Finding a business to purchase or a buyer or investor for your company requires dedicated professional attention. Managing this process takes special expertise and is often a full time job. Most business owners are skilled at running their business and usually want to focus their time and efforts where they will pay off the most in the value of the future sale. Furthermore, a business owner doesn’t usually know the intricacies of where to find a buyer, how to structure a deal, how to get the best price, etc.
Even if the business owner decides to take time away from their business to market it for sale, confidentiality is usually important. Without a business broker to act as an intermediary, the business owner’s confidentiality cannot be protected. If employees, vendors or other personnel connected to the business find out it is for sale, the business could suffer and the sale price or even the sale could be jeopardized.
Some owners think that because they have been running their business for a long time, they know its value and the price a buyer would be willing to pay for it. However, many times a business owner is too closely involved to know the best price. A realistic price for a business is crucial because that will enable the business to sell most quickly and for the best price. A realistic price set by an independent, objective, professional appraiser attracts many more buyers who want to make a deal.
An appraisal is especially important when there is more than one business owner. Whether all or some of the partners want to sell, it is usually very difficult for everyone to agree on a purchase price for the business. An appraisal avoids conflict among the owners and creates an opportunity for everyone to come to a mutual agreement on the price. With a realistic price set on the business by a professional appraiser, the business has the best chance of selling in a timely manner, for a price, not only agreeable to the partners, but also to a buyer.
The Pathway Companies has many years of business start-up, management and mergers and acquisitions experience. We concentrate on the middle market businesses with values of $1MM to $10MM.
You will benefit from The Pathway Companies' selectivity in the clients they serve. You will be assisted by a smaller company that chooses to work with only a few clients at a time. This enables you to receive all the attention you require to best serve your needs and bring the transaction to a closing in an efficient and timely manner.
The Pathway Companies has a special approach to confidentiality that will provide you with the best protection. We work in concert with you, as we qualify buyers, and we never divulge the name of your company, even if the buyer has signed a confidentiality agreement, until you have sufficient information about, and comfort with, the buyer. This will involve obtaining financial and professional information from the buyer and participating in a blinded conference call.
Because of The Pathway Companies' many years of business experience, we are especially equipped to help you prepare your business for sale. Prior to putting your business on the market, we will review all aspects of your business with you, to learn about any needed areas of improvement. This may involve renegotiating your lease, phasing out an unprofitable line, revising staffing, liquidating or setting aside obsolete inventory or unneeded equipment or even cosmetic changes to the facilities.
The Pathway Companies has the skills to work with all clients, in all industries. We will use our same expertise selling your company, as we do with all our other clients. Each company is unique, no matter what the industry. We tailor our approach to each client and each company. We spend a lot of time getting to know our client and our client’s company and make sure that our plan for a business takes all the special aspects of a company into account.
