The Art of the Possible: Mergers & Acquisitions

You poured your heart and soul into making your business the best that it can be. Now that you’re ready to move on, you deserve a return that reflects all that hard work. So, let’s merge our experiences and acquire some new knowledge on the art of selling a business.

Show Notes

You poured your heart and soul into making your business the best that it can be. Now that you’re ready to move on, you deserve a return that reflects all that hard work. But the process of selling a business is complicated: where do you find the right person to buy it, and how do you agree on a fair price? To complicate matters, for most business owners, this will be the first and last time they conduct a transaction of this magnitude. So, it’s important to get the advice of people who have been there before. 

BJ Green sees all sorts of sales from his role as Cadence Bank’s Georgia Commercial Banking Executive. As for Mark Loeffler, Co-Founder and Managing Director of boutique investment bank VRA Partners, his job is to actually run these sales processes for small and mid-sized businesses. Together, they have a wealth of knowledge on valuations, mergers, and acquisitions—what BJ calls: “The Art of the Possible.” So, if midsize M&A is an art, consider these two da Vinci and Michaelangelo. 

On this episode, we’ll cover the timeline and steps of the M&A process, ways to improve your valuation, and how to find the right partners. You’ll learn how to identify your objectives, navigate your team through a sales process and keep your business humming during it all. So, let’s merge our experiences and acquire some new knowledge on the art of selling a business. 

Highlights:

• What are your goals in selling the business? (3:55)
• How to handle unsolicited offers (5:59)
• Valuation: what goes into it (9:05)
• Why valuations are currently high (12:41)
• “The secret sauce”: What makes a company attractive to buyers (14:34)
• How preparation can improve your company’s value (15:58)
• Think like a buyer (18:47)
• A sale is a team effort (19:11)
• M&A is really creating a new partnership (24:39)
• Sale timeline and process (26:11)
• Managing your business during a sale (31:19)
• Give yourself a head start (35:30)

Links:

·       Cadence Bank Website

·       Cadence Bank Twitter

·       Cadence Bank LinkedIn

·       BJ Green LinkedIn

·       VRA Partners Website

·       Mark Loeffler LinkedIn

       

Feedback:

If you have questions about the show or topics you'd like discussed in future episodes, email our producers, [e-mail] or [e-mail] 

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Starting and running a business or managing one isn’t for the faint of heart. You’re balancing internal and external forces in a continually changing landscape. This is where Cadence Bank’s In Good Companies comes in. We share our wealth of knowledge–and insights from noted industry experts–to guide you through the forces shaping business today.

It’s hosted by Patrick Pacheco, an EVP and President of Cadence Asset Management and Trust, who has more than 25 years’ experience and is a self-proclaimed lifelong learner. He leads discussions with business owners and subject matter experts about how they’re tackling business challenges like:

● What are ways to grow my business without growing my debt?
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It’s information you need, in one place, in under 30 minutes. More than 250,000 listeners tune in each week. Shouldn’t you?

ABOUT OUR HOST
With more than 25 years’ experience in wealth management for business clients and a penchant for hosting, Patrick Pacheco is an EVP and president of Cadence Asset Management and Trust, and presenter of the bank’s In Good Companies podcast, now in its fourth season.
His background features years of legal practice and multiple degrees, including a Master of Taxation from University of Houston, a law degree from Southern Methodist University, and both a Master of Business Administration and Bachelor of Science in Economics from University of Texas at Arlington.
Pacheco describes himself as a lifelong learner and someone who loves asking questions–probably the ones you’re thinking about too. He’s especially excited about season four because of the diversity of topics and guests who will not only share their wealth of knowledge, but listeners will also get tips and tricks they can use in their own businesses, careers and professional lives.