Thinking of Buying or Selling a Business?
Whether you are looking to buy a Florida business or sell a Southwest Florida business, Business Broker Dan Smith has the expertise to assist you in
all aspects of the transaction. In association with Corporate Investment Business Brokers (CIBB, Inc.),
a Fort Myers based business broker since 1986 with offices in Fort Myers, Naples, and Port Charlotte, we are ready to help you with all of the questions and challenges that come
with buying or selling a business. We utilize our broad experiences and creative marketing techniques to connect buyers and sellers of desirable businesses that require
a change of ownership. We are constantly focused on providing high quality listings of business for sale to attract large numbers of qualified buyers
from all over the U.S. and Internationally. Simply put, we make the connections you need to accomplish your goal of buying or selling a business in Beautiful Southwest Florida.
Confidentiality in the business sale process is extremely important for most sellers. Buyers who respect the confidentiality requirements and make it clear
to the seller that they will comply, will have an advantage over buyers who take this issue casually. Business Broker Dan Smith will provide a standard
Non-Disclosure/Confidentiality Agreement for your review and approval.
This information is important for your Business Broker, the business Seller and you, the Buyer. Being as accurate as possible with this information will eliminate wasting time
looking at businesses that aren’t a good fit for the buyer. Business Broker Dan Smith has the experience to guide buyers to businesses which they have the best chance for a successful
transaction. A Buyer’s financial situation will have a huge influence on the options available to a business buyer. Do not mislead people about your financial abilities or your financial
resources. Accurate information gives the buyer the best chance to successfully complete a business purchase.
Confidentiality is of the utmost importance for Dan Smith. The information a buyer receives at this stage will be detailed and highly sensitive. The information should
include the name, location and financial summary information about the business. In addition, many businesses for sale will have a Confidential Business Review (CBR) which may include more
in depth information including industry, market and competitor information.
Once a buyer has reviewed the CBR and has decided they have a serious interest in trying to determine if they want to buy that business it’s usually a good idea for the buyer and
seller to meet personally. This meeting has two purposes. 1) The buyer can look at the facilities and 2) The buyer and seller can discuss the day-to-day duties of the seller. The buyer
needs to find out quickly if they feel like they can replace the skills of the seller once the seller has left the business or if there are areas of strength the buyer has that can be
applied to the business to improve business performance.
At this point the buyer generally has enough information to decide if they would like to make a Contingent Offer on the business. This offer can be in any number of different forms. Here is a
general description of some of the common types:
- Asset Purchase Agreement (APA): This is a fill-in the blank type of form used often by business brokers. Its designed to cover all the basic elements of typical offers
- Letter of Intent (LOI): These are often written by attorneys and are similar in nature to an APA in that they cover many basic elements of a possible transaction.
- Terms Sheet: This is the list detailed of the forms of an offer. In general, it just outlines the price, payment terms and time elements
If buyer and seller agree on the term sheets elements the next step is generally drafting a proposal
The Buyer will prepare a request list for information they need in order to make the final decision to purchase. Often this list is prepared with the buyers accountant and/or any bank where the
buyer plans to try to obtain financing. The Seller often also does DD on the buyer. Some sellers request background checks, credit reports and other information from Buyers. Sellers often want to
know that they are selling the business to people who will treat the employees well, take care of the customers and continue the good name of the business.
Once the parties have completed their Due Diligence the attorneys need to prepare final closing documents which are used to clearly define the elements of a transaction and any agreements among
the parties. In addition to other documents based on the specific transaction these closing documents normally include a Purchase Agreement, Non-compete agreements, Bill of Sale and training and
transition agreement. Upon signing of these documents and the completion of any obligations related to them the sale is considered closed.
During the post-closing period the Buyer (now the new owner) and the Seller (now the former owner) work together to accomplish the obligations spelled out in the closing documents.
The buyer and seller management of this process is extremely important in creating a transition that preserves the relationships with employees, customers and vendors.