Sell-Side Advisory
Victor secures the best offers on your behalf, taking little time away from you and your operations. Selling your business is not as easy as putting a For Sale sign in the window. He has been selling security businesses for more than twenty years, and like a good realtor he brings market knowledge, a large network of contacts and experience in closing deals.
Victor's sell-side services
Each engagement begins with an initial valuation that uses industry-specific metrics and comparable transactions. From there Victor moves to the identification of potential buyers best suited to your business, the creation of a selling package, and the development of a Confidential Information Memorandum, structuring the deal with tax efficiency and risk mitigation in mind.
The process
Victor starts with a business valuation of your company, using industry-specific metrics tempered by his knowledge of the market. He then moves to the identification of potential buyers, runs a confidential process to qualified buyers through his industry network, and provides negotiation support and transaction management through to closing.
Why use an intermediary
The buyer will have all sorts of advisers working on their side, accountants, lawyers and others, so you need someone on yours. Working with an experienced broker in the industry helps guarantee you get the best possible price, and using an intermediary usually gets the deal done faster and under more confidential conditions. Just as you know how to run your business, a good intermediary knows how to sell it: what it is worth, who might buy it, and how to get multiple offers. It is also far easier to keep a sale confidential when an outside intermediary is doing the work.
What Harding will do for you
Review your selling proposition, to make sure you are selling for the right reasons and at the best time. Provide an estimated valuation of your business, to establish realistic expectations. Review the broad tax implications of any deal, and press you on your plans after you sell. Create a selling package that best describes your business to potential buyers. Search out potential buyers and solicit bids from the best of them. Advise you on choosing the best offer, and negotiate a letter of intent. Monitor the due diligence process on your behalf. Help you and your lawyer review the final purchase and sale agreement, which the buyer usually drafts. Work to close the deal.
How Victor works
Victor takes charge of the entire selling function from start to finish. He believes a seller needs multiple competing offers to get the best price, and that you should keep running your business while he works on selling it. If you already have a buyer and need unbiased advice on the terms being offered, and help getting the deal closed, he can do that as well. His fee is a small percentage of the final selling price.
What kinds of companies do you sell?
All kinds of security companies: alarm, integration, fire protection, distribution and guard companies. The common element is recurring monthly revenue.
How big, or how small?
Victor has sold or bought businesses for as little as $50,000 in purchase price, all the way up to several million. He works across Canada.
Should I sell shares or assets?
From a tax perspective it usually makes more financial sense to sell the shares of your business, because you can use part or all of your one-time capital gains exemption on the sale of shares of a Canadian controlled private corporation. Not all buyers will buy shares, though, particularly of smaller companies. Selling assets, or just the accounts, can be done faster and usually attracts a higher price than shares.
How long does a sale take?
It depends. Most deals close in six months, some in less. Trickier deals can take a year or more.
What does it cost?
A small percentage of the final selling price: from 2 to 8 percent, depending on the size of the deal. Smaller deals attract a higher percentage.