Business Exit Stories

A fitness business franchisee of a national franchised fitness center accepted an offer from a qualified buyer. While excited to be stepping away from his business as he had other business opportunities he wanted to pursue, he made an interesting terrible decision before the business sale closed escrow.

A buyer for a 19-unit fitness business hired a firm that specializes in performing due diligence for buyers and invested over $100,000 with this firm. Normally, when a buyer invests this much money into doing due diligence in a transaction, they are generally very committed to seeing the transaction through to closing. Things turned out quite differently.

Some franchisees of national brands such as McDonalds often acquire other franchised brands due to a secret of having a multi-brand strategy. 

Why franchisors often are unable to help their franchisee partners exit their business and why franchisees are often better off finding an expert to help them sell their business vs. the franchisor.

Jon Franz
Franchise Clearly
Winter Park, Florida
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The post Why You Shouldn’t Buy a $400,000 Ferrari Before Your Business Sale Closes appeared first on Business Exit Stories.

A family-owned business that had been successful for decades was turned over to the founder’s son. While succession planning was a part of the long-term plan for the founder, the execution of the plan didn’t go as planned. 

Two companies with similar issues when being positioned for sale and how the two founders handle their exits in dramatically different ways and with equally as dramatic results. 

How fraud by a partner nearly bankrupted a company but because the right things were done to build creditability and trust with buyers, the company had several buyers lined up to purchase the company.

Mike Kendall
Kendall Capital Group
Chesterfield, Missouri
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The post A Success Plan That Took a Business Worth Million to Zero appeared first on Business Exit Stories.

A major league baseball team was brought to Denver and the details of how a transaction like this goes forward. 

A hyper growth company that was doubling sales every year outgrew the capabilities of some members on their management team. An owner often tries to show loyalty and does everything possible to keep those that helped build the company in the early stages employed with the company.

A family tragedy forced the wife, who was a marketing director for a company, to become the CEO, a position she wasn’t trained to do. As CEO she turned down an acquisition offer and the outcome will surprise you. 

A company founder was able to sell his company to a large multinational firm for a bundle and then buy it back for pennies on the dollar five years later.

Bill Shenkin
CeFO Inc.
Englewood, Colorado
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The post What Is Pre-Due Diligence and How It Can Make You Millions appeared first on Business Exit Stories.

A partnership business went from a consistent year over year growth rate to a valuation of zero in a few short years.

A family owned 30-location retail service business that had passed to the second generation. As it came time for the third generation to decide if they were interested in taking over the business, several of the minority shareholders sold their shares.

How a businesses during the pandemic when listed for sale had ample suitors for their business and how they decided on which buyer they wanted to carry on the legacy of the business with and finally accepted an offer that wasn’t the first or best offer.

A consulting business which is normally a more difficult business to sell because the consultant often builds the business around them. This entrepreneur found out a way to optimize their exit.

Van Daughtry
Van Daughtry Consulting, LLC
Raleigh, North Carolina
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The post How Two Partners in a Successful and Growing Business Managed to Take It to Zero When They Decided to Sell appeared first on Business Exit Stories.

A medical research company was founded by research PhDs and had a highly complex business model that relied on highly paid professionals which performed and managed the medical research. While the business generated millions in revenues, the cost of the highly paid staff produced an EBITA in the low six figures.

A label manufacturer’s divorce and other lifestyle changes necessitated the sale of the business and at the same time there was a longshoreman’s strike that blocked critical shipments he needed from Asia. The strike proved catastrophic and devastated sales, yet the entrepreneur was able to find the right buyer even though revenues continued their downward spiral.

A niched hearing enabling manufacturing company was positioned for a successful exit by properly structuring the offering memorandum. The amount of money the business made was not as important as the story told regarding the exit which attracted the right buyers.

A third-party logistics company had a location that was losing substantial revenues and how the losing operation was positioned as a reason for someone to buy the business. This skillful positioning is something required real insight to craft a story that supported what most buyers would have seen as a huge negative and turn this into the primary reason the acquiring company.

