Population and economic growth drive the global demand for energy. Nuclear energy is the world's second largest source of low-carbon power and it makes up 11% of the world’s electricity generation. Around 50 countries use nuclear energy, and there are hundreds of nuclear reactors in operation around the world.

There are also around 225 research reactors under operation, with more under construction. These reactors are used for research and training, and produce medical and industrial isotopes.

As the world increasingly focuses on ways to reduce carbon emissions, nuclear power has the potential to play a more pivotal role, yet the industry is seeing the state of things go both ways. Following the Fukushima nuclear disaster, Japan shut down 48 of its reactors, and Germany began phasing out its nuclear program. And in several countries, the creation of new reactors is facing delays and cost issues. However, there is a bit of a dichotomy, as France still obtains 75% of its electricity from nuclear power, and the United States generates about twice as much as France.

The United Nation's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has warned that reducing emissions will be far more expensive without the availability of nuclear power.

M&A Optimism

A single nuclear power plant is capable of generating a significant amount of electricity. It also requires very expensive components. For this reason, markets see drastic fluctuations from year to year. But there is still a great deal of optimism for the nuclear energy sector.

A strong appetite remains for companies that are of service to the nuclear industry. Acquirers and investors recognize the value that companies can gain from the multitude of services or products that are needed to keep the sector operational. This particular industry generates significant spending year after year in order to keep nuclear power plants compliant with the scores of federal, state and local regulations that exist. These companies must also keep up with increases in power production, which translates to regular spending on equipment and services. This type of reliability represents a quality investment opportunity. In general, the industry itself is always facing uncertainty, but the companies that have a history of serving this sector remain a solid investment.

As the energy industry transitions toward more sustainable cleaner energies, power companies are forced to alter their business models, and are faced with consolidations.  Mergers and acquisitions have the power to streamline this very fragmented sector. Some companies are simply incapable of organically achieving the level of change they need. Plus, the nuclear energy industry has to compete with the increasingly popular natural gas industry.

Also, a new class known as small modular reactors (SMRs) has been introduced to the world and is garnering a great deal of enthusiasm and support.SMRs are less expensive, more efficient, offer more flexibility for utilities, and are easier to finance. This represents a stellar opportunity for growth and investment in the nuclear power industry.

There is also another sector that wholeheartedly relies upon the operation of nuclear reactors, and that is nuclear medicine. While nuclear medicine has existed for some time (widespread clinical use began in the 1950s), later 20th-century developments increased its role in healthcare (diagnostic imaging), and it is seeing an entirely new renaissance in the 21st century. Conventional pharmaceutical companies are eagerly seeking to get in the game of radiopharmaceuticals, radiotherapeutics, and radiotheranostics. In fact, it is predicted that by the year 2030, radiotherapeutics will account for more than 60% of the market and nuclear medicine will be worth $26 billion. This represents a staggering opportunity for M&A activity.

Nuclear Energy M&A Expertise

Any energy M&A transaction requires a specialized level of expertise in order to avoid pitfalls that can blow a deal. Finding the right company broker is advised.

• Knowledge of the industry and the nature of the markets are key
• The ability to identify areas of risk is imperative. The due diligence required for deals in this sector is exceptionally painstaking
• Complex regulatory issues must be firmly understood. Laws and regulations in the energy industry go beyond the energy regulatory governance to include environmental, health, safety, tax, employee benefits and property issues
• Cross-border transactions require global and local understanding of the market and the regulatory differences and how it plays into the company valuation

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At Benchmark International, our global M&A experts are eager to help you make the next big move for your company and your future. Whether you wish to sell your business or plan your retirement, we have the strategies, connections, and technologies to make great things happen for you. 

Even though consolidation in the pharmacy services industry has been ongoing for several years, ample opportunity remains for mergers and acquisitions activity. It is inevitable that people will continue to need treatments for illnesses, which means that the demand for pharmaceuticals is always a robust market, and that directly correlates to the pharmacy industry. High demand translates to unique opportunities for sellers.

If businesses plan to stay competitive in the pharmacy industry, there are certain areas of focus in which they will need to remain vigilant.

• The pressures of an increasingly on-demand society and getting medications to patients faster
• Transparency must be clearly demonstrated when it comes to costs and start-ups are poised to capitalize on this market
• Enhanced offerings to patients such as improved medication compliance or unique services that will help maintain a competitive foothold within an aggressive industry

Specialty Pharmacy

The subsector of specialty pharmacy has been a burgeoning industry and includes pharmaceuticals that are subject to certain criteria. They are used to treat chronic, rare, or complex conditions, and they typically come with a high price tag. Availability for these specialty treatments is only through exclusive or limited distribution and they can often require special handling, storage, or administration requirements. Their safety is under continuous monitoring and patients who require these treatments also require significant education regarding their use.

Therapies categorized under specialty pharmacy are often injections or infusions, but can also include oral biopharmaceuticals. The types of diseases typically managed by specialty pharmacies include cancer, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, HIV/AIDS, and hepatitis C.

It has become common for specialty pharmacies to collaborate with hospitals, retail, and manufacturers. Such collaborations can improve patient access and patient care. It has also become more common for specialty pharmacies to consolidate for growth of market share and enhanced capabilities. New technologies play a large role in specialty pharmacy scalability. While scale is a clear marker of success, growth spans beyond the biggest companies to mid-tier pharmacies. Independent retail community pharmacies are finding more cost-effective ways to serve customers by creating collaborative networks that also make them more appealing partners for manufacturers. When it comes to M&A in the arena of limited-distribution drugs, strong capabilities and payer relationships are key to gaining exclusive access to these higher-priced therapies.

Infusion therapies are already a major driver of revenue growth, and are seeing more attention in the specialty pharmacy market to boost margin growth amid a slowdown in the introduction of new drugs. Additionally, more and morepatients are being treated in outpatient settings and in their own homes. Herein lies a major opportunity for specialty pharmacy to establish complementary strengths in infusion therapy.

Institutional Pharmacy

Nursing homes, hospitals and hospices that do not have an on-site pharmacy rely on institutional pharmacies to repackage and deliver prescription medications and other services for administration. Demand in this sector grows as the population ages, and there is a need for nontraditional revenue streams such as patient therapy evaluations, regulation compliance strategies, and clinical management programs that employ newer technologies.

In this multi-billion-dollar market, institutional pharmacy providers are faced with a particularly intricate set of organizational and regulatory challenges. Navigating these issues requires innovative solutions for institutional pharmacy providers across a multitude of topics that range from pricing to compliance.

Keys to Successful M&A in the Pharmacy Sector

Innovation is driving the charge to unlock rapid growth in this space with focus on smart, actionable data, lower cost-of-care workflows, and better technology platforms. A skillfully executed M&A strategy makes all the difference in achieving meaningful growth aspirations.

A solid integration strategy plays an important role in pharmacy M&A to ensure that the structure creates advantages and retains talent while aligning corporate cultures, values and objectives. M&A transactions in the pharmacy space require careful planning, due diligence, and attentiveness to manage the intricacies of integrating multiple systems, processes, and organizations. Aspects that should be evaluated include relationships, clinical platforms, therapeutic areas, IT capabilities, business development, marketing, and sales.

