If you desire to sell your business now or in the future, we specialize in helping you:
- Develop a strategy to exit the business on your time table.
- Implement strategies to enhance the value of the business prior to sale.
- Establishing a current market value for the business.
- Screen buyers for suitability and financial capacity to perform.
- Assist in negotiating terms of transaction to include key documents such as purchase offer (letter of intent), purchase agreement, employment agreement, consulting agreement, earnout agreements, etc.
- Maximize the selling price and / or proceeds of the sale.
- Minimize the tax consequences of the sale.
- Help you develop and have a post sale lifestyle strategy.
- Help you to be prepared to manage your new liquid wealth.
Selling the Business
Once the planning is complete and the business is prepared for sale, the method for achieving the best price for the business is to confidentially present the business to the largest audience of potential buyers. This is where Starmont will make significant impact. For our clients, we discreetly yet aggressively market the business worldwide using a sophisticated portfolio of techniques.
The Major Ones Are:
- We start by developing a blind profile sheet on the business. This profile sheet describes the essential elements of the business that are most likely to be of interest to a potential buyer. The profile is generic and DOES NOT identify the specific business.
- Utilizing our existing database compiled over the years, the profile is sent to venture capital groups / funds and CPA firms and Legal firms that specialize in handling mergers and business acquisitions. The profile is sent using email, fax or US mail depending on the preference of the recipient.
- Using another one of our proprietary databases, the profile is sent to industry specific “consolidators” and others within the industry seeking to expand and grow through acquisitions and/or mergers.
- Using another one of our proprietary databases, the profile is sent to high net worth individuals and merchant bankers.
- An electronic profile is posted on our corporate website (www.starmontadvisors.com) and numerous other websites that Starmont participates in. They are the largest and most heavily accessed websites in the world of businesses for sale.
- Where appropriate, generic ads are placed in National Business Publications. The top industry specific publications are also identified and ads are placed in them.
- A few days after the profiles are distributed our partners embark on an extensive telemarketing effort whereby we call those receiving the profiles to determine any interest generated and to procure feedback. This feedback is especially important in that it allows us to hone, refine and precisely focus our marketing effort.
- From our marketing efforts, we develop qualified, serious buyers that we present to the business owner. After meetings between the seller and the buyers, with mutual agreement, the buyers are then allowed due diligence. A specific Cut Off Date is established and the buyers must have completed their due diligence and submit an offer to purchase.
- Once a prospective buyer is in place with a signed purchase agreement or letter of intent, we can turn to the vast resources of the Starmont Network to securing financing if needed. Corporate lenders usually have a profile of the particular types of loans that they specialize in. We maintain relationships with a large array of lenders that will finance any financially sound business sale transaction. These lenders can be commercial loan companies (i.e., CIT, Newtek, GE Capital), private venture groups, and national banks (i.e., Wachovia, Chase, Banco Popular, etc.). In many cases, they have the capacity and will lend when the local traditional banking and lending community will not. We maintain a strong working relationship with these lenders as an active and important client. We posses a working knowledge of which lender will be best suited for a particular transaction based on the transactions characteristics.