Prepare to sell your company: A guide to planning and implementing a successful exit

Selling your company is a trying time, similar to selling your house. For those unfamiliar with this process, the challenging thoughts will be: ‘How do I start?’; ‘Who can help me?’; ‘How much can I get for the business?’; ‘Who is most likely to buy it, and where do I find them?’; ‘When should I do it?’ This book will answer all your questions. Easy to read, it covers all the practical aspects of preparing your business for sale. It will show you just how a potential acquirer will view a company that is up for sale. This will enable you to: – develop a business profile that will attract buyers – and maintain their interest until completion – build into the business those aspects that will encourage a buyer to increase their bid. This book will take you through the sale process: preparation, marketing, acceptance of offer, the ‘due diligence examination’ (the vendor’s nightmare), successful completion, and beyond. – What you need to do when selling your company – Setting your desired exit package – Constructing an exit strategy that works for you – Introducing a corporate structure to make sale easier – Organising company finances and tax liabilities in preparation – Matching results to budgets – Identifying your company’s intellectual assets – Telling staff about the company sale – Pre-sale and post-completion activities
Contents: Acknowledgements; Introduction; 1. Early considerations; 2. Major factors that influence exit; 3. Construct an exit strategy; 4. Adopt a corporate constitution; 5. Introduce a management structure into your business; 6. Organisation of your company’s finances; 7. Construct the company growth by sales and marketing; 8. Recognise and secure your intellectual property and assets; 9. Business activities, logistics and supply chain management; 10. Commercial matters; 11. Employee matters; 12. Information technology; 13. Reputation; 14. Your pre-sale period; 15. The company sale process; 16. Introducing due diligence; 17. Completion day; 18. Post completion; Appendix; Glossary; Index.