Market timing is key, and you must have a concrete plan for how to partner effectively to expand capabilities. These deals demand a clear vision and organizational leadership focus across multifunctional disciplines in order to achieve M&A synergy.

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Are you ready to sell your company? Even if you are not sure, it is a great idea to have a conversation about your future with our M&A specialists. We can offer you expert strategies for how to grow your business, create a winning exit strategy, and executing a lucrative deal.

When companies seek to enhance their margins and better serve their customers while reducing the cost of providing services, they outsource non-revenue producing functions to outside business services providers, known as business process outsourcing (BPO) companies. In the area of recruiting, it is a form of BPO, commonly referred to as Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO).

The business process outsourcing industry is valued at nearly $1 trillion USD. The United States leads the market with 40% share worth more than $400 billion, followed by Europe and the Middle East with a market valued at $300 billion. The global RPO market is valued at around $5 billion.

Technology has greatly expanded the capabilities in this sector, as it is not uncommon for companies to have virtual contact centers where employees work from their homes, or to have offshore centers where support staff works from another country or continent. It is less efficient for companies to have functions performed in-house that require overhead costs. This is a major driver of growth in the BPO industry and represents a relatively still-untapped opportunity in many countries that use little outsourcing.    

There are also several other benefits that companies gain by outsourcing services.

• It frees up the time and energy of internal resources to focus on bigger picture strategic goals.
• There is no time or cost associated with training new staff members.
• It offers access to regulatory experts to ensure compliance in an increasingly regulated world.
• There is no employer liability.
• Administrative services can be paid for when they are needed, as opposed to employing someone full time and having them be under-utilized.
• The interviewing and hiring processes can be avoided, saving additional time and money.
• Employers do not need to pay benefits, leave or holidays for outsourced staff.
• It also opens up the opportunity for smaller companies to carve out more market share by increasing their global reach.

Office Administration Outsourcing

A large and growing segment of this outsourcing is office administration. Essentially any company in operation has administrative tasks that must be accomplished to keep the day-to-day operations running smoothly. Administrative functions that are often outsourced include payroll, accounting, human resources, data management, employee benefits, insurance claims management, and client support.

Recruitment Outsourcing

RPO companies emerged from traditional recruiting needs, but are designed to work differently. All or part of a company’s recruitment processes is assigned to an external service provider. RPO services differ from that of staffing companies in that they do not simply find candidates to fill job openings. They focus on the overall improvement of a company’s recruiting process as more of a strategic, consultative partner. They study factors such as turnover rates, technology, scalability, and how much time it takes to fill a position.

Many companies choose RPOs to improve recruitment efficiency, reduce cost, make hiring more scalable, improve the quality of hires, meet the talent needs of short-term projects, and improve workforce analytics and planning.

The industry sectors with the largest market shares are technology, telecom, finance, insurance, healthcare, biotech, pharmaceuticals, and medical equipment.

BPO M&A Activity

As the use of BPO services becomes more common around the world, the M&A activity surrounding them increases, with a large concentration in the middle market. There is a tendency for customers to prefer fewer vendors with more diverse service offerings, motivating BPOs to use M&A to diversify to increase customer wallet share.

In this highly competitive market, BPO companies typically acquire target companies in order to gain:

• More capabilities for broader service offerings
• Exposure to higher growth end-market verticals
• Broader geographic reach to offer more global services
• Economies of scale to lower proportion of fixed costs

RPO M&A Activity

RPO companies are becoming increasingly globalized as a result of mergers and acquisitions. To be successful in this growing market, RPO providers have found different ways to distinguish themselves.

• They specialize across geographic regions, vertical markets, related jobs, and buyer segments.
• They offer value-added and technology-based services, such as analytics and mobile recruiting.

For an M&A deal to be successful, sellers should conduct an all-encompassing assessment of their value proposition and how it ultimately aligns with the buyers’ interests.

M&A Due Diligence

Conducting due diligence for a merger or acquisition is always a time-consuming undertaking, and this is especially true when the target is a BPO company. Location analysis of the target company should be performed for any potential acquisition to help form an accurate purchase price and avoid costly post-closing issues. It assesses site location, economic development, competition, real estate markets, workforce issues, saturation levels, historical attrition rates, recruitment, and retention viability. Partnering with a specialty company broker who has this type of experience is advised.

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If you are ready to take the next step with your business, whether it is selling, expanding, or retiring, contact our M&A specialists today. Our expertise, global connections, and proprietary technologies are here to guide you to a prosperous future. 

New technologies are constantly reshaping industries, and global investment banking is not immune to these impacts, as newfinancial startups create technologies that cut into the relationship-based work that investment banks do.In order to continue to thrive, the big investment banks must keep up with innovation.

 IPOs

The underwriting of initial public offerings (IPOs) has always been a major source of profit for investment banks. Prominent investment banks play a large part in IPOs, as they come with prestigious reputations that instill confidence among public investors in the legitimacy of a deal.

However, tech companies have changed the game by negotiating lower fees, exploring alternatives to IPOs, and simply electing to not go public at all. Technology companies are usually the highest-returning public offerings. When venture capitalists and sovereign wealth funds put more cash on the table, some startups are able to remain private, providing challenges for investment banks.

Going public is a complicated legal process and most companies need the guidance of investment banks, which profit from the large fee that they earn to protect themselves from risk if the company’s stock underperforms.

Big investment banks have had to shift their strategies and turn to internal automation and technology in order to secure their competitive advantage in the world of IPOs. This allows them to hire fewer junior bankers, complete more IPOs in less time, and maintain high profit margins.

Asset Management

Asset management is a highly profitable financial service, but it has faced increased regulation since the 2008 financial collapse. These regulations make it more difficult for investment banks to trade with client money because of checks and balances that ensure the banks are not carrying too much risk. Dedicated asset management firms do not face the same regulations as investment banks, so they tend to be a more popular growth option for investors. Also, money management firms are able to drive returns at smaller fees.

Strategic M&A

Traditionally, mergers and acquisitions were solely viewed as a pathway to increase earnings per share for companies combining assets with similar businesses. Big investment banks were once major players in these transactions, prior to the shift in focus to more strategic M&A solutions that require less financial management and more product vision. Middle market M&A expands with more technology options and big investment banks become less relevant in a shifting process that calls for more concentrated expertise, strategic vision, and an interest in delivering on the goals of business owners rather than just collecting hefty fees. M&A advisory firms are more suited to achieving the individual aspirations of owners through the crafting of strategies that are carefully tailored to their needs.

M&A is a very relationship-driven industry. The biggest investment banks often do not garner a high level of trust among executives for M&A transactions, and are subject to more potential conflicts of interest than that of smaller banks or advisory firms—which are also able to conduct M&A deals more quickly and affordably.

As the industry landscape changes for big investment companies, they are being forced to adapt in different ways. Some banks are selling off dwindling operations and focusing on areas that are still profitable. Some are hurrying to launch new technology and digital products. Others are restructuring and hiring new workers in places where it costs less to operate. Overall, big investments banks must change the way they do business in order to fend off further decline.

