Selling Your Business... The baby boomer generation is approaching retirement. Three independent studies have shown that $1.3 Trillion worth of privately held Canadian businesses will be up for sale within the next ten years. There are five key indicators that a business owner will entertain selling their business: 1.Age -50-55 or they have been in business for over 20 years; 2.Fatigue -the owner demonstrates a lack of enthusiasm for the business; 3.Money - they want to take some or all of their equity off the table; 4.Future - the future of the business is not as promising as itonce was as a result of competition, currency exchange, technology…; 5.Partners - the long term arrangement has hit a snag. Generally speaking, there are three primary categories of potential buyers: 1.Family members; 2.Key managers or senior employees of the business; 3.Third party purchaser (strategic buyer, employment buyer, investor, private equity fund, merchant bank…). Selling to a third party may be the best option as you have a better chance of getting more cash from the transaction. Furthermore, if negotiations with family or employees fail, the relationship may be damaged beyond repair. The process of selling your business requires your firm commitment to the commencement and implementation of a complex process that could take six to fifteen months to complete, or even longer.
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