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The Best M&A News Sources For 2023

If you are a business owner and want to keep up with all the latest business, finance, and M&A news and insights, these ten sites are a must-add to the bookmarks in your browser, or a follow on social media.

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Understanding EBITDA

In arriving at a valuation for their business, many managers come across the term EBITDA.  For some this term is Greek and for others it’s a term they vaguely remember being mentioned during their days in business school. For many business owners it’s a completely new term, with no context, and why it is important is a complete mystery to them.  But to buyers, EBITDA seems to be an incredibly important term.  So what is EBITDA?

To begin let’s spell out the acronym.  EBITDA stands for “Earnings before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization,” that is, a company’s earnings before items which can be disassociated from the day to day operations of the business.  EBITDA is therefore a measure of the financial strength of the business, and presents a proxy for the total cash flow which a potential buyer could expect to garner from the purchase of your business.

Let’s break down each part of the acronym, beginning with Earnings. In the case of your business, Earnings is represented by the bottom line income, what is labeled “Ordinary Business Income,” on your tax returns.  This is the number arrived at by subtracting all expenses from Revenues and adding or subtracting any additional cost or income.  Distributions and dividends are items which occur after “Earnings” is calculated and are therefore not included in this equation.

Interest payments are associated with debt that the company currently holds.  Those interest payments whether they are on a Line of Credit to the local bank or for outstanding debt the company has taken on to purchase machinery or warehouse space, will likely be in some way included into the sales price of your business.  Meaning, that when a new owner takes over operations, or comes on board to help grow your business, the business will be starting fresh.  From the time of the sale going forward the new owners can expect all of the money previously paid to the bank, to flow through to bottom line earnings instead.  For this reason, in valuing your company it is important to add back interest payments to your bottom line earnings.

Next, we arrive at taxes. Each and every business pays taxes, but the amount is variable by state and subject to current legislation.  For that reason, we add back some, but not all taxes to your bottom line profits.  In most cases the only tax added back will be your Franchise Taxes. Franchise Taxes are those taxes charged by a state to a company, as the cost of a business in that state.  The tax varies based on the size of the business and the state in which the business is incorporated.  Because a company may be incorporated in a different state, or the size of the business may drastically change after an acquisition, these taxes are therefore variable and not a reflection on the business’ earnings.

Depreciation is a fancy accounting term for something we all know.  The amount of value your car loses the moment you drive it off the lot, is the most common form of depreciation we deal with during our lives.  Say you purchased new machinery ten years ago, and it is still running and in good condition, humming along each day spitting out all the widgets you can sell.  But your accountant may send you tax returns each year saying your machine is worth less and less.  This amount that gets deducted by your accountant isn’t an actual amount of cash leaving your business, but it decreases your bottom line earnings.  For this reason, we add depreciation back, to put back into your bottom line, an amount which was taken out on paper, but not out of your company’s checking account.  An additional note, as we are dealing with your company’s Profit and Loss statement, we ignore the total amount of accumulated depreciation which is shown on your Balance Sheet, in order to capture the expense associated only with one accounting period.

Amortization is Depreciations baby brother. If you purchased a business ten years ago, you may have paid more for that company than what it was worth at that very moment based on the amount of assets and business you were garnering by purchasing that company and its clients.  Let’s say that the business you bought was worth one million dollars, but you figured that the business’ client list and trademark was worth an additional half million dollars to you over the long run, and so you paid one point five million dollars for the business.  This additional half million dollars is sometimes referred to as “good will”. It’s a value which can be reflected on paper and then turned into cash over a period of time.  Just like your new car though, each year your accountant is going to take some part of this half million dollars and subtract it from your profits before he or she arrives at your bottom line net income.  Since this number is an adjustment made on paper, just like depreciation, adding it back gives a better picture of the amount of cash flowing through your business.

In sum, each of these components of EBITDA combine to create a clearer picture of your company’s true value to potential buyers, and is therefore something buyers are particularly interested in.  In order to understand Adjustments to EBITDA please see my coworker Austin Pakola’s piece on adjustments to EBIDA.

Author:
Patrick Seaworth
Analyst
Benchmark International

T:   +1 (512) 861 3314 
E: Seaworth@benchmarkcorporate.com

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I want to buy a business, where do I start?

Many individuals or companies feel that the best way to either enter an industry or expand within an industry is through buying a business. While this is often true, it is hard to know where to begin the process of buying a business.

Define your search criteria?

The first step to buying a business is comprise a list of features that you are seeking in a business. Similar to the car buying process. Do you want leather seats, a certain brand, navigation, power windows, etc? Narrowing your search criteria will help save you time, resources, and frustration.

Here’s a few questions you will want to be able to answer as you begin your search:

  • What size business are you seeking? This question relates to both revenue and profitability.
  • Do you want the owner to remain apart of the business post-closing? If so, for how long?
  • What geographical areas do you prefer?
  • What industry and sectors are of interest to you? Be as specific as possible. If you are looking to buy a marketing firm, what type of end customers do you prefer? Do you want the business to cater to government customers, healthcare companies, etc?
  • What is your budget?