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When you need global M&A expertise to guide your business into the future, contact us at Benchmark International. We will leave no stone unturned when it comes to crafting the right kind of strategies that work for you.

As the world calls more and more for renewable energy sources to replace carbon-burning fossil fuels, the industries of solar and hydroelectric power offer important alternatives, as well as opportunities for mergers and acquisitions.

Solar power converts energy from the sun into thermal or electrical energy. It is one of the cleanest and most abundant renewable energy sources available. In recent decades, the cost of solar power has decreased substantially.

Hydroelectric power uses turbine-driven generators to convert the energy of moving water into mechanical energy. As one of the oldest methods of creating power, today it is one of the most largely used forms of clean, renewable energy. Because the use of hydropower relies on flowing bodies of water, its use varies based on geographical locations and circumstances.

As the world seeks to turn to cleaner sources of energy, major corporations are also doing so as part of a larger growth strategy. For example, oil giant Shell has a plan to become the world’s largest power company AND cut its carbon footprint in half by the year 2050. To achieve this goal, a majority of the energy capacity added to its portfolio must be derived from renewable power sources.

Solar Power M&A

There are several factors that are proven to create opportunities for M&A in the solar energy market. Solar is still a relatively young industry, which opens up the opportunity for many newcomers to enter the industry and consolidate to grow in scale.

• In Africa, there is an abundance of access to solar power, but there are obstacles to financing. By 2050, Africa is expected to grow from 1.1 billion to 2 billion people, with a total economic output of $15 trillion. This money can be targeted to infrastructure, energy and transportation, and global investors are taking note.
• In the United States, the government makes it an attractive venture for companies to get into solar power through tax breaks, which translates to growth. In fact, in the U.S., solar power deals have already surpassed the $10 billion mark.
• In Europe, companies view M&A as a strategy to enter the U.S. market.

Other opportunities for M&A in the solar energy sector surround installation and manufacturing. As the industry evolves, installers grow in size, brand, and geographical reach and gain market share through consolidation. Regarding manufacturers, the outsourcing of panel production and assembly can motivate solar companies to sell those capabilities as an outsourcing strategy.

The solar power industry is quite a global market. In order to successfully complete cross-border transactions in this space, companies should wisely enlist the expertise and network of a globally connected M&A advisory firm.

Hydroelectric Power M&A

Hydropower may be a much older technology than other forms of renewable energy, yet there are still plenty of opportunities for the development of new facilities or expansion of existing infrastructure. Some of the positive aspects of hydroelectric power projects include their low operating costs, clean power generation, and lengthy service lives. On the downside, the regulatory approval process can be drawn out, and these projects call for significant early capital spending.

As in most industries, investment in hydropower is based on the project's risks and projection of future revenue. For developers to gain access to capital, they need to identify the revenue streams that will service debt (energy projects typically have several revenue streams), offer a return on investment, and have a plan to minimize regulatory and construction risks. It is typical for banks and other investors to only invest in new projects when there is certainty in the power purchase agreement.

The earlier investors are brought into the project, the more careful developers must be with regard to the terms offered. Investors may ask for ownership share or control that is excessive. Enlist the counsel of an experienced advisor to determine whether a proposal is fair. You may need more funding down the line, so the transaction must be flexible enough for more investors to get involved. The earlier you partner with an M&A advisor, the better you can plan the project’s future, and the more risks you can avoid in the long run.

Even the most encouraging and favorable hydroelectric projects can fall apart due to perceived risks. Any risks must be identified and addressed by developers as early as possible.Many issues can be environmental in nature. Research into the project’s impacts on local fisheries and species must be thoroughly conducted, and early communication with public officials is key.

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Any energy M&A transaction calls for a specialized level of expertise to ensure that the deal is done right. Finding a highly experienced global firm is in your best interest. If you desire to be on the sell-side of a deal, contact our M&A advisors at Benchmark International to begin the process of finding the perfect fit and solution for you, your family, and your company.

At Benchmark International, we work exclusively on the sell-side, so we would love to say, “The way to do a re-trade is to never do a re-trade.” However, when you have completed countless deals, there are times when we are tied so closely into those deals that we know the terms of the original offer do not stand up to the target company’s actual position following due diligence. In other words, we will admit when there is a legitimate reason to re-trade a deal term, including the price.

Our experience also tells us that these instances are rare when sellers have been through our process, and there is a right way and wrong way to do it if you want the deal to close. We encourage you to avoid blown deal costs by following these simple steps:

Step 1: Discuss it with us first. Yes, we are going to push back. Yes, we are going to support our client. But we will also be able to keep the deal on track by doing the following:

• In a best-case scenario, clarifying a misconception on your part that moots your need to re-trade
• Giving you a read on how our client will react
• Suggesting the best means of communicating the issue so that the reaction you receive best matches the severity of the actual change
• Providing our client our open and honest view of the change and the reasons for it before he or she has had a day or two to lock themselves into a position that may be based on less than the clearest picture possible
• Delving into our resources to convert what starts as a win-lose scenario to something closer to a win-not-lose-too-much scenario

Step 2: Have your data lined up. Very often we see re-trades supported by vague concepts and no numbers. These cause extra problems. If the amount of the re-trade can come over on the left side of the page with a numerical breakdown of the reasons for the re-trade on the right side of the page, and the seller can see that the two balance one another out—even if just figuratively—we are all in a much better position to get to the closing.

Step 3: Don’t wait. When you find something in diligence that looks like it is building to be the source of a re-trade, don’t save it all up and then dump it on the sell-side at the last minute. Conditioning the recipient of bad news is always the best way to get the most appropriate response to that news.

Step 4: Don’t overreach. Even in our smallest deals, we are not operating in a Turkish bazaar. There is no need to ask for $500,000 when you need $250,000. That type of negotiation works well in one-off trades but not when you are trying to build a relationship that is expected to hit additional bumps before the deal closes and likely needs some level of ongoing trust after closing.

Step 5: Be open to creative solutions. Regardless of how meaningful the problem is and how large a fix you need, your solution may not be the only acceptable one. It may not even be the best one for you.  There are many ways to change a deal to address an unforeseen risk and provide the protection you need to offset that risk. The key to getting the transaction closed is often finding the amount of offset you need using the method of offset the seller can accept.

Benchmark International works hard with its client to avoid the need for re-trades. We collect extensive data on our clients prior to going to market. We run a very process-driven data room and often pre-populate it. We encourage our clients to get in front of disclosing detracting factors to avoid any surprises. We comb through every financial statement and tax return our clients can produce. In some countries, we are able to verify returns against official tax transcripts. Unlike many other brokers, we will even put known issues into our Confidential Information Memorandums. We attempt to place our clients with experienced M&A legal advisors. We understand—and make every effort to ensure our clients understand— that hiding an issue is not going to get them a better deal, may cost them a very good deal, and will never make it through due diligence.

The Course of the Apparel Industry

Several factors have reshaped, and continue to reshape, the worldwide textile and apparel manufacturing industry. The paradigm has shifted into a digital market that demands speed and agility from industry players. These sweeping influences create drivers of increased mergers and acquisitions activity in this market.

