You will only sell the company once in your life.
Do it right!

Is your company thriving and do sales and profits grow every year? This is the best time to sell your business if you are thinking about it. The investor does not buy the past, but the future of the company. Good results and growth potential increase investor interest and their offered price. This will give you a good appreciation of the efforts you have made so far in your business.

However, if the results fall, it is difficult to get the ideal price for selling your company. If you have made large investments in the company, you need to persevere and wait until these investments bring the desired profits. To put it bluntly, I tell many clients that we prefer to wait until the situation is reflected in the green numbers before selling the business. Only then will we address potential applicants. Yes, it’s not easy to endure, but it’s better than selling your business below cost. But it always depends on your current situation.

My advice at the beginning – Do not tell interested parties how much you would like for the sale of the company. This will deprive you of the chance when the interested party will offer more than your idea. But how do you set the price you want for a company? There are several methods and they always differ according to the subject of sale. In principle, it can be said that the price is what will be the highest current offer.

Before you start negotiations with interested parties, prepare a basic amount of information for them for the initial communication – Information Memorandum. You will significantly speed up the initial negotiations and those interested will get a comprehensive overview of investment opportunities. Good preparation increases the credit of your company in the eyes of investors.

The easiest way is to sell the company to someone you know well. For example, a company or business partner with whom you have been cooperating for a long time and have built a strong trust in each other. However, if you do not know to whom to sell the company, you need to find a suitable buyer. It is always better to have more people interested – you will achieve better sales prices and conditions. In addition, waiting for other candidates outside the door puts you in a better negotiating position.

You have reached the point where you have found the best candidate, and reasonable terms need to be negotiated with both parties. The time is coming for harder negotiations. Keep in mind that you will only sell the company once – so what you don’t negotiate now, you won’t change. How long to stay in the company after the sale, how will the purchase price be paid and does the applicant take the earnout?

You have agreed on the basic conditions of the transaction with the selected candidate, and now comes the phase when the candidate needs to thoroughly check your company. You can study the probable range of documents and information that the applicant will require in the article Due Diligence Documents.

The Due Diligence process is done and a contract for the sale of the company can now be prepared. The transaction documentation, which is usually proposed by the buyer, should be checked by your lawyer, who has experience in commercial law when selling companies. It is a good idea to choose a procedure where both legal parties communicate in such a way that they jointly fine-tune the transaction agreement to the satisfaction of all parties.

The day you sell the business is here. You will meet with a notary who, after signing the transaction, will transfer the shares to the new owner and the funds will be released from your depository or bank security account to your private account.