platform grows and later sells successfully, the seller may participate in that additional value creation. This potential outcome is sometimes called the “second bite of the apple.” However, rollover equity also carries investment risk and reduced control. Sellers should evaluate both the initial transaction and their continuing investment before committing capital.

Transaction Structures May Vary

Selling to private equity does not necessarily require an owner to exit completely. Private equity can support several transaction structures and seller objectives. An owner may pursue an outright sale and transition toward retirement. Another may complete a recapitalization while retaining meaningful equity ownership.

Likewise, private equity can provide capital for growth, acquisitions, or ownership transitions. It can also support management teams purchasing businesses from existing owners. Rollover equity can give sellers another opportunity to participate in future growth. However, sellers exchange immediate liquidity for continued investment risk.

Evaluating More Than Purchase Price

Private equity firms may differ substantially in structure, risk, and post-closing expectations. Sellers should therefore evaluate more than headline purchase price. Beyond the economics, owners should understand the firm’s investment philosophy and expected holding period. They should also evaluate governance, management expectations, and plans for the business. The portfolio company’s role may also matter when an add-on buyer leads the transaction.

An experienced M&A advisor will identify firms whose investment criteria match the company and seller’s objectives. The advisor may also create competition among qualified financial and strategic buyers. For the right owner, selling to private equity may provide liquidity while creating opportunities for continued growth and participation. The right structure depends on what the seller wants the transaction to accomplish.

Preparing Yourself for the Sale, Not Just the Business

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Owners often spend years preparing their companies for a future sale. They strengthen management, improve financial reporting, reduce customer concentration, document processes, and address other business risks. Those efforts matter. However, the business represents only one side of exit readiness. Owner readiness for a business sale requires a different examination.

Is the owner financially prepared to sell? Is the owner professionally ready to stop leading the company? Has the owner discussed the transition with family? Most importantly, is the owner personally prepared to let go? A business may be ready for a transaction while its owner remains years away from one. Recognizing that difference early creates time to prepare both.

Business Readiness and Owner Readiness Are Different

An Exit Readiness Assessment evaluates the company from a transaction perspective. It identifies risks, opportunities, and value drivers that may affect the business before a sale. Owner readiness asks a different set of questions. The answers may influence when the owner sells, which buyer fits best, and how the transaction gets structured. These questions also reach beyond the closing date. They address whether the owner is prepared for the financial, professional, personal, and emotional consequences of selling. That preparation should begin well before buyers enter the conversation.

Start With Financial Independence

The first question is not simply what the business is worth. The owner needs to understand what the sale must accomplish financially. A preliminary valuation establishes the company’s current value. The owner should then consider expected taxes, transaction expenses, debt, and other adjustments affecting net proceeds. Those proceeds need context.

What lifestyle does the owner expect after closing? What financial commitments will continue? How much capital should remain available for family, estate planning, philanthropy, or future investments? A wealth advisor and tax advisor may help translate transaction value into long-term financial implications. This work gives the owner something more useful than a desired sale price. It provides clearer understanding of what financial independence actually requires.

Prepare to Give Up the Job Along With the Company

Owners also need to consider what they are leaving professionally. For decades, the business may have provided responsibility, authority, relationships, intellectual challenge, and daily structure. A sale changes all of them. Some owners remain through an employment or consulting agreement. Other retain rollover equity and become minority investors. These arrangements preserve involvement, but they change the owner’s authority.

Someone else may control hiring, strategy, compensation, capital spending, and other major decisions. An owner who enjoys operating the company may find that transition harder than expected. Therefore, professional readiness requires more than deciding when to retire. The owner should decide what role, if any, feels appropriate after control changes hands.

Bring Your Family Into the Conversation

A business sale rarely affects only the shareholder. Spouses may have expectations about retirement, travel, relocation, investments, or family time. Children may work in the company or expect future involvement. Other family members may associate the business with identity, security, or legacy. These expectations deserve discussion before the transaction creates deadlines. The owner does not need family approval for every decision. Still, understanding those perspectives may reveal issues that deserve attention before a sale begins. It also gives the family time to prepare for a significant change in wealth and lifestyle.

