“Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery.”
Winston Churchill
Roger L. Neu, JD, CPA
THE M&A LAW FIRM
Feb. 27, 2013
Contrary to what many people think and what may have been projected, there was no rush to the exits by business owners in 2012. The number of deals for sales of $100M or less actually went down by about 15% from 2011 to 2012. This same trend held true for the last quarter of 2011 v. 2012.
This is what I am hearing on the street for 2013: (1) Buyers are out there and have cash available to make acquisitions; (ii) Buyers are actually becoming a bit more aggressive because they believe there is a window to buy at this time before the economy actually picks up; (iii) Business owners are telling me they may “stay in the saddle” for another year (or four or five) to increase sales and profitability to enhance their sale value; and (iv) Investment Bankers have said that deal flow has been slow for the first part of 2013, but believe it will be a stronger last half of the year.
Bottom line, there is a strong market for sellers that are in reasonably good financial condition. Every business is unique and owners should not succumb to judging their prospects for a successful sale or getting their expected value based on the statistics and averages of other transactions. If you or someone you know is thinking about a possible sale of their business, I would be happy to meet with them, at no charge. I will work with the owners to evaluate all of their options to make sure they have a solid game plan in place when they decide it is time for them to head to the exit.
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