TRANSACTION SERVICES

Do you need to get a deal done, but you’re not sure what the value of the business is? Negotiations are hard enough as they are, let alone when you go in blind. Sometimes you really don’t need a valuation, you just need some advice on approach. But sometimes a valuation is absolutely essential. Think about a messy divorce, or a shareholder split. Emotions get in the way of being able to strike a deal, and you need someone to just tell you what the answer is…

Whether you’re buying a small business or a large business, it’s easy to make an expensive mistake. For a rundown on what we recommend for a larger purchase, check out our M&A section. Most people selling small businesses, like most of the ones on Trademe, will have no idea what their businesses are worth, and they’ll want too much money. If you’re selling and have a business broker then that’s a lot less likely to happen…

If you have a larger or trickier deal to get over the line, we’re well positioned to help. We’ve worked with cross-border strategic transactions, divestments, roll-ups and everything in between. We work with a number of M&A firms in Singapore, Japan, China and further abroad. This can be very useful for finding overseas buyers if the local market is too shallow. Often an overseas corporate buyer can help leverage up your business to a level that just can’t be done locally.

If you’re going through a relationship property dispute, you’ll know that even though you’re fighting over money (or your other assets), there’s more than money to think about. When a business is involved, it’s even more complicated. Having an angry ex-spouse is never fun, but however irrational they were prior to the split, they might be a whole lot more irrational now. You might be millions of dollars apart on what you think a business is worth, especially when there are other assets in the mix…

If you’re looking at retiring and closing up shop, there’s a pretty good chance you can sell your business instead. When you’re selling a business, there are some really simple things you can do to get the best bang for your buck. Getting your business ready years in advance is best, of course, but hindsight is 20/20 and you might not have the luxury of time. One thing to keep in mind is that selling a business can sometimes be very time consuming, so make sure you keep this in mind before you decide to sell…

Getting into business is a lot like getting married, and it’s pretty similar when things go wrong. A lot gets lost in the emotional fallout of a shareholder dispute – you might feel hard-done by, there might be ruined friendships and wasted time. You might not even be on speaking terms. It’s pretty hard to strike a deal to part ways when emotions are running high and there’s money involved. You might need a valuation, but you probably don’t. You probably just need some help negotiating, and cutting through the emotion…