Legacy Launched : Sellers
Transitioning Your Business Legacy
Years of work and worry are about to pay off — maybe.
Unfortunately, most business owners don’t “finish strong.”
The truth is many businesses fail to survive beyond the founding generation. The majority of business owners 50 and older struggle with the fundamental questions regarding a plan to transition ownership of their business. A detailed succession plan can make all the difference.
Whether you are just considering selling your business or already committed to the decision, CVG walks alongside you throughout the entire process. From an initial valuation to a comprehensive marketing book to managed due diligence, we can help streamline the transition of your business legacy and help you move on to your next great thing.
Our focus is to give you peace of mind and ensure that your duties as a steward of your business and all of your other assets are fulfilled with excellence. Bottom line – other business owners will look to you as “that’s how you do it”.
Business Valuations
The value of a business will not be the same to all buyers or new owners – strategic synergies, minority interests and marketability all combine to determine a business’s value. Don’t let amateurs deceive you into believing this is a simple and straightforward process. You might be a big picture person, but this is one of those areas where details matter. Small details can lead to big dollars. Your commitment to doing an accurate and defendable valuation will pay huge dividends later on. You have undoubtedly learned the value of leverage over the years. Let us show you how to do that one more time. Finish strong and then enjoy the rewards.
CVG’s certified valuation experts utilize professional valuation standards that will stand up to scrutiny, even in a courtroom. Done correctly, comprehensive business valuations will not only guide you in determining a fair price but also help you understand the factors impacting the value of a business — and what options can be levered to maximize value. Sometimes, it’s better to make some strategic moves over a year or more before going to market with a new and improved valuation. We are not geared toward getting a transaction done. We are geared toward ensuring you achieve your objectives and get the results you want. We will help you make those types of decisions.
Executive Summary
The marketing process for selling a company often begins with an executive summary that includes company highlights without specifically identifying the seller. It generally provides a basic explanation of the industry, location, size of the business as well as other high-level information. It is intended to be broadly distributed to capture the attention of prospective buyers and lead to requests for more information. Rest assured, we fully screen interested buyers to make sure they are qualified, bona fide buyers. We don’t want anyone looking at your business that is fishing for information or just “window shopping”. Confidentiality is paramount. It’s nobody business but yours that your business is being offered. It is your decision on who will be in the know and at what time.
Offering Memorandum
An Offering Memorandum (“OM”) is sometimes referred to as “the Book”, and it is one of the most important documents used in the sale process. It provides potential buyers with the necessary comprehensive information required to make an initial bid and is received only after a non-disclosure agreement has been signed. The OM typically includes detailed information about the company and its operations, the management team structure, a description of the industry and opportunities within the market, financial information of historical performance and future projections and a summary of the sales process. We also give specific instructions on submitting a letter of intent (LOI) and how it is to be received.
Exit Plan & Event Preparation
All exit strategies (including selling the business) require due diligence that involves an in-depth financial review and valuation report on the health and current state of a business. Investing in professional due diligence and strategic valuation analysis eliminates many of the burdens often experienced with exiting or selling a business and can be the difference between a successful exit at full valuation — and a long, potentially contentious, negotiated transactional process. CVG will supplement your current resources with targeted support to complete a successful exit, at full valuation, and in line with the results you want.
How Can We Support You?
Be the exception to the rule — FINISH STRONG.
Your exit is likely the largest business event you will navigate.
Why do this without a sound strategy and thorough preparation?
The results you get will be a direct reflection of your intentionality.
Better planning today for a better outcome tomorrow.
- Analyze the most important metrics and valuation drivers to identify gaps and fix (not just temporarily repair) them before we present to the market – don’t risk putting yourself in a weak negotiating position.
- Substantially reduce the need for buyers to do their own due diligence work – guide them to see that they can both trust and leverage your own work and CVG’s reports.
- Manage and serve all advisors on both sides to ensure nothing is left out or that any value is left on the table. And, drive the process so it continuously advances at a healthy pace.
- Ensure the accuracy of information to be included in any presented materials (Confidential Information Memorandum, Sales Prospectus, etc.), providing credibility to buyers with a transparent, objective view of the business. Any inconsistencies, errors, or perceived integrity issues can do huge damage to your valuation and potentially even destroy trust.
- Show supportable, realistic assumptions that lead to a healthy future cash flow of the business; Explain and support how and why the business is lower risk than the industry norm. These two factors are at least 90% of your valuation.
ABOUT US
The two principals of CVG are Jim Millar and Dan Lucas. They have been providing companies with CFO and strategic event navigation for well over 50 years. They have provided companies of all sizes with strategic accounting consultation, capital structuring, tax planning, and financial analytics to support and clarify complex financial transactions.
OUR SERVICES
CVG specializes in providing individual business owners, private equity groups, professional advisors, family offices, and potential buyers and investors with unique, customized services, that are carefully tailored to meet their specific goals. You may be surprised in how thorough we are to understand the goal up front and then create a detailed strategic plan — then we follow up with professional, intentional execution.