Once the enterprise value specialists at Ceibass have established the objectives of the sale for the owner of a lawn and landscape business, and grounded their assessments as to the state of the business including the current situation in the marketplace, and they have developed a strong plan of action, the next step in the exit process is to execute the plan.
What goes into executing the plan?
“The first move here is to get the seller’s house in order. Clean books, legal, financial, human resources, tax and estate planning. Then the move is go to market,” said Tom Fochtman, Ceibass CEO. “This is where we contact our potential buyers, make calls, send out teasers or profiles to prospects. We get confidentiality agreements to keep the discussions and materials like the Offering Memorandum secure and private. From there we are answering questions managing buyer visits, doing a lot of sketching of deals, and back and forth prelim negotiations.”
The team at Ceibass then went on to add details to the next steps in the exit process including:
- Creating limited auction situations where feasible
- Accepting offers from buyers
- Negotiating the deal
- Negotiating the letter of intent (LOI)
- Managing and coordinating the due diligence period for buyer
- Establishing and negotiating the definitive purchase agreement or binding legal documents
- Handling details of the closing
- Working the post-closing
“All through the process we are working with the seller to make sure the deal takes care of their concerns meets their objectives,” said Tom Fochtman. “Even in the post-closing we are there to make sure that the seller is effectively handling the what’s next phase of their lives.”
For more on the elements of the exit planning process and what goes into it, contact Tom Fochtman, 303-974-7577. Don’t delay, remember, it’s best to sell at the top of the market.