Begin your search

There are many ways to uncover businesses for sale. You can search various websites, reach out to a Mergers and Acquisitions’ (M&A) specialist, or network to try and find deals that have not hit the market yet. Some buyers will approach business owners directly to see if they are interested in selling their business directly to the buyer.

Websites featuring businesses for sale often can be overwhelming. If you search several websites, you may see the same listing on multiple websites.

There are M&A specialists that work with buyers to find businesses for sale and others that work with sellers to find buyers. Some M&A specialists represent both buyers and sellers. If you are working with a specialist that represents both parties in a transaction, you will want to understand the intermediary’s incentives. It is hard to keep interests aligned if there are conflicts between the parties. If you are working with a sell-side M&A specialist, often times they will have exclusive listings meaning that you can only have access to that specific deal through that specialist. Also, a sell-side M&A specialist may take a commitment fee. This will show the seller’s commitment to the sale process.

Some potential buyers build a network to look for opportunities to purchase businesses or build their own database of potential businesses they would like to purchase and begin reaching out to those business owners. While this sounds like an easy process, do not be fooled by the amount of time and resources you will use trying to speak with the business owners and convincing them to complete a deal with you. Typically, business owners that are open to exploring the idea of selling will entertain a conversation but they eventually want to go to market to test the valuation. Often times buyers will get close to the end of a transaction but then the seller will decide not to sale. If you are willing to pay an amount that is acceptable to the seller then they often wonder if there is someone that is willing to pay more and if they have undervalued their business.

Begin to review businesses

Sellers will want a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) in place prior to releasing confidential information. This practice is very typical in the lower mid-market. As a buyer, you will want to have the opportunity to speak directly with the business owner. They will know their business better than anyone, and you will have specific questions that only the business owner will be able to answer. You will also want to visit the business' facility. This visit will tell you a lot about the company, its culture, and what type of liabilities you may want to explore further during the due diligence process. Once you find the perfect business, you will want to move swiftly to the next stage of the purchasing process as there are probably other buyers looking at the same opportunity and you do not want to miss out.

I found the perfect business, now what?

After you find the perfect business, you will need to comprise a valuation for the business. The valuation will be covered in a Letter of Intent (LOI) as well as the structure (how is the valuation going to be paid to the seller) of the offer and other high-level details. In the LOI, you will want to include the seller’s involvement post close, an exclusivity clause allowing you the exclusive right to review the opportunity, the requirements of due diligence along with a timeline, if possible, and the anticipated closing date. A LOI tends to include many more details but above highlights some of the details a seller will want to understand prior to agreeing to move forward.

The LOI is executed. Where do we go from here?

After a LOI is executed, due diligence begins. As the buyer, you want to confirm that what you think you are buying is what you are actually buying. You will want to understand the risk associated with the purchase of the business. You will also want to engage your advisors to provide legal advice for the purchase agreement and tax advice for the structure of the transaction. 

While purchasing a business sounds like a quick and easy process, it can take months, if not a year or two, to make the purchase. There are a lot of factors that you will encounter and unforeseen obstacles that stand in your way. An M&A specialist can help you navigate these obstacles and help you purchase a business within your desired timeframe. Whether you choose to seek to purchase a business on your own or bring in a M&A specialist, we wish you the best of luck with your journey. 

Author:
Kendall Stafford
Managing Partner
Benchmark International

T:  +1 (512) 347 2000 
E: stafford@benchmarkcorporate.com

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Meet the Heroes Behind the Deals in the Latest Edition of The Mark

We have just released our latest edition of The Mark, a place where we share insights in the M&A industry and featured opportunities. 

 Version: 
http://bit.ly/2PM4UT5 

 Version: 
http://bit.ly/2QyMNxr 

As we look back on activity in 2018, there have been upward trends in certain sectors for M&A activity, which have included healthcare and technology, which have, in turn, attracted interest from private equity firms. 

This issue also discusses the many decisions that arise for a seller in the M&A process, from the type of buyer to choose to when the optimum time is to sell, as well as the pitfalls that can occur in the M&A process and how these can be tackled or prevented. 

We hope you find this edition of The Mark insightful and informative, one day assisting you with decisions when selling your business, along with our friendly and helpful team at Benchmark International, who are here to help wherever you are in the world. 

Some Articles Included:

  • Looking to Buy a Business?  4
  • Top Mistakes to Avoid When Selling  6
  • The Winning Hit 10
  • When is the Right Time to Retire?  12
  • Five Ways to Value Your Business  16
  • If Business Valuation Was a Science  18
  • Why have interest rates been so low for so long?
          Why are they rising now? Why should you care?  22
  • Featured Opportunities  26
  • Meet the Heroes Behind the Deals  34
  • Preparing Your Business for Sale  36
  • How to Avoid Leaving Money on the Table When Selling Your Business 40
  • Why Now is the Time to Sell Your Company  50
  • Strategic vs Financial Buyers  58

 Version: 
http://bit.ly/2PM4UT5 

 Version: 
http://bit.ly/2QyMNxr 

Thanks for reading. Please like and share! 

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