• Online expansion, the reduction in brick-and-mortar store locations, and omni-channel shopping
• Sophisticated tech-savvy consumers and social media influencers
• Digitization of payments, points of sale, logistics and delivery
• Demand for fashion at lower prices
• A growing market for fair fashion and demand for increased sustainability as younger generations call for reduced impacts on the environment
• Cost-cutting measures and restructuring to focus on core brands
• Emerging markets of second and third-tier cities and the assertive expansion of fast-fashion retailers

The E-commerce Race                                                                                  

Becoming a go-to platform for customers in the apparel industry means that companies are forced to innovate and diversify their offerings to provide added value, relying less on retail margins. This not-easy task can be accomplished through internal research and development, or mergers and acquisitions.

Changes in Fashion Ownership

Consumers are becoming more interested in different ways to extend the lifespan of fashion items as new companies crop up that offer used clothing, refurbished apparel, and even clothing rental. As more of these new companies emerge, the existing fashion retailers must to adapt to embrace these new ownership models, which are being heavily driven by younger generations that still want new clothes but are more concerned with sustainability. Even luxury brands are embracing this model, but are buying resale or rental businesses so that they can maintain control over the marketing of their brands.

Thinking Small

More and more consumers—and investors—are being enchanted by small brands with interesting and genuine stories. Younger generations prefer small brands and authenticity. Digital marketing changes how the brand narratives are conveyed and provides a cost-effective vehicle to reach larger audiences. And retailers want the differentiation that draws customers in and boosts their margins. Small brands are also able to cater to niche shoppers and more nimbly react to market trends. These small apparel companies are seeing billions of dollars in funding. The giant fashion brands must adapt to this shift in philosophy and add small brands to their portfolios.

On-Demand Fashion

Data analytics and automation have created a new market for companies that focus on made-to-order manufacturing of apparel. Small-batch production cycles are a result of the need for a more rapid response to changing trends and consumer demands, as well as a reduction in overstock.

From a financial viewpoint, on-demand fashion production has both benefits and drawbacks. It requires lower capital investment. It leads to smaller inventories, which means more agility. And faster turnaround cycles can ease demand uncertainties and make production more sustainable. In contrast, production and transport costs are typically higher because of the smaller batches.

Digital Textile Printing

Conventional textile printing methods (rotary screen or flatbed) are being abandoned for newer digital printing methods, especially in European countries. Digital printing allows textile manufacturers to respond to an increasing demand for fast fashion through shorter production runs and customization.

This tech-driven printing sector is drawing the attention of private equity and strategic investors. M&A deals in this space create companies that combine specialty technical mastery with the market and monetary reach of large corporations.

M&A Motivation

There are several reasons to sell a company in this sector. It can be too expensive to keep up with new trends in such a quickly changing operating environment. It can be beneficial to sell within a segment that has high valuation levels (such as affordable luxury or athletic wear). Additionally, brick-and-mortar retailers can sell assets to focus on the development of their flagship and online stores.

There are also many reasons to buy a company in this sector, such as the integration of the supply chain from manufacturers to wholesalers. It can also drive geographical expansion or growth into a new segment, especially emerging markets with developing economies. Another tactic can be to leverage existing brand equity to profit from a known brand that the current owner cannot afford to maintain or grow. Plus, the ever-changing technology landscape means new opportunities within tech companies that serve the industry.

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Let’s talk about a plan to sell your business. Contact the experts at Benchmark International to start strategizing for a sale, growth, or your exit from the company. We are eager to get to work with you.

The furniture manufacturing industry includes the design, production, distribution and sale of household, institutional and office furniture and related products. Global furniture sales are expected to increase 5% each year through 2025. According to Dun & Bradstreet, the countries that are home to the most furniture manufacturing companies are Brazil (72,063), China (62,832, Poland (22,389), with these three accounting for more than half of the world’s furniture manufacturers (54.9%).

Mergers and acquisitions deals in the furniture manufacturing industry are driven by a variety of factors:

• Healthy economies and housing trends
• Major retailers looking to tap new markets
• Vendors seeking category and price-point expansion
• Foreign manufacturers looking to grow geographical production
• Increased investor confidence due to Millennials approaching their prime spending years
• Family-owned businesses with aging management and no succession plan

Consolidation Within the Industry

Furniture needs are evolving and the industry is seeing overlap between residential, hospitality and commercial projects, creating increased appetite for acquisitions.

Strong, existing industry players are known to utilize M&A to expand their global footprints, product lines and price-point offerings. Building out helps companies to gain market strength and enhance shareholder value.

In some regions, labor shortage issues present a challenge. Therefore, companies with trained and skilled labor are able to command a premium in a sale.

Vendors that design furniture but outsource it from overseas are seeking competitive advantages. And those overseas producers are looking to increase their global presence. Geopolitical factors have a good bit of influence on how prosperous these M&A transactions can be so they are contingent upon global economic situations and trade relationships.

Large furniture companies that have a cash surplus from operations, reduced taxes, and funds recouped from offshore business, have liquidity that drives them seek out strategic acquisitions.

The Role of Private Equity

Private equity investors look to the furniture industry to create value within vendors and retailers, as well as add-on acquisitions that create platform companies. In the case of furniture production, manufacturers have assets that can be leveraged in a purchase, especially for the upholstery sector.

Consolidation at the retail level also increases investment interest in the furniture industry. As more retail store locations close their doors, private equity investors see opportunities for new retail concepts to replace them. And when larger investors show interest, smaller investors take notice. Consolidation also creates synergies of shared office, logistics and warehousing costs, which can lead to higher profit margins.

Value Drivers for Furniture Manufacturing Companies

• Online sales: In today’s world, the majority of furniture sales now take place online. Businesses must have a compelling and secure e-commerce platform and a strong online advertising and digital marketing presence in order to remain competitive.
• Factory maintenance: The actual manufacturing conditions are a key component in valuations. This includes equipment service and maintenance, inventory, and overall environment. 
• Vendor relationships: Having a variety of healthy, trusted vendor relationships shows buyers that profits can be expected to remain steady due to changes in ownership.
• Skilled staff: The creation of high-caliber products and a company’s reputation hinge upon the craftsmanship and retention of the staff. Satisfied employees produce consistent quality, which translates into higher sales numbers.
• Safety measures: The furniture manufacturing industry is more prone to employee injuries than most because of its labor intensiveness, making on-the-job injuries a costly expense. Highly detailed and enforced safety plans can save businesses money, making prospects less risky and more appealing to investors.

Careful M&A Approach

A major challenge that furniture companies run into with M&A transactions is maintaining the day-to-day operations of the business throughout the course of a deal. A merger or acquisition can be a significant distraction that can put strain on financial departments and senior management, putting the everyday work on hold. For this reason, buyers typically look to target add-on companies. It is wise for business owners seeking M&A strategies in this industry to enlist the experience and guidance of a reputable M&A firm to facilitate a value-driven deal that allows for the sustained success of the company and takes advantage of proper market timing.

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If you are a business owner and would like to consider ways to grow or sell your company, our M&A experts at Benchmark International are waiting for your call. We can even assist you with exit planning for your retirement. We look forward to hearing from you.  