Personal Preparation Happens Before Closing

The personal side of readiness often receives the least attention. An owner may know exactly how to prepare a company for due diligence. The same owner may have no idea what Tuesday morning after closing will look like. That question deserves a serious answer.

The owner may want more time with family, golf, travel, investing, philanthropy, mentoring, consulting, or another business. The answer does not need to involve another career. It should, however, provide some direction for the time and energy that ownership once consumed. Developing those interests before a sale makes the transition feel less abrupt. It also helps the owner distinguish between wanting to sell and simply wanting relief from current pressures.

Emotional Readiness Does Not Appear on a Checklist

The final dimension is harder to measure. An owner may understand the economics and still struggle to sign the closing documents. That hesitation may involve identity, employees, customers, family history, or fear of losing purpose. It may also involve something simple: the owner is not ready.

Ignoring that possibility does not make it disappear. Instead, owners should consider how they feel about another person controlling the company they built. Would seeing the buyer change the culture create resentment? Would watching longtime employees report to someone else feel difficult? Would the owner struggle to stop intervening after closing? These questions may feel less concrete than valuation or taxes. They still affect whether a transaction feels successful years later.

Readiness Creates Better Choices

Preparing the owner does not mean deciding to sell immediately. In fact, early preparation may lead an owner to wait. That decision may be entirely appropriate. Time allows the company to strengthen while the owner prepares financially and personally. It also allows an M&A advisor to understand the owner’s objectives before designing a sale process. When the owner is ready, those objectives help shape buyer selection, transaction structure, timing, and post-closing involvement. That alignment matters because the highest offer may not produce the best outcome for every owner.

Prepare Both Sides of the Exit

Owner readiness for a business sale belongs beside business readiness, not behind it. The company needs transferable value, strong financial performance, capable management, and defensible operations. The owner needs financial clarity, professional direction, family alignment, and personal readiness for life after ownership.

Neither side should wait until a buyer appears. Preparing the business creates more options for the transaction. Preparing the owner creates more confidence in choosing among them. The business may be ready to sell. The more important question is whether the owner is ready to sell it.

Negotiating the LOI Before Granting Exclusivity

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The Letter of Intent represents a major turning point in the sale of a business. Until this stage, multiple prospective buyers may still compete for the opportunity. Once the seller signs an LOI, the dynamics change significantly. The selected buyer typically receives exclusivity and begins confirmatory due diligence. For this reason, sellers should use their LOI negotiating leverage before committing to a single buyer.

Establish the Major Economic Terms

Although most LOI provisions remain nonbinding, the document establishes the framework for the transaction. Reopening major business terms later may erode trust and create unnecessary tension between the parties. It may also cause either party to question whether previously negotiated terms remain settled.

Therefore, the LOI should clearly address the purchase price, transaction structure, and form of consideration. It should also define other significant economic terms. These terms may include working capital, seller financing, earnouts, rollover equity, escrows, and other holdbacks. Before exclusivity begins, sellers should resolve as many significant economics issues as reasonably possible.

Address the Seller’s Post-Closing Role

Many sellers remain involved after closing through employment, consulting, or transition agreements. Others may retain an economic interest through an earnout or rollover equity. The LOI should address these arrangements when they represent a meaningful part of the transaction. At this point, the seller still has meaningful negotiating leverage. Postponing difficult issues or conversations may shift that leverage toward the buyer.

Provide Accurate Information Early

Sellers should provide accurate financial and operational information before accepting an LOI. Material inconsistencies discovered later may give the buyer grounds to renegotiate. Sellers should also disclose known weaknesses that could materially affect the transaction. Surprises during the confirmatory due diligence may damage credibility and threaten the deal.

Understand What Changes After Signing

Signing an LOI does not complete the transaction. However, it usually removes the seller from the competitive marketplace for a defined period. From that moment forward, the buyer will devote substantial resources to diligence and definitive agreements. Meanwhile, the seller’s alternatives become temporarily limited.

