1. Initial Valuation: Once an owner has decided the time is right to sell the company (or at least, to begin planning for it seriously), the first question is generally how much? The first step in the process is to analyze financial and operational information and calculate a business valuation. If the valuation is acceptable, the next step is set out the price and terms structure and the business information in support of the offering, into a selling presentation.

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2. Confidential Business Profiles: An effective and confidential way to present the Business-for-Sale offering to prospective buyers is through a series of representation packages called confidential business profiles, each designed for controlled inter-responsive release. Profiles should not identify the business but should provide sufficient information to progressively quantify the buyer’s level of interest with each release.

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3. The Right Buyer: The site is consistently in contact with serious and qualified business buyers. Between buyers searching our business-for-sale pages and owner/sellers search our business-wanted pages, and other database matching functions, it will not be uncommon to very quickly identify a good fit potential. We have not seen a time when there were not more buyers looking for businesses, than businesses looking for buyers.

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4. Offer to Purchase: Once a solid business fit is identified, generally after the owner and seller have met once or twice or more, toured the facilities, both have asked and answered questions and have determined ‘subject to formal due-diligence’ that the business and buyer represent a good fit, the next step should be a written Offer to Purchase, complete with a subject to due-diligence clause, and other subject clauses necessary to completion.

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5. Due-Diligence: The ‘subject to diligence’ clause should provide buyer satisfactory access to books, records, materials and operations of the business, and seller satisfactory access to that which will confirm buyer’s background and financial capabilities. Thus far, buyer has relied on representations of the Business Profiles and other representations, and seller has relied on representations of the buyer. Formal due-diligence is meant to provide confirmation to both.

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6. Final Valuation: Prior to Closing, there should be a ‘final valuation as at an adjustment date’ scheduled for a date just prior to the closing and based on a formula agreed to in the Offer. In order to allow time for due-diligence and the preparation of closing documents, there will be a period of time scheduled between the Offer date and the Closing date, during which time the business will continue to operate.  Consequently, closing balance sheet value will not be the same as it was the date of the Offer.  The final valuation is meant to capture that differential.

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7. Close of Sale: Closing the sale will generally require a group closing agreements including the final Purchase and Sale Agreement and Security Agreements, and often Lease Agreements, Employment Agreements, Indemnification Agreements, Non-Disclosure and Non-Compete Agreements, Corporate Minutes and Resolutions and various other closing documents.

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