Mergers and acquisitions in global government contracting (specifically the technology, aerospace, defense, and government services industries) is a market that tends to remain stable and ripe with opportunity. This sector offers many positive qualities such as revenue transparency and predictability. Strategic buyers seek products, services, sales channels, and geographical presences that broaden capabilities and make them more competitive. Companies with advanced technologies are in an especially advantageous position for acquisition.

Yet, even in an environment that consistently sees a strong flow of defense M&A deals, there is a heightened level of risk with plenty of opportunity for errors and setbacks. The business of government contracting is highly regulated and can be extremely complex, with a great deal of challenges. It is also subject to the effects of government spending budgets—and budget cuts.

Governments enforce intricate legal and regulatory requirements. Failure to adhere to these requirements can result in government actions that include contract termination, suspension, debarment, damages and penalties. Suspension and debarment, which means that a company can no longer conduct business with the government, can be a result of unfair trade practices, fraud, commission of crimes, and even a lack of business integrity or honesty. There is also a great deal of emphasis placed on conflicts of interest.

With so many possible risks, careful planning is imperative when considering a transaction in this space. It is recommended that sellers engage M&A experts with a strong reputation, transaction experience in their sector, and strong connections within the global buyer community.

It is also recommended that sellers prepare for a sale from the perspective of the buyer.  

• Determine areas of exposure. Due diligence is always important in determining an accurate valuation of a company, and this is even more so in the case of government contractors. It demands a meticulous level of scrutiny. The company’s level of compliance can directly impact the valuation. Often, many contracting companies also run commercial businesses and have less strict compliance programs versus pure government contractors, yet carry the same risks.
• Assess risk and successor liability. Serious risk mitigation strategies are necessary when it comes to proper recordkeeping regarding compliance, including cyber-security and socio-economic topics, as well as a lack of negative factors such as prior suspensions or debarments, tax violations, investigations, and claims. Additionally, what is the exit strategy that is in place, and how can it improve the quality of buyer conversations and increase valuation?
• File regulatory notices and approvals. Be prepared for the filing of government notices, regulatory approval prerequisites, and post-M&A integration. These filings should be identified in the agreement, and the parties should preemptively agree to a process for securing government approvals.

Other important considerations regarding government contracts mergers and acquisitions that any seller should anticipate include:

• Analysis of existing and prospective government contracts held by the entity to be acquired and assignment of contracts to the buyer
• Any potential socio-economic impacts as a result of the transaction
• The transfer of facility and top-secret clearances, as well as intellectual property rights
• Assessment of conflicts of interest that could exclude the buyer from future contracts
• Whether the target company is compliant with specific government regulations
• Any existing subcontracts and teaming agreements
• Past performance of the target company and its impact on the buyer’s ability to win other government contracts

Foreign transactions may face additional challenges in completing M&A transactions in the government-contracting sector. These include more stringent due diligence processes, export law compliance, security clearances, cultural differences, and foreign investment scrutiny. This applies even further regarding higher risk regions, such as Africa.

In the case of cross-border deals, there are key concerns as to:

• Whether the seller is considered an inverted domestic corporation and no longer eligible for future government contracts
• If there should be inclusion of a board of directors as part of a mitigation plan to allow continuation of the seller’s facility clearance

Proper due diligence can identify risks in a transaction, create accurate representation and certifications, confirm that the adequate disclosures and indemnifications are obtained, and secure necessary government approvals, resulting in a successful and profitable acquisition.

Contact Us

If you are interested in making a move in this sector, please consult with our international M&A specialists, as we have the desired experience in transactions involving government contractors and companies that support them.

The inverted yield curve is a situation that occurs when the interest rates on short-term bonds are higher than the interest rates paid by long-term bonds. It basically means that there is enough concern about the near-future markets that people move their money into less risky long-term investments. Any time this scenario arises, investors get nervous because it typically warns of a recession.

Short-term vs. Long-term Bonds

In thriving economies, bondholders demand a higher yield (profit) for longer-term bonds versus short-term bonds.

• Short-term bonds mature in less than five years and carry a lower interest rate risk. These funds do not yield large returns. They give investors a safe way to earn higher yields than they would with extremely low-risk investments and do not require money to be tied up for a long period of time.
• With long-term bonds, there is a much longer maturity period and people are required to invest their money for greater lengths of time. While these types of bonds yield higher returns, there is also an increased risk that higher inflation could reduce the value of payments, and that higher interest rates could cause the bond's price to drop. A longer-term bond also carries a higher risk of default.Basically, the longer it takes to be repaid, the greater the risk that inflation will swallow your investment.
• Most investors choose to have a mix of both short- and long-term bonds.

Treasury Bonds

Government debt securities are known as Treasury bonds or T-bonds. These types of bonds are considered to be virtually risk-free. They earn fixed interest until they mature (a period of 10-30 years). Once they mature, the owner is also paid the face value of the bond. Treasury bonds make interest payments semiannually and the income earned is only taxed federally.

The Inverted Yield Curve

Treasury bonds help to form the yield curve, which includes the full range of investments offered by the United States government and diagrams yields by maturity. It usually curves upward, with longer-term bonds having a higher yield. The yield curve becomes inverted when long-term bonds are in high demand and the rates are shown to be lower than those of shorter-term bonds.Essentially, in this scenario, investors expect that they will make more money by holding onto a longer-term bond than a short-term one.

The yield curve inversion can also point toward expectations by investors that the Federal Reserve will cut short-term interest rates in an effort to boost the economy.

A Predictor of Recessions

Although it can happen months or years before a recession begins (usually an average of 18-22 months), the inversion of the yield curve has been a consistent predictor of every recession since the 1960s. For that reason, any time it happens, there is heightened anxiety and anticipation of slowed economic growth.

The last time the yield curve inverted was in 2007, prior to the financial crisis and recession of 2008, which was the worst recession since the Great Depression. The yield curve also inverted prior to the recessions of 2001, 1991, and 1981.

In this latest case, the yield curve first inverted in December of 2018, and inverted even further in March of 2019. Then, the 10-year yield hit a three-year low of 1.65% on August 12, 2019.On August 15, the yield on the 30-year bond closed below 2% for the very first time in history. Fears of the ongoing economic effects of the trade war between the United States and China are fueling the market concerns around the world. 

The science of forecasting financial futures is never a 100% certainty, and while the inverted yield curve has proven to be a reliable indicator of things to come, it does not necessarily guarantee that a recession will happen. As of August 2019, the Federal Reserve has said that there is only around a 35% chance of a recession.

What It Means for M&A

An inverted yield curve can have implications for mergers and acquisitions, especially if you are aiming to grow your company.

For example, let’s say that part of your growth strategy requires funding for building expansion or new equipment. Under an inverted yield curve, short-term interest rates become higher than long-term interest rates. Some businesses may find this to be good news because they can lock in a good rate for the long term.

It may be impossible to predict financial futures, but enlisting the help of experience M&A advisors can help you formulate growth and risk management strategies for your company that make the most of available capital for expansion and lower your risk in all yield-curve situations.

