EXIT STRATEGIES FOR BUSINESS OWNERS
REALIZING MAXIMUM VALUE FOR YOUR COMPANY
This book is intended to provide owners of privately-held Canadian companies with an understanding of the most common exit strategy alternatives available to them, and practical guidance on how to successfully navigate the path that they choose. It is also meant to be thought-provoking and to help business owners reflect on the things that are important to them in ownership succession. This will help ensure that decisions are well planned and that shareholder value is maximized, whether ownership succession involves the sale to a strategic buyer, a management buyout or the transfer of ownership to family members. Exit Strategies for Business Owners is a publication of Veracap Corporate Finance Limited.
This book is divided into seven sections, including this Section 1, being the introduction. Section 2 addresses some of the corporate and income tax planning initiatives that business owners should consider before they formally begin the ownership succession process. Section 3 provides an overview of the methodologies commonly used to establish the value or price of a private company. Section 4 addresses a sale to strategic buyers, including important aspects of deal structuring. Section 5 addresses a sale to management, including the role that financial investors can play. Section 6 examines ownership succession from an inter-familial perspective. Finally, Section 7 provides a wrap-up of the key points contained in this book, including advice on how to avoid the mistakes made by business owners in the ownership succession process, and why deals sometimes fail to close.
While every ownership succession is unique, the concepts and principles set out in this book generally are applicable to private companies in any industry with revenues ranging from a few million dollars at the low end to companies with revenues well over $200 million. This book is purposefully designed to be relatively simple and straightforward. Where possible, graphical depictions and charts are used to better convey a better understanding of concepts.
