How to Be Part of the M&A Deck Reshuffle

By Generational Equity

07/06/2021

Recently our friends with Vistage (the leading CEO coaching and peer advisory organization in the world) published an article on how you need to be more intentional than ever before to participate in the M&A “reshuffling” of the landscape of countless industries worldwide.

As we all know, professional buyers in the M&A industry have used acquisitions as the fastest, most efficient, profitable way to gain and grow their market share for decades. History is filled with brilliant business leaders and visionaries who have seized on opportunities to grow their positions in the industries that they operate in.

The current environment is “frothy” with aggressive buyers and willing sellers trying to position themselves to take advantage of these opportunities. The key for both parties in the transaction though is to have professional representation, especially in this environment where buyers are very aggressive and EBITDA multiples have gone up. Here is how the Vistage article described it:

Surround yourself with professionals. Whether you are a buyer or a seller, it’s critical to hire the right investment banker and transactional attorneys. Pay the price; the right advisors are worth their weight in gold.

And alongside that fantastic point, they say:

Understand the underlying consolidation in your industry. Pre-pandemic, US deal flow focused on vertical integrations. It’s important to understand how various business combinations will reframe your industry.

I think both of these points go hand-in-hand. Having the right advice, from experienced professionals, will help you know who the buyers are in your industry and, most importantly, what/why they are buying.

This is especially true if you are the owner of a privately held company in the market today that has never successfully closed a transaction before. Buyers are under no fiduciary responsibility to help you obtain maximum dollar for your company. In fact, quite the opposite is true. 

To protect your financial interests, to negotiate the best deal for you possible, and to find the buyer that makes sense for your company, you need sound seasoned advice. As the author with Vistage pointed out above, “Pay the price: the right advisors are worth their weight in gold.”

So at this point in the M&A cycle, you need to learn as much as you can to not only protect your interests, but also to find the optimal buyers for your business. Fortunately, Generational offers complimentary, no-obligation growth and exit strategy planning conferences to help you learn as much as possible about how to benefit from the current cycle.

Call us at 972-232-1121 or reach out to us on our website to learn how we can help educate you and your team on growing your business to be buyer ready.

Note: Generational and Vistage have a strategic alliance to help business owners intentionally grow their companies and optimize an exit at the appropriate time. For more information on the relationship please visit: https://www.genequityco.com/strategic-alliances.

Carl Doerksen is the Director of Corporate Development at Generational Equity.

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