…and the Eight Other Business Delusions That Deceive Managers. Phil Rosenzweig Free Press 2014 For a change, this month’s M&A insight is a book review. A book review that confirms the reservations that many successful managers and owners have about famous bestsellers such as Tom Peters’ “In Search of Excellence” and Jim Collins’ “Good to Great“. […]
Real Time Instruments’ new investor RCF Jolimont II to propel growth.
10 March 2021 – Australian company The Realtime Group Ltd (Realtime), advised by Optimal Business Advisory, announced today it has completed the sale of a majority stake in the company to RCF Jolimont Mining Innovation Fund II L.P. (RCF Jolimont II). RCF Jolimont II is a global, specialist investor in high-growth mining equipment, technology, and […]
Berkshire Hathaway Acquisition Criteria – Plain and Simple
Below are the Berkshire Hathaway Inc’s acquisition criteria quoted from their 1982 annual report. The criteria, other than dimension changes, were published annually for the following 35 years in Warren Buffett’s Chairman’s Letter to shareholders. in the 1983 annual report Warren wrote “Last year in this section I ran a small ad to encourage acquisition candidates. In […]
M&A 2020 – Complex Perception? There’s always a crisis!
The world of M&A and business in 2020 was certainly challenging, rapidly changing and transforming from one perspective to another, cleverly depicted in M.C Escher graphic above. How do you view it – top to bottom, bottom to top or left to right…? Perceptions were influenced and challenged by daily news spin of “experts”, government […]
Selling your Business, do what you do not know what to do.
“Do what you do not know what to do” may seem a tongue twisting paradox, challenging to articulate but far more difficult to action as is the reality of change. The decision to sell a business is complicated. It is doing something in which you don’t have much experience. It is doing something that you […]
It’s only agreed when it’s all agreed – M&A Deal Making
M&A negotiations can become acrimonious when you get to finalising detailed documentation. This often arises due to surprises in DD or differences in understanding of a letter of offer, or, the letter of offer misses important items. This may cause delays and changes to price with the deal eventually called off. Significant costs are incurred […]
Formula or Number when Pricing M&A Deals?
Should business sellers use a formula or number when pricing M&A deals? Prospective buyers and sellers each have their own methods, rules, calculations and process for determining prices, values and offer ranges. Offers may be structured as a calculation of past and future earnings. For example, one buyer may value a company on trailing twelve […]
Buyer Exclusivity in M&A Deals, What are the Risks?
Virtually every M&A deal has a buyer exclusivity period meaning that the seller agrees to discontinue marketing and to stop actively looking for buyers. This is also known as “no shop” period during which the seller agrees to exclusively court the selected buyer preventing their soliciting, negotiating or entering into agreements with other buyers. There […]
Business Sale Price Multiples
Business sale price multiples are functions of “factors” such as earnings, EBITDA, EBIT, revenue or some other multiplier, neither of which are “set in stone” and are not precise. Factors and multiples vary with every business sale depending on many issues and the structure of each unique business deal. In pricing a business using EBITDA […]
When to Sell a Business, an Owners Dillema?
“When to sell a business” is a question often on the mind of business owners. The quick answer from a veteran owner of many businesses is “the best time to sell is when nobody wants to sell”. When business is good, owners tend to hold on to them despite their being many buyers with strong […]