Mergers and Acquisitions: The Buy-Side
If you have been looking for a business to acquire,
We’ll find that business for you.
Traditionally, professional business brokers have worked almost exclusively for the seller to search for qualified and capable buyers, connect such buyers to appropriate financing sources and generally guide the parties to an eventual closing. While much of our work has historically been done for such “sell-side” clients, we also offer mergers and acquisition services to “buy-side” clients. Our M&A program is for individual entrepreneurs, companies looking for a strategic acquisition, high net worth individuals and private equity firms seeking to identify an appropriate acquisition. In such instances, our client is the buyer; we work exclusively for them to locate acquisition targets meeting their distinct characteristics and specifications.
We know from years of experience that the amount of time, effort and money that must be invested to find, negotiate and shepherd the right acquisition through to closing is significant. Finding and winnowing down a list of appropriate targets is a daunting task in and of itself. If you don’t have the time or inclination to handle such a project, we do; it’s what we do.
Using the criteria you provide, we search and analyze dozens and sometimes hundreds of businesses and identify the ones that most closely adhere to your guidelines. We then categorize the results in three groups: high, medium and low correlation with the client’s criteria.
After discussing the results with the client and identifying an order of precedence or ranking, we approach the targets as representatives of an anonymous client. The financial performance of some targets will be available to us through the talents, dedication and perseverance of our research department. Other targets will require more research and still others will provide such information, particularly if they are interested in selling. With this data we can provide an estimate of market value.
A key issue for sellers in such transactions is the fact that we work for the buyer. The owners of such firms are generally more willing to discuss being acquired when they know that they will not be paying any portion of our fee.
If you’re a high net worth individual looking for a new challenge, a company executive seeking a strategic acquisition to expand your current operations or a private equity partner in search of more portfolio diversity, we can identify and help you acquire your target. If you’re a buyer frustrated because you are unable to find the appropriate business, properly priced and professionally represented, we can help you, too. Learn more about our buy-side program here.