As your businesses gears up for its annual budgeting, you can’t forget to factor in M&A pre-sale planning, both to make the sale process smoother and to maximize your company's value. Without careful preparation, companies can miss opportunities to boost their...
Discover the latest updates in the world of forward-thinking investment banking.
Deciding Your Exit: Is a Strategic Buyer or Private Equity Right for You?
Selling a Business, M&A, Exit Planning
Are you looking for a quick handover or a partnership that elevates your operations? The choice you make in how you exit your company will determine that path. After all, selling your company isn’t just a transaction—it's a pivotal decision that shapes your legacy and...
Assembling Your Dream Team for a Successful Exit
Selling a Business, Exit Planning
The difference between no outcome and a great outcome in selling your business lies in your preparation as an owner, supported by your key advisors—your "dream team." Those who prepare well by filling in gaps and maintaining value acceleration throughout the deal will...
Taking Some Chips off the Table: How to De-Risk and De-Lever
Selling a Business, Owner Considerations, Exit Planning
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...
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...
Timing a Sale: Risk-On and Risk-Off Markets in M&A
Managing Risk, M&A, Sell-side, M&A Education & Market, Selling a Business
In the intricate world of investments and mergers and acquisitions (M&A), understanding the dynamics of risk-on and risk-off markets is crucial for informed decision-making. These terms describe the prevailing investor sentiment and their appetite for risk....
Why would you sell your company – Know your why.
Selling a Business, M&A, Owner Considerations, M&A Education & Market, Strategic Advisory, Industry Insights
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
Industry Insights, Selling a Business, Managing Risk, M&A, Owner Considerations, M&A Education & Market, Strategic Advisory
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?
Owner Considerations, M&A Education & Market, Selling a Business, M&A
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...
Creative Deal Structures – Why a seller note may be a difference maker to getting a deal done
Selling a Business, M&A, M&A Education & Market, Private Equity Recapitalizations
Why a Creative Exit Deal Structure May Be a Good Idea in Today’s Market —Especially a Seller Note Most entrepreneurs dream of selling their company one day, and the dream goes like this: "I received a call from a huge multinational strategic company. They offered me...
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...
30 Ways to Leave Your Company
Selling a Business, M&A, M&A Education & Market
I am slightly embarrassed as I recall Paul Simons’ 1975 release of “50 Ways to Leave your Lover”. As a budding 11-year-old, I giggled at the new term “lover”. However, on reflecting back now, having advised hundreds of entrepreneurs and CEO’s, the context...