The Dealmaker conferences bring together various players in the mergers and acquisition business. In the sessions I attended, here are the top things I heard:
- Transaction volume slide another 25% in 2023 after a similar slide in 2022. Some of the attendees were talking about “green shoots” but nothing specific. There is alot of competition for great companies.
- There are many windows of opportunity to sell your business. Many companies try to sell multiple times because the stage of the seller, buyer and market have to match up for an optimal results.
- You want to sell your company when things are going well and you have no reason to sell right now.
- Investment is raised now off of spreadsheets not presentations. Prepare for a forensic examination of your business. Tight financials will increase your sale multiple.
- It’s taking longer to sell companies. Most are averaging 6 to 9 months, but too much time kills deals.
- Selling a company is a very emotional process. The only thing you can do to prepare for it is to get the right advisors on your “sell” team.
- Many owners are “sadistic optimists”. They don’t give up when they should against incredible odds.
- Don’t expect to cash in on your patents. Keep innovating past them to drive the highest value for your company.
- Discuss the possible past issues with your business up front in the sales process with prospective buyers. Most buyers are starting to do background checks on founders.
- Earnouts and seller financing are becoming more common since 2021.