An experienced M&A advisor should negotiate the LOI with the definitive transaction already in mind. The advisor should identify unresolved issues before the seller grants exclusivity. Effective LOI negotiating leverage comes from addressing significant terms while buyers still compete. Sellers should use that leverage before choosing the buyer who moves forward.

Private Equity Transaction Structures: More Than an Outright Sale

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Private equity groups offer business owners far more than a traditional outright sale. Depending on the owner’s objectives, a private equity firm may offer several different transaction structures. Consequently, business owners should understand these alternatives before selecting a buyer or negotiating a letter of intent.

Unlike many other acquirers, private equity firms often tailor transactions to meet the seller’s financial, operational, and personal goals. They provide access to capital, strategic guidance, operational expertise, and professional networks that support long-term growth. Furthermore, their flexibility allows business owners to pursue transaction structures that may not be available through strategic buyers or individual investors.

One common structure supports family succession planning. A private equity firm may provide liquidity to the senior generation while allowing active family members to retain operational control. Likewise, private equity firms frequently provide growth capital to finance acquisitions, expand into new markets, develop new products, or invest in facilities without requiring owners to assume additional personal financial risk.

Private equity firms also participate in management buyouts by providing the capital necessary for key employees to acquire ownership. As a result, owners may transition the business to the next generation of leadership while preserving the company’s culture and customer relationships.

For owners seeking liquidity while maintaining future upside, a recapitalization may provide an attractive solution. In a recapitalization, the owner sells a majority or minority interest, retains meaningful equity, and participates in the company’s future growth. This “second bite of the apple” often creates substantial additional value when the private equity firm exits its investment.

Of course, some owners simply prefer an outright sale and retirement. Others may benefit from a strategic acquisition completed through one of the private equity firm’s existing portfolio companies. In either case, the transaction structure should reflect the owner’s long-term objectives rather than the buyer’s preferred approach.

Private equity firms differ significantly in their investment strategies, industries, and operating philosophies. Accordingly, business owners should clearly define their goals before entering the market. An experienced M&A advisory team will identify the most appropriate private equity partners, negotiate the optimal transaction structure, and help owners maximize value while achieving their personal, financial, and strategic objectives.

Evaluating Purchase Consideration in an M&A Transaction

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Sellers of lower middle market companies should evaluate more than the headline purchase price when comparing offers. Purchase consideration may include cash, seller financing, earnouts, rollover equity, escrows, holdbacks, and other forms of deferred payment. Consequently, two offers with identical purchase prices may provide significantly different economic outcomes for the seller.

Cash paid at closing generally provides the greatest certainty and immediate liquidity. However, buyers may use other forms of consideration to bridge valuation differences or address transaction risks. Sellers must therefore evaluate each component based on its economic value rather than its stated amount.

Two important considerations are the time value of money and the probability of collection.

The time value of money recognizes that one dollar received today exceeds the value of one dollar received later. Accordingly, sellers should discount future payments to determine their present value. Interest rates, payment periods, timing, and other financial assumptions affect that calculation.

The probability of collection introduces another important consideration. A contractual right to future payment does not necessarily provide the same certainty as cash at closing. Several factors may increase the risk associated with deferred or contingent payments:

  • Seller financing exposes the seller to the buyer’s future ability to repay the obligation.
  • Earnouts depend on achieving specifically defined financial or operational performance targets.
  • Escrows and holdbacks may remain subject to indemnification claims or other post-closing adjustments.
  • Rollover equity provides future upside potential but also exposes the seller to continued investment risk.

Earnouts deserve particular attention when evaluating purchase consideration. Poorly defined performance measurements may create disagreements between buyers and sellers after closing. Furthermore, the buyer may control operating decisions that directly influence whether the seller achieves the earnout. Therefore, sellers should compare offers using estimated cash equivalencies rather than headline purchase prices alone. A lower offer with greater cash at closing may provide more economic value than a larger contingent offer. Transaction structure, tax considerations, risk allocation, and the seller’s personal objectives may also influence the decision.