Bob Grewal
Seapoint Business Advisors
Westlake Village, California
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The post How Skillfully Crafting A Story Regarding Your Exit Can Turn Your Biggest Loss Into The Reason Why A Business Is Sold appeared first on Business Exit Stories.

An ecommerce business that was two businesses in one and how the lack of understanding and accounting of inter-company transfers not only nearly derailed a deal but almost cratered the entire business. The importance of having a CFO, either a fractional one or full-time one, and how this can make the difference between a successful company and an exit or a failed company and a botched exit.

The sellers of a business felt that their business was worth a lot more than the financials showed. Different types of buyers will pay different prices for the same business and how the bank really sets the price if the deal is going to be financed.

Entrepreneurs that have a service-based business often fail to realize that when selling a business what they are selling is primarily goodwill because the assets are only a small fraction of what the business is valued at. A buyer is really buying the cashflow that is produced by the employees, management, and systems that are in place vs. the trucks, tools, and equipment. 

A seller folded to a company that was willing to overpay for the business because they wanted the skill set of the owner. They offered him a sweetheart deal and his dream job to oversee their entire business.

Richard Gadberry
Murphy Business & Financial Corporation
Dallas, Texas
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The post Why Certain Types Of Buyers Will Pay More Money For The Same Business appeared first on Business Exit Stories.

A founder of an oil rig manufacturing business started meeting with a buyer on his own and his M&A Advisor cautioned him not to negotiate any of the agreed upon terms. He was also told to follow the plan that had been developed on when to share the sale with his employees. Find out what happened when the owner chose to ignore this advice.

A company that had 65% of their business come from one customer even though it was a large multi-national company, and how this nearly cratered the deal but was eventually salvaged. 

A business worth $30M ended up being sold for a piddly $1.2M due to a few critical mistakes.

How finding the right buyer and the right seller can be a match made in heaven and how a catastrophe was avoided when the time was taken to make the right match.

Michelle Seiler Tucker
Seiler Tucker
New Orleans, Louisiana
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The post How an Entrepreneur’s Ego Took a Deal from $30M to $1.2M appeared first on Business Exit Stories.

A profitable HVAC company decided to explore selling their business because COVID had escalated valuations in the HVAC sector since more people were staying home and needed more heating and air services. Shortly after deciding to sell, a Private Equity Group approached the company and began their acquisition and due diligence. Financial buyers like a Private Equity Group have key aspects they look for when acquiring smaller companies.

A client makes an assumption that turned out to be dead wrong. Not following some basic steps could be the worst mistake during the sale of your business.

How millions and millions of additional value can be created by simply recruiting the right advisors to be on your team.

Often entrepreneurs only think about taxes after their deals close. Learn why this is an awful strategy and with a pinch of planning you can substantially improve your net after tax returns.

Glenn Henderson
CCK Strategies
Frisco, Texas
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The post How To Sell Your Company For Less Money But End Up Putting More Cash In Your Pocket appeared first on Business Exit Stories.

An orthopedic footwear manufacturer was able to weather a series of unexpected events, failed closings, and a complete shutdown during the pandemic to successfully exit the business.

A seller went from a DIY mode to engaging a professional advisor to facilitate their exit and this decision made the founder an additional $20M in the process, which was nearly double the initial exit value in the DIY transaction.  

A pet insurance company was able to make a strategic decision early in the acquisition process that allowed them to entertain other offers allowing them to substantially increase their exit value and in a fraction of the time. 

How rolling a portion of equity into an acquiring entity of a new company that operates your company after the transaction closes enables entrepreneurs to substantially increase their total exit value. In this example, a 1X investment into the new company ended up returning a 10X return in a few short years.

Michael Butler & Joshua Curtis
Footprint Capital
Columbus, Ohio
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The post How Doing the Right Things Turned a $20M Sale into a $40M Sale appeared first on Business Exit Stories.