
The information below is written primarily for entrepreneurs
who are ready to sell their current business. If you are a corporate
executive who would like assistance in selling your company or
divesting part of your company, Click here for our Mergers, Acquisitions,
Divestitures Service, Practice Area.
SHOULD YOU CONSIDER SELLING?
The decision to sell a business is often a difficult one because of
the profound personal and/or financial impact. Many different influences
bring business owners to this decision, including:
- You have built your business for 10, 20, 30, 40 years. You may
just be tired. You may just want to go do something else. It is
just the right time for you, for your own reasons to sell your
business and move on.
- Worrisome exposure to business risks often aggravated by personal
guarantee on loans.
- Possible failure of the business if one or more owners become
seriously ill or disabled.
- Personal preference of one or more of the owners to retire.
- Divorce or dissolving of partnership.
- Owner's desire to pursue other business interests which may be
more challenging or less stressful.
- Lack of sufficient working capital.
- A need within the company for new skills, new resources, or a
new philosophy to cope with ever changing economic forces, government
regulations, and competition.
- These valid reasons and many others for considering a sale, do
not imply failure or willingness by the owner to accept less than
a fair price for the business.
HOW MUCH IS MY BUSINESS and/or MY COMMERCIAL PROPERTY WORTH?
A business enterprise and commercial Real Estate, like any asset,
is worth what a seller is willing to sell for, and what the buyer
is willing to pay.
Buyers ask countless questions, but they are primarily concerned with a fair
return on their total investment. In addition, prospective buyers make many
judgments about market position, proprietary know-how, competitive strengths,
quality of the assets, growth potential, and risks of the business.
To accurately determine the true worth of a business, the company's financial
reports, prepared primarily for tax purposes, must be understood and
restated to reflect the true financial performance of the business.
The CDI Group professional helps the business owner determine the true value
of the business and, just as important, helps the prospective buyers understand
the reasons for such value and structures a sale for the maximum benefit of
buyer and seller. And when Commercial Real Estate is involved, we can provide
you with several different kinds of Confidential valuations,
as well as manage the sale of both your Business and Commercial Property.
IS CONFIDENTIALITY IMPORTANT?
A special note to you if you are a Business Owner who
has Commercial Property and does not want your Business
sold until your Commercial Property is sold, we understand that
scenario and can take care of you. Business Owners tell us that
they are very concerned about Confidentiality when it comes to
selling their Commercial Property. We have a way to maintain that
Confidentiality while we work with your Business and your Commercial
Real Estate. Please click here if you
would like to discuss this further.
Sound working relations with employees, customers, suppliers, and
bankers are important factors to a business. Any premature indication
of a possible change in ownership could disrupt these relations and
weaken the company's competitive position. For these reasons, and
many others, confidentiality is critically important at all stages.
With the proper procedures, it is possible to minimize the risk of
an untimely disclosure.
In every transaction, there is an appropriate time to reveal that a sale may
be imminent. Proper timing of these sensitive announcements can contribute
to a smooth transaction and reinforce the buyer's willingness to proceed to
a closing.
We help ensure that information is kept confidential throughout the entire
selling process until it is appropriate to reveal that a sale is forthcoming.
WHEN IS THE BEST TIME TO SELL?
Usually the best time to obtain the highest price occurs when sales
and earnings are good and trending upward. A solid earnings trend
will enable a buyer to pay a higher price and still meet his return
of investment criteria. A history of good performance also gives
the buyer confidence in projected future earnings.
However; market conditions for business sales also significantly affect the
salability of a business. Today’s market is the best we have seen in
the last five years due to a large number of serious buyers in the market,
bank financing is readily available, and the reduction in capital gain taxes
nets the owner more cash at closing.
WHO WOULD BUY MY BUSINESS?
For most businesses, there are several categories of prospective
buyers. The most obvious are other companies in the same business
for which the acquisition would be a logical expansion with potential
economies of scale. Consideration should also be given to suppliers
and customers of the business.
However, based on our experience, with smaller and mid-size businesses, approximately
80% of the prospective buyers are individuals who want to control their own
future. Many of them will be moving into the area from other states and countries.
