Case study:
Finance
We helped a mid-sized engineering firm maximize its value and sell the business to an industry leader.
Industry: Engineering
Expertise: Finance
Duration: 6 months
The project
The founder of this mid-sized geotechnical engineering firm decided it was time to exit the business, but didn’t know the first thing about negotiating a sale. We were brought in to help him establish a value for his business, market the organization, and negotiate the final sale.
Introduction
The client company’s founder was nearing retirement and needed to sell his business. However, after a career spent growing the operations, he didn’t know how to go about selling it to someone else. Our team was able to help him by maximizing his value, finding a buyer, and negotiating the sale.
Why bodetree advisors?
This client came to us because the lead of our finance practice came from a background in business valuation. He knew we had the unique combination of skills necessary to establish a value, attract buyers, and finalize the sale.
The challenge
Preparing a business for sale is always a tricky process. There’s a solid amount of housekeeping that needs to take place before you can begin to market the business to potential acquirers. Perhaps even more challenging was the fact that the entire process was an extremely emotional one for the founder, who spent the majority of his life building the company from nothing.
The approach:
Once we were retained, the first thing we did was perform a comprehensive assessment of the state of the business. Our finance team poured through the accounting systems, bank accounts, and other financial records to make sure that we had sufficient backup to withstand a potential audit.
Next, we performed an in-depth valuation analysis of the business and established three ranges of value: low, medium and high. Once we had an idea of the value range, we were able to communicate this with the owner and help him understand the key drivers of his business.
From there, we coordinated with our team of marketing experts to develop an attractive pitch deck and created a list of possible acquirers. Our team then embarked on a campaign of strategic outreach to the leaders of those organizations, presenting the business for sale.
Finally, once we secured a buyer, we negotiated on behalf of our client to ensure that he received the best deal terms possible.
The value:
The value proposition for this client was clear. We were able to maximize the price paid for his business and negotiate a package that eased him into retirement on his terms. In short, a lifetime of value was encapsulated and realized in short order.
From our founder:
“As an entrepreneur, the prospect of selling your business can be daunting. After all, you’ve poured your blood, sweat, and tears into building something from nothing. This was an exciting chance for our team to stand beside this fantastic entrepreneur and help him get the most out of the creation he worked so hard to support.”
- CMM