When discussing the sale of a business, one of the most frequently asked questions is “What was the company valuation?” or “What was paid for the business?”. The price for which the Company was sold is usually the most important detail that most individuals want to know. Even in cases where the seller says “it isn’t just about the money,” it often is. Maximizing the amount of cash received by the seller at closing is usually the primary goal in selling a business and is often the preferred way to “boast” about the success of a company sale. However, there are other important factors that, unlike the price, cannot be easily expressed in a single dollar value. Often these other factors can have a significant impact on the true value achieved in a Company sale. Business owners should have a thorough understanding of these non-price considerations before they start an M&A process because these factors may have an important impact on the overall success of the Company sale.
Terrel Bressler is a Managing Director at Prairie Capital Advisors, Inc. He can be contacted at 312.348.1323 or by email: tbressler@prairiecap.com.