They will consider IT, construction, government contracting, professional services,
retail, transportation, distribution, wholesale or manufacturing businesses.
We are in continuous contact with all categories of buyers. We utilize effective
search procedures to find and screen those who are best qualified to buy.
HOW CAN The CDI Group HELP YOU?
The CDI Group can help you by using our experience and know-how
gained from over 40+ years of owning, managing, buying, selling businesses
in the USA and Internationally. We know how to guide the client through
all of the complex steps required to sell a business. The first step
will be our review of the company's history and your objective to
make sure that a sale is the best course of action. This review includes
a proprietary CDI Level 1 Estimate of Value and Financial Overview™.
This gives you and us an important view of your business. It also
tells us what prospective Buyers and their Bankers will be seeing.
There is no hiding from the numbers, so let’s deal with the
situation now, not later.
When you, the Business Owner, decide to proceed with the sale of
the business, we prepare custom-tailored presentation documents,
develop buyer prospect lists from our contact files and other resources,
make the proper approaches and screens the buyer prospects, and introduces
only serious, qualified buyers to our Client.
We will handle the entire transaction from the initial introduction of the
buyer through closing, including coordination with attorneys, accountants,
landlords, and most importantly bankers (lenders) for the Buyer if
necessary.
An owner may ask: "Why can't I sell it myself?" The answer is, you
can try, but there are several reasons why most owners choose not to:
- An owner representing himself cannot maintain anonymity and the
lost confidentiality could seriously hurt the business.
- An owner may not be knowledgeable in current areas of law, accounting,
taxes, and marketing of businesses for sale.
- An owner typically does not have the ability or time to contact,
screen and qualify a large group of prospects to find a qualified
buyer who is serious and will offer a fair price.
- An owner's talents are much more effectively utilized in running
the business than in trying to sell the company.
- An owner generally would not have the experience, knowledge,
and negotiating skills needed to sell their company efficiently
and for the best price, particularly in a highly emotional negotiation
such as the sale of a business where the buyer's objectives are
totally opposite of the owner's.
- The CDI Group has a trained professional staff knowledgeable
and skilled in business transfers and they can make the sale of
the business a reasonably pleasant experience. Call us to find
out how we can help.
WHY WORK WITH The CDI Group?
Our clients select us to assist them in the sale or purchase of their
business for the same reasons: expertise, the way we work with them,
and proven results!
You have devoted your time, money, and energy to building, running,
and operating your business. It may well represent your life's work.
You may have already decided that now is the right time to sell,
and you want the very best professional guidance you can get. This
is when working with the professionals at The CDI Group can
make the difference between just getting rid of the business and
selling it for the very best price and terms!
As a professional who specializes in helping people
and companies buy and sell businesses and help financing acquisitions,
we can provide you with the following services:
- Compile
our Confidential Memorandum describing your company to the
market place. This
will include recasting your financial statements to accurately
reflect the true earnings of your business.
- Provide one or more kinds of appraisals and valuations. Our specialist
can provide appraisals and valuations of:
- Businesses
- Machinery and Equipment
- Real Property (Land and/or Buildings)
- Using our financing network, present your business to the SBA, Banks,
PEG's and other financial institutions for pre-approval.
- Market your business confidentially with Blind
Descriptions on appropriate websites through our Internet division,
including the interactive version of the Wall Street Journal.
- Market your business confidentially using our proprietary CDI
5+ Part Marketing Program to
National and International Buyers. Because your business is unique, every CDI
5+ Part Marketing Program is custom designed just for your business
- "Push" your business to our local, regional, national
and international brokers through our broker’s network.
- Begin print and trade journal advertising if appropriate.
- Present your business to the several potential buyers we have in our
database who are looking for a business like yours.
- Take charge of the negotiation process to get for you the highest
possible price for your business and on the terms acceptable
to you.
- Assist you in the due diligence phase of the sale.
- Manage the closing process.
Professional resources, resourceful people, and a fundamental commitment
to creating success for you, that is the CDI professional
edge, and we are ready to put it to work for you. Feel free
to contact us for a free, no-obligation, confidential discussion
about your needs and wants, or complete a copy of our Seller
Description by Clicking here.

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