An experienced M&A advisor will help sellers evaluate competing offers and understand the economics behind each structure. Ultimately, the best offer balances purchase price, certainty of payment, transaction terms, and the seller’s objectives. Purchase consideration should always be evaluated based on what the seller reasonably expects to receive, not simply the number presented.

Transaction Structure: Looking Beyond the Purchase Price

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Purchase price represents only one component of an offer to acquire a lower middle market business. An M&A transaction structure may significantly influence risk, proceeds, taxes, financing, and the seller’s obligations after closing.

Consequently, sellers should not automatically dismiss an offer simply because another buyer proposes a higher headline price. A properly structured lower offer may provide greater certainty, better terms, or more favorable after-tax proceeds.

The two most common acquisition structures involve purchasing assets or acquiring the seller’s equity. Each structure creates different economic, legal, accounting, and tax considerations for buyers and sellers.

In an asset sale, the buyer acquires specifically identified assets and assumes certain agreed liabilities. Buyers often prefer this structure because they may select the assets and liabilities included in the transaction. Additionally, buyers may receive favorable tax treatment from the acquired assets under applicable tax rules.

Conversely, sellers may prefer an equity transaction under certain circumstances. The buyer acquires the ownership interests of the company rather than purchasing individual assets. As a result, contracts, licenses, permits, and other relationships may remain with the existing legal entity. However, change-of-control provisions and required consents may still apply.

An M&A transaction structure also extends beyond the choice between an asset and equity sale. Buyers and sellers must evaluate several other components, including:

  • Cash paid at closing
  • Seller financing
  • Earnout payments
  • Rollover equity
  • Escrow and holdbacks
  • Working capital adjustments
  • Assumed liabilities
  • Employment or consulting arrangements

Each component affects the overall economics and risk of the transaction. For example, additional cash at closing provides greater certainty than contingent consideration. Alternatively, rollover equity may provide future upside while exposing the seller to continued investment risk.

Taxes may also materially influence transaction economics. However, the tax consequences depend on the seller’s entity structure and specific transaction terms. Therefore, sellers should involve qualified tax advisors before agreeing to a structure.

The highest purchase price does not always represent the best transaction. Sellers should compare offers based on total economic value, risk, certainty, timing, and their personal objectives.

An experienced M&A advisor may help sellers evaluate competing structures and understand their economic differences. Ultimately, the right M&A transaction structure should balance value, risk, flexibility, and the objectives of both parties.

True-Up Payments and Working Capital in M&A

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True-up payments in M&A help ensure that buyers receive the agreed level of net working capital at closing. They also protect sellers when actual working capital exceeds the negotiated target.

Most M&A transactions value a company as a going concern. Accordingly, the purchase price generally assumes the seller will deliver sufficient working capital to support normal operations. Buyers should not need to contribute additional capital immediately after closing simply because working capital was depleted before the transaction.

However, working capital changes continuously as a company operates. Accounts receivable, inventory, accounts payable, accrued expenses, and other current accounts may fluctuate significantly before closing. Therefore, buyers and sellers typically establish a targeted net working capital amount before completing the transaction.

At closing, the parties compare actual net working capital with the agreed target. If actual working capital falls below the target, the purchase price generally decreases by the shortfall. Conversely, the seller generally receives additional consideration when actual working capital exceeds the target.

For example, assume the parties establish a $1.0 million working capital target. If closing working capital equals $900,000, the purchase price could decrease by $100,000. If closing working capital equals $1.1 million, the seller could receive an additional $100,000.

Although the concept appears straightforward, the calculation may become contentious. Buyers and sellers may disagree about account classifications, accounting policies, reserves, accruals, or unusual balances. Furthermore, the parties may calculate certain accounts differently after closing.

For these reasons, sellers should address true-up payments in M&A during the Letter of Intent negotiations. The parties should clearly define working capital, the target amount, calculation methodology, and applicable accounting principles. They should also establish procedures for resolving disagreements.

