One of the big reasons entrepreneurs come to us is that they’re feeling the weight of risk and liability on their shoulders more than they used to. Sometimes they just want to distribute the responsibility a bit and free up their time and energy, and other times the...
Discover the latest updates in the world of forward-thinking investment banking.
How to Prepare for Retirement as a CEO or Entrepreneur
Selling a Business, Owner Considerations
As a CEO or entrepreneur, you have likely spent years building your company from the ground up. You may have blood, sweat, and tears (literally) invested in your business. So, what happens when you're ready to retire? How do you prepare for retirement when you have...
Thinking ahead about restructuring before you need it
Managing Risk, M&A, Owner Considerations, IP & Patents, Industry Insights
Restructuring is typically not on the tip of the tongues of CEO’s that are running profitable companies. However, we can take a page from restructuring to address the current market and position many companies find themselves in today. “Sometimes the best offense is a...
How to Avoid Seller’s Remorse in an M&A Deal
Business Valuation, Industry Insights, M&A, Owner Considerations
Many sellers enter the process of selling their private company with value expectations well above market as well as not being properly prepared. Then they wonder why they regret the results of the sale. You can avoid seller's remorse by doing the following things: 1)...
Absolute or Relative Earn-Outs in M&A Deals
Industry Insights, M&A, Owner Considerations, Business Valuation
In an M&A deal, an earn-out is an agreement between the buyer and the seller in which the seller agrees to receive additional payments—usually a percentage of the company's revenue or profits—based on the target company achieving certain financial milestones....
Why would you sell your company – Know your why.
Industry Insights, Selling a Business, M&A, Owner Considerations, M&A Education & Market, Strategic Advisory
Thirty years as a serial and parallel entrepreneur, having started, acquired, and sold 13 of my own companies after adding 22 acquisitions onto those companies (increasing enterprise value along the way) as well as advising hundreds of companies at Merit Investment...
5 Reasons Why Most Business Owners Fail to Sell Their Companies
M&A, Owner Considerations, M&A Education & Market, Strategic Advisory, Industry Insights, Selling a Business, Managing Risk
If you're a business owner, you know that retirement is one of the main goals of running a successful company. After all, 75% of business owners equate the sale of their business with retirement. However, many will miss their window based on their state of readiness...
Who Benefits from the Sale of your Company?
M&A Education & Market, Selling a Business, M&A, Owner Considerations
Who benefits from the sale of your company? You! Monetizing your life's work is the penultimate achievement of a CEO / Entrepreneur. Certainly, statistically, most companies will liquidate vs. sell for a multiple of earnings or revenue. Let's look at the shortlist of...
Merit Investment Bank Guides Herco Jewelry Company in Sale to Quality Gold
Merger and Acquisitions, Selling a Business, M&A, Owner Considerations, Case Study
Client Overview Established in 1979 by Reuven and Zehava Itelman, Herco is one of the largest gold jewelry wholesalers in the United States. Herco’s catalog is a mainstay for thousands of independent jewelers who rely on it to source unique and high-quality...
The high cost of “Do Nothing.”
Selling a Business, Education, M&A, Owner Considerations
While very few middle market companies achieve an M&A event, I have yet to meet an entrepreneur that does not dream of the coveted sale of their company for maximum exit to fund their next big thing or create generational wealth. In fact, of those companies that...
Five Common Blind Spots Business Owners Have That Reduce Business Value and Limit Exit Options.
Selling a Business, Owner Considerations, Exit Planning
Dodge these common pitfalls that jeopardize your business value. 1. Failure to have an exit plan I firmly believe that the biggest blind spot is not having goals for the ultimate and inevitable exit. Those who fail to plan, plan to fail. Even if a business owner never...
8 Things you NEED to do before you sell your Business
Owner Considerations, M&A Education & Market, Corporate Divestitures, Strategic Advisory, Exit Planning, Restructuring & Special Situations, Value Creation, Sell-side
While we are surprised by the potential "deal killers" every time we execute the sale of a business, there are a few things that remain constant. Our job as Investment Bankers is to maximize your value in the market by finding the right fit between you and a buyer....