Contact Us

Are you ready to make a move? Call our M&A experts at Benchmark International to start the conversation about your growth strategies and future opportunities.

The trillion-dollar technology industry is inherently subject to massive growth, disruptive mega-trends, and voracious corporate and investor appetite. Companies such as Internet software and services, e-commerce, telecom, financial tech, cybersecurity, data analytics, social, travel tech, and auto tech are the world’s major players.

The main drivers for M&A in this sector are the creation of revenue growth, improved efficiencies, acquiring key talent, and staying ahead of competitors. It can be more efficient for a big tech firm to buy a smaller technology company in order to gain new functionality or services without creating them itself. It also serves as a pathway to ease into newer areas, as non-technology companies look to acquire technology companies to avoid disruption.

Mergers and acquisitions are commonly used as exit strategies for businesses in the technology industry. Company owners tend to prefer to cash in through M&A versus IPOs because IPOs can take longer and involve more regulatory authorities. 

The Software Sector

Enterprise software and software as a service (SaaS) companies comprise a major segment of the technology industry. IT, data and cloud-based services have permeated every field of business in the world. Traditional and legacy software providers are using M&A in order to remain relevant. Healthcare, financial, and customer relationship management services software are continually in high demand. And digital marketing deals play a key part in the software M&A landscape.

Tech Company Valuations

Technology businesses that garner the highest company valuations for M&A typically share the same set of qualities:

• Reliable growth metric performance
• Good product/market fit
• Above-average margins
• Strong and predictable cash flows
• Positive key performance indicators
• Low owner involvement
• Streamlined operations
• A formulated exit plan

Additionally, investors are usually willing to pay more for businesses that have well-built brands because they are able to focus on long-term growth strategies without worrying about being eclipsed by intense competition while changes are being made.

Due Diligence

In the technology sector, careful due diligence is especially important to coordinating a successful deal. In an industry where lifecycles can be short and technologies can change quickly, there is great risk. Understanding the future relevance of the product or service is key. If a company is profitable today, it does not mean it will be tomorrow, making growth potential a larger motivating factor for M&A than current profitability. Therefore, in addition to financial due diligence, there needs to be a high level of technical and commercial due diligence. There are intellectual property issues, and due diligence must fully assess patents, copyrights, trademarks, domain names, trade secrets, and mask works

Cross-border M&A

Technology has completely blurred global borders, which greatly increases opportunities in M&A. While acquirers can expand their worldwide reach, this can also make the processes more complicated and time consuming for several reasons.

• Countries have varying and evolving regulations regarding technology and privacy, as well as tax and labor-related factors.
• Integration becomes more complex because of cultural differences, language barriers, and variances in corporate philosophies.
• The geographical distance between the companies can also make coordination difficult when trying to communicate in opposing time zones.
• Geopolitical factors can cause uncertainty and influence the feasibility of deals.

All of these circumstances change the implications for M&A strategies and calls for heightened expertise in dealing with cross-border transactions.

Contact Us

If you are considering a merger or an acquisition, you will love the way we do things at Benchmark International. We are motivated to achieve all of your aspirations and will never present you with a deal that we think will fall even the slightest bit short of your wants and needs. Count on our industry experts to use their global connections to deliver the right options for you.

Global media and entertainment conglomerates and their subsidiaries distribute mass media to the public such as television, gaming, radio, amusement parks, Internet, and publications. It’s in the nature of these types of companies—of all sizes—to continually pursue avenues for growth.

Over the years, we have seen just how much reinvention occurs in the global media industry. Consider how drastically the landscape has changed. In 1983, the media industry was dominated by 50 major companies. By 1987, that number was down to 29. In the early 1990s, the figure reduced to 23. By the end of the 1990s, there were only ten major conglomerates. In the 21^stcentury, mega-deals starting taking place, causing the largest media groups to decrease in number but grow in size.

Key transaction areas for pursuing mergers and acquisitions in this global industry include:

• Horizontal-scale deals: Companies consolidate within their own sector to increasing earnings and improve operations.
• Cross-sector deals: Companies look outside their core sector to add products and services and integrate vertically across the supply chain.
• Cross-border deals: Companies target growth into different global markets that offer favorable long-term fundamentals.
• Portfolio optimizers: Companies use divestitures to streamline diversified asset bases and allocate capital to the most favorable opportunities.

Competition to Innovate

It is common in this sector for the attractive opportunities to draw a great deal of competition for acquisition. The landscape is rapidly and constantly evolving as new technologies emerge and key players are always seeking ways to be the one to introduce the next big thing. Streaming service and cord cutting have been the most recent significant drivers of change. Big tech firms such as Apple, Amazon and Netflix continue to ramp up the pressure on the conventional stand-alone media model, bringing content consumption to the forefront and making the need for differentiation and integration more critical to strategies for media companies.

Unique Due Diligence

In an industry where content is king, there are very specific due diligence challenges for M&A that require meticulous attention if the goals of the transaction are to be fully achieved.

• Copyright and Intellectual Property: Entertainment assets are subject to intellectual property protections that vary on regional, national and global levels, such as copyright, trademark and naming rights. Due diligence needs to dive deep into these rights, their usage and how they impact all parties involved, which can be extraordinarily complicated. The results of such a careful examination can directly affect valuation, so it must be conducted as thoroughly as possible.
• Large Volumes of Content:M&A transactions in the media and entertainment industry involve massive amounts of content that can be owned by a target company. There can be millions of individual items of content that could have been created decades ago and are now owned as a result of prior acquisitions. There should be prioritization of the most valuable content, especially if there are competing acquirers and a deal must be made quickly.
• Contractual Agreements:The production and distribution of entertainment content involves many different agreements and contractual arrangements. Careful due diligence will uncover key information regarding financial obligations, royalties, residuals and other contingent payments. How are royalty amounts determined and recouped? How do they compare with revenue and expenses in other financial documents? Does the transaction include agreements that expect the acquisition of more content in the future? Are there any unusual provisions or clauses regarding talent? These kinds of issues require solid understanding of how this industry operates.

Integration Challenges

Integration has been proven to pose a unique challenge for M&A in the media industry. One cannot simply plug and play a typical M&A process that works for other sectors. To win out, leadership needs to carefully evaluate the possibilities for value creation through integration, as well as any risks. This requires fastidious due diligence and effective communication. There must be a set of clearly defined goals. Cost and revenue synergies need to be properly valued. And retention of management is often critical to a successful integration strategy. When there is awareness of the potential integration pitfalls in media M&A deals, a plan can be formulated to help guard against them.

Contact Us

Are you planning on selling your company? Give us a call at Benchmark International to start the process. Our M&A experts can provide you with a comprehensive market analysis for your specific industry and arm you with exclusive information that will help you get your maximum value for your business.

The year was 1999. The world was transforming thanks to new technologies, and society was bracing for what Y2K and the millennium bug might bring. The popularity of the Internet was skyrocketing, and home computers were becoming a necessity rather than a luxury. Napster, Blackberry, Tivo, and Bluetooth were introduced. The "Melissa" E-mail Virus infected millions of computers and caused more than $80 million in damage globally. The Euro currency was established in 11 countries. The cost of a gallon of gas was $1.22. Bill Gates became the wealthiest man on earth, and Jeff Bezos was named Time Person of the Year. But what about the world of mergers and acquisitions twenty years ago?