Addressing these matters early provides several benefits:

  • Reduces uncertainty surrounding the final purchase price
  • Establishes consistent expectations before closing
  • Limits disagreements over accounting classifications and methodologies
  • Reduces opportunities to use working capital adjustments as a renegotiation tool
  • Provides a defined process for resolving post-closing differences

An experienced M&A advisor may help sellers understand working capital targets and evaluate proposed adjustment mechanisms. Careful negotiation before closing reduces surprises and helps preserve the economics negotiated between buyer and seller.

The Seller’s Role After an M&A Transaction

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Closing a business sale transfers the ownership, but it does not always end the seller’s involvement. The seller’s role after the sale often becomes an important component of the transaction structure and negotiations. Many sellers understandably want immediate liquidity and the freedom to pursue their next chapter. Buyers, however, often want continuity during the transition to new ownership. They may rely on the seller’s relationships, industry knowledge, operating experience, and institutional knowledge during this period.

Accordingly, buyers and sellers should define post-closing expectations well before completing the transaction. A clearly defined transition plan may reduce uncertainty and help both parties avoid disagreements after closing. The seller’s role after the sale may take several forms:

  • Employment Agreement: The seller remains an employee and continues managing or supporting the business.
  • Consulting Agreement: The seller provides defined services for a specified period without remaining a full-time employee.
  • Transition Agreement: The seller helps transfer relationships, responsibilities, knowledge, and operational control to the buyer.
  • Noncompetition Agreement: The seller agrees to certain restrictions regarding competitive activities following the transaction.
  • Seller Financing: The seller finances part of the purchase price and retains an economic interest in the buyer’s performance.
  • Earnout Arrangement: The seller receives additional consideration if the business achieves defined post-closing objectives.
  • Rollover Equity: The seller retains an ownership interest and participates in the future performance of the business.

These arrangements may create alignment between buyers and sellers. However, each arrangement also introduces different responsibilities, risks, and financial considerations. For example, an earnout may require the seller to remain involved because future payments depend on company performance. Rollover equity may also encourage continued participation because the seller retains an investment in the business.

Importantly, sellers should understand exactly what buyers expect after closing. The parties should define responsibilities, authority, compensation, time commitments, performance expectations, and the duration of any continuing involvement. Sellers should also consider whether the proposed role fits their personal objectives. Someone planning immediate retirement may view a three-year employment agreement very differently from an owner seeking continued involvement.

An experienced M&A advisor should address the seller’s role after the sale early in the M&A process. Clear expectations help align the parties, support an orderly transition, and reduce the potential for post-closing disputes. Most importantly, early planning helps ensure the seller’s continuing involvement reflects their financial and personal objectives.

The Importance of the Letter of Intent

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Every stage of a business sale deserves careful consideration, but few stages carry more significance than the Letter of Intent. A Letter of Intent in M&A establishes the framework for moving from preliminary negotiations toward a completed transaction. An LOI generally outlines the principal economic and business terms agreed upon by the buyer and seller. Although largely non-binding, the document establishes expectations that often guide the remainder of the transaction.

Why does such an important document remain largely non-binding? Buyers still need to complete due diligence before committing to acquire the business. Likewise, both parties must negotiate definitive agreements containing the transaction’s final legal terms. Even so, sellers should approach an LOI as though its major business terms will remain unchanged through closing. Renegotiating those terms later may become difficult and potentially damage the transaction.

A well-developed Letter of Intent in M&A should address several important matters:

  • Purchase Price: Define the proposed consideration and explain how the buyer expects to pay it.
  • Transaction Structure: Identify whether the buyer proposes an asset purchase, equity purchase, merger, or another structure.
  • Working Capital: Establish the methodology for determining any working capital target and resulting purchase price adjustment.
  • Contingent Consideration: Define significant seller financing, earnouts, rollover equity, escrows, or holdbacks.
  • Seller Involvement: Address anticipated employment, consulting, transition assistance, or other post-closing responsibilities.
  • Due Diligence: Establish the buyer’s opportunity to confirm financial, operational, legal, tax, and commercial information.
  • Exclusivity: Define the period when the seller may not solicit or negotiate competing acquisition proposals.
  • Timing: Establish expectations for due diligence, definitive agreements, financing, and closing.

