The Waterfront Group serves the needs of privately-held business owners
seeking expert guidance in how to prepare for and execute the sale of
their companies. Our goal is to help simplify the process, by providing
pre-sale consultation and full-service representation capabilities
needed for an effective and confidential transfer of your business.
Our primary services include:
- Confidential Marketing of your Business
- Business and Equipment Valuation
- Merger & Acquisition (Buyer) Search
- Financial Packaging and Due Diligence
- Succession and Exit Planning Consultation
- Expert Witness Testimony
For business succession issues that go beyond the scope of our
expertise, we draw upon a network of professionals that can
address our client's unique circumstances. This network includes
transaction attorneys, CPAs, commercial lenders, and wealth managers.
What is my business worth? Should I request a Business Valuation?
Your
company represents a great source of pride and income to you and your
family. As the owner, your decision to sell is a very important one,
and will likely be based upon a number of key considerations, including
the anticipated price, terms, and net proceeds of the sale.
To
prepare our clients for the sale process, the professionals at The
Waterfront Group will provide a fair market valuation analysis that
establishes a reasonable range of value for your business. This "go to
market" valuation range considers a number of valuation factors,
including:
- History/trend of Revenues
- History/trend of Cash flows
- Size of Cash flows (relative to other similar businesses, and also in absolute terms)
- Working capital requirements
- Marketability of the business (is there a ready market, or limited buyer universe)
- Degree of Competition
- Ease of entry into business
- Industry trends
- Growth opportunities for the business
- Unique assets (differentiators like people, processes, licenses, exclusivity agreements)
- Age and quality of physical plant and equipment assets
- Location and Facilities (will a new owner need to inject additional capital to modernize)
- Amount of risk (eg, heavy seasonality, customer/supplier concentration)
- Motivation and Flexibility of the parties
- Comparable Sales Data
- ROI and income objectives of buyers
These and other factors will be used to generate a cash flow multiplier
for your business. Before we proceed with a client (seller) engagement,
we will consult with the you, along with any of your trusted financial
advisors, to ensure there is an agreement as to the fair market
valuation, and the projected net proceeds of sale.
To
request a valuation, The Waterfront Group will require recent full-year
and interim financial statements and Federal corporate tax returns.
These will be used to determine the business cash flow, also known as
adjusted net income or owner's discretionary cash (ODC) for the
business. Taken together, the adjusted net income and cash flow
multiplier determine the valuation range for the business.
Ultimately,
the final consideration (price) paid reflects the parties' respective
motivations, goals, and non-price terms of sale. At The Waterfront
Group, our goal is to obtain the best combination of price and terms
that meet our clients' objectives, in the shortest amount of time,
while maintaining clients' confidentiality throughout the process.
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