1999 M&A in Review

The year 1999 was known as the year of the hostile deal. Strategic refocusing of companies was at an all-time high. Companies were motivated to act quickly to fend off larger rivals. The philosophy was that the bigger a company became, the more dominant it would be in the market.

• Total worldwide mergers and acquisitions grew from $286.9 billion in 1991 to $3.2 trillion in 1999, with a total of 24,436 transactions that year.
• Also in 1999, worldwide hostile deals reached more than $473 billion in dollar volume representing more than 14% of all announced worldwide deal value.
• There were 9,192 M&A transactions valued at $1.4 trillion in the U.S alone, including 15 hostile deals valued at $112.7 billion.
• Deals valued at over a billion dollars increased from 13 in 1991 to 194 in 1999.
• There were 47 transactions valued at more than $10 billion worldwide in 1999.

Making M&A History

Several of the biggest M&A deals in history took place in the years 1999 and 2000.

• Vodafone AirTouch of Britain negotiated the hostile $183 billion merger of Mannesmann of Germany. This all-stock transaction set a record for a corporate takeover.
• Also in 1999, Exxon and Mobil merged to become an energy industry superpower.
• In January of 2000, America Online's announced the $165 billion purchase of Time Warner.
• The same year, Pfizer acquired Warner-Lambert for $90 million, creating the second-largest drug company in the world.

These four deals are among the world's largest mergers of all time. 

Tech & Communications Revolution

The years of the mid to late 1990s were an economic game-changer. The tech and communications revolution certainly had a major impact on M&A activity. It stimulated the globalization of markets by improving cross-border communications and transactions, and it enhanced capabilities in modeling cash flows and structuring transaction scenarios. It also resulted in a boom in new business launches and the reimagining of established businesses.

1999 was the height of the Information Age, and the dot-com tech bubble was fatter than ever. Markets were booming. Dot-com startups were going public. Online shopping was becoming an actual thing. People were quitting their jobs to engage in full-time day trading and personal investing. We saw the rising popularity of online companies such as eBay, Amazon, Yahoo!, AOL, Match.com, and WebMD.

Of course, the bubble burst, leading to the early 2000s recession. Many online companies went under, and other major corporations lost a large portion of their market cap. Pets.com lost a whopping $1.75 trillion in value only nine months after its IPO.

Unfortunately, the dot-com crash also led to the telecoms market crash of 2001. Telecom providers over-invested in their networks, and mobile phone companies overspent on 3G licenses. The high levels of infrastructure investments were out of proportion to cash flow, and increased competition led many telecoms providers to slash prices for services, especially in the European market. Within one year, 100,000 jobs were lost in telecoms support and development across Europe.

Now vs. Then

The recession in the early 2000s cooled M&A activity for obvious reasons. The good news is that 2019 has actually been the most dynamic year for M&A activity since the year 2000, driven by a surge in North American deals. CEO confidence is on the rise, and investors are showing a willingness to take risks.

Renewable energy transactions are on the rise as the demand for clean, sustainable energy grows around the world. Europe in particular has seen a surge in investments into wind power as big oil and gas companies try to shift to renewables. And there is significant competition in North America for high-priority assets. Both offshore and onshore wind investments are relatively safe as far as mergers and acquisitions because demand continues to rise in emerging markets as the worldwide weaning off of fossil fuels is certainly not going to happen overnight.

The wind energy industry is still relatively young to the world. There remains plenty of opportunity for technological and design advancements, as well as how they relate to financial possibilities. 

Offshore wind in particular has inherent benefits. Because it is located out at sea, the visual impacts are minimized. Also, wind tends to be stronger and more consistent at sea then it is on land. It is highly sustainable and highly predictable. Floating turbine foundations for deep-water locations are emerging and have already been successfully implemented in countries such as Norway, Japan and Portugal. 

Wind and Large-Scale M&A

Wind power transactions dominate large-scale renewable mergers and acquisitions because of the sector’s economy of scale. The larger a windmill is, the more efficient it is. So, one big windmill is more efficient than two smaller windmills. This translates into large construction projects—an attribute that the industry likes to see. Large corporations with bold goals for renewable energy are buying an abundance of wind power.

Innovations in wind energy make it more affordable, setting the stage for demand and growth, especially for large corporations that need a great deal of power and are looking to save money. (Think about Amazon’s huge wind farm in Texas that has 100 turbines and can power 90,000 U.S. homes). This corporate need calls for large projects and contributes to why wind power dominates large-scale M&A.

The Role of Tax Equity Investments

The wind energy industry is also subject to tax equity investing—a very important part of financing in the sector and popular in the United States. Tax equity deals for renewable energy projects are common with private energy developers seeking to extend capital, and financial institutions wanting credits to ease their tax liability.This can make the environment more competitive.

How it works:

• A tax equity investor and a developer create a holding company that owns the project's assets. The financial institution provides capital and in return gets tax benefits and cash distributions within the first 10 years of the project’s operation.
• This allows the investor to recoup and earn on their investment.
• Once the investment is recovered and tax credits captured, the ownership structure is reversed.
• The developer is now the majority owner and can have the right to buy out the investor's remaining stake.
• Therefore, the developer built a wind project for a small part of the installed cost in exchange for relinquishing the tax credits and cash distributions to the investor.

Clean Energy M&A Expertise

Any energy M&A transaction requires a specialized level of expertise in order to avoid pitfalls that can blow a deal. Finding the right company broker is advised.

• Knowledge of the industry and the nature of the markets are key
• The ability to identify areas of risk is imperative with painstaking due diligence
• Complex regulatory issues must be firmly understood. Laws and regulations in the energy industry go beyond the energy regulatory governance to include environmental, health, safety, tax, employee benefits and property issues
• Cross-border transactions require global and local understanding of the market and the regulatory differences and how it plays into the company valuation

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Ready to make a move? Schedule a consultation with one of our M&A geniuses to see how we can help you sell a company, buy a company, create growth, or conduct exit planning.

You’ve decided to sell your business. Congratulations! Whether you are retiring, looking to embark on a new business adventure, or wanting to hand off the reins and take a different role in the company, the process of selling a business can be a trying one without the correct preparation and support. Fortunately for you, you can learn from other entrepreneurs who have been in your shoes and have shared the five things that they wish they had known before selling their business.

1) Neglecting to perform pre-transaction wealth planning can result in you potentially leaving a lot of money on the table. Before you sell, consider your family members’ wishes and concerns. Communicating with family members before the sale can help ensure smooth sailing through the deal negotiations. Effective tax-planning to support family members’ needs, philanthropic plans, or creating family trusts can help increase the value gained from the transaction.

2) Don’t underestimate the importance of a good cultural fit with a buyer. While the price is always at the forefront of a sellers’ mind, cultural fit can mistakenly be pushed to the back burner. One of the many things that you have worked hard to create in your business is the employee culture. Most likely, you want to see the close-knit “family” that you have built continue when you are no longer working there. Benchmark International understands that and will help you find that partner. We remain committed along with you to your goal of finding a buyer who will carry on your legacy.