Prior to signing, sellers should also disclose known issues that could materially affect the transaction. Early disclosure allows buyers to consider those matters when establishing their offer. Significantly, exclusivity changes the dynamics of the sale process. Once exclusivity begins, the seller loses the competitive leverage created by other prospective buyers. For this reason, sellers should negotiate important economic terms before granting exclusivity. Deferring major issues until the purchase agreement may expose sellers to unnecessary renegotiation.

A thorough LOI also reduces misunderstandings and provides direction for attorneys drafting the definitive transaction documents. Clear terms may improve efficiency and help both parties focus on the remaining due diligence and legal matters.

An experienced M&A advisor should carefully evaluate the Letter of Intent in M&A alongside the seller’s transaction attorney and CPA. Sellers should understand the economics, structure, risks, and obligations before signing. The LOI may be largely non-binding, but sellers should never treat it casually. A carefully negotiated LOI establishes expectations, protects negotiating leverage, and creates a stronger foundation for a successful closing.

Why Sellers Need an M&A Advisor

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Selling a lower middle market business requires more than finding a willing buyer. Experienced M&A advisor representation helps sellers prepare, create competition, negotiate terms, and manage a complex transaction through closing. Business owners possess the deepest knowledge of their companies. However, most owners have limited experience selling businesses and negotiating M&A transactions; whereas buyers, particularly private equity groups and strategic acquirers, complete acquisitions regularly.

This experience gap may place an unrepresented seller at a huge disadvantage. Buyers understand valuation, transaction structure, due diligence, working capital adjustments, and other terms that may materially affect proceeds. In contrast, an experienced M&A advisor brings market knowledge, transaction experience, buyer relationships, and specialized resources to the process. The advisor combines those capabilities with the owner’s knowledge to develop a compelling investment opportunity.

Effective M&A advisor representation generally includes several critical responsibilities:

  • Establishing Value: Develop a supportable valuation range based on normalized earnings, market conditions, and relevant transaction data.
  • Preparing the Business: Identify issues that could affect value, marketability, due diligence, or transaction execution.
  • Positioning the Opportunity: Prepare a Confidential Information Memorandum that communicates the company’s investment merits and growth opportunities.
  • Identifying Buyers: Develop a targeted universe of strategic, financial, and other qualified prospective buyers.
  • Creating Competition: Manage multiple buyers through a structured process designed to generate competitive tension.
  • Evaluating Offers: Compare purchase price, consideration, structure, contingencies, financing, and other significant transaction terms.
  • Negotiating the Transaction: Advise the seller during LOI negotiations and throughout the remaining sale process.
  • Managing Due Diligence: Coordinate information requests and work with the seller’s attorneys, accountants, and other professionals.

Without representation, an owner may focus heavily on the first credible offer received. Yet, one offer provides little evidence that the marketplace has established the best available price or terms. Moreover, headline purchase price tells only part of the story. Earnouts, seller financing, rollover equity, escrows, indemnification, and working capital adjustments may significantly change transaction economics.

A direct buyer approach may also create another challenge. Once a seller begins negotiating exclusively, generating competitive tension becomes considerably more difficult. An experienced M&A advisor creates a process rather than simply introducing a buyer. That distinction may provide sellers with alternatives and strengthen their negotiating position throughout the transaction.

Strong M&A advisor representation also allows the business owner to remain focused on operating their companies during a demanding sale process. Maintaining business performance remains critical because declining results may weaken value and negotiating leverage. Selling a business may represent an owner’s largest financial transaction. Experienced representation helps the seller evaluate alternatives, manage risk, preserve leverage, and pursue the transaction that best satisfies their objectives.

Allston Advisory Group is an experienced boutique M&A advisory firm providing a variety of services to lower middle market companies. See our footer for contact information.

(502) 742-2933
[email protected]
P.O. Box 21266, Louisville, KY 40221

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