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. […]
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 […]