3) Skimping on your marketing materials does not pay off in the long run. With confidentiality being of the utmost importance, how can you engage buyers without them knowing who you are? Preparing a high-quality, 1-2 page teaser that provides an anonymous profile of your business is the tool used to locate a buyer confidentially. This is followed by the Information Memorandum, with an NDA that is put in place for your protection. Benchmark International will prepare these high-quality documents and put your mind at ease.

4) Sellers wish they had known how detail-oriented the process would be, how many documents would be needed, and how labor-intensive each phase would be. One of the most crucial pieces of advice that the majority of sellers wish they had known is that you need to have a team. Sellers need to continue running their business as they were before, or operations can really start to slow. The last thing you want is for the value of your company to take a nosedive because you are investing all of your time into a transaction. With the team at Benchmark International as your partner dedicated to the M&A process, you will be free to continue to focus on the growth and operations of your business. We will handle the details for you.

5) Finding a like-minded partner can give a seller a false sense of security that the transition from two companies to one will be easy. You need a trusted advisor that will help you navigate the complexities of integration, giving you insight on some of the other intangibles that need to be negotiated. Those intangibles include the details of your role after the sale, employment contracts, earnouts, etc. With Benchmark International’s vast knowledge and experience in M&A deals, we know what is usual and customary to request throughout the negotiation process and will bring more value to your transaction.

Congratulations again, this is an exciting time for you! With the right partner, it can be a smooth and profitable process as well. Benchmark International has a team of specialists that arrange these types of deals every day. We can answer your questions and help you determine what is best for you, your business, and your exit plan. A simple phone call or email to us can start the process today and move you one step closer to accomplishing your goals.

Author
Amy Alonso 
Associate
Benchmark International

T: +1 615 924 8522
E: alonso@benchmarkcorporate.com

The Current Market

The lower-middle market has remained positive for sellers in 2019, thanks to an abundance of buyers that are giving sellers the leverage to demand favorable terms. Most business sectors are seeing strong profits, and the bullish optimism of large-cap investors has spilled over into lower and middle markets. This has resulted in heightened interest and aggressive valuation and buying from private equity firms.

There are several patterns have carried over into 2019 from a very active year in 2018.

• M&A activity has been especially strong in the healthcare and technology industries.

• Acquisitions remain a popular strategy for companies needing talent to keep up with growth.

• Buy-and-build strategies are proven to be working.

• Emerging markets are being attractively valued, especially in the Asia Pacific region.

• Competition for high-quality targets is intense, particularly for businesses that are owned by the rapidly growing retiring population.

• Small business confidence is strong, resulting in increased investment by owners.

What Lies Ahead

The world faces potential changes in the political landscape as the United States 2020 presidential election nears, Britain is under new leadership through the Brexit transition, and the global economy navigates significant political unknowns in the wake of trade deals and tariffs. However, the United States election takes place near the end of 2020, which could possibly stave off any significant effects on the economy until the year 2021.

While no one can ever be certain what the future holds, we still see the benefits of a strong year midway through 2019, yet the lower-middle market has the potential to become more complicated in 2020. The current bullish market is strong but is expected to lose momentum based on the average amount of time that historical highs have been proven that they can be sustained. Many experts warn of a downturn in the economy next year, predicting that a recession is looming. In contrast, some experts expect M&A activity to remain robust regardless of the economy.

Obviously, uncertainty in the marketplace can impede M&A activity. But a recession does not necessarily mean that selling will be impossible. The variables that drive lower-middle market M&A include:

• Lending capacity: The less money a buyer can borrow, the less money they may want to spend.

• Cost of capital: The cheaper a buyer can borrow, the more money they may want to spend.

• Buyer access to equity capital: Strong profits and surplus cash motivate activity.

• Supply and demand for deals: Aging populations entering retirement and business succession plans, strategic buyers focusing on growth, etc.

In the lower-middle market, buyers and lenders both tend to stay much more disciplined regarding their willingness to lend, cost at which they lend, and returns they target. Buyers will be seeking targets with stability, limited cyclical exposure, a business model with recurring revenue, and a history of performing well through a recession.

Should You Sell Now?

The good news is that there is still time before a possible slump in activity and optimism. If you are looking to sell your business, you may have another 12 to 18 months to benefit from the premiums today’s sellers are getting. Keep in mind; it does not mean that after this time is over, you will not be able to sell. Companies are always looking to grow through acquisitions, and the market is always changing. You do not need to feel completely discouraged by any economic slowdown.

Consider how long you are willing to wait to sell your business if the market were to drop. If you do not plan to sell within around five years or more, you can wait patiently for the next market rebound. But if you are determined to sell in the next couple of years, it may be wise to get serious about your exit strategy while conditions are still favorable. Think about what is right for you, your business, and your family when deciding when to make a move.

Contact Us

Our business acquisition experts at Benchmark International can offer exit planning advice and help you plan a solid transition for your company. We will use all the tools at our disposal to get you the maximum selling price while preserving your vision for the future. We can also help if you are looking to buy a business. Contact us today.

15. Decide the Company's Future

Before planning your exit strategy, you must decide the future course for your business. Do you plan to sell outright? Would you prefer that the company stay within family ownership? Do you want to retain a percentage stake in the company? Is there an employee that you would want to take over? Could a merger or an acquisition be the best move? This is a key decision to consider before embarking on your exit plan.

14. Set a Date

It's never too early to think about when you plan to retire. This need not be an exact date on the calendar, but you should establish a ballpark timeframe that you would like to put the wheels in motion for your exit. Having an idea of the timing will help you get the process started at the right time, whether it's two years from now or 20 years down the road, especially because most transactions take time.

13. Plan for Continuity

If your business will be changing hands when you retire, you should have a solid plan in place for maintaining the continuity of the company's operation. Both employees and customers alike will need to feel that the future is secure, and you should be able to reassure them through a clear strategy for the transition.

12. Use Diversity to Minimize Risk

The more diversity you have in your client and supplier bases, the more attractive and less precarious your business will be to potential buyers. They are going to need to have confidence that the business can grow, rather than falling apart if the sale results in the loss of one or two key clients.

11. Think Big Picture

It is not uncommon for a business owner to get wrapped up in the day-to-day details of running the company to the point where they lose sight of the bigger picture. It is a good idea to take a step back and consider where you want your business to be in the future, how you plan to get it there, and when your exit fits into that plan.

10. Create Your Dream Team

Having a strong management team in place is crucial to any successful exit strategy. Whoever is taking the reins is going to be a significant factor whether you are selling the business to an outside party or bequeathing it to family or an employee. It will also help you rest easier about leaving the company in someone else's hands.

9. Get Your Financials in Order

Before you can broker a sale or transfer ownership or control, you will need to organize financial statements, valuation data, and other important documents about the business. If you are planning to sell, buyers will expect to see thorough documentation about the business operations, profits, losses, projections, liabilities, contracts, real estate agreements (pretty much anything and everything regarding the company).

8. Know Your Target

If you plan to sell your company, you are obviously going to want a buyer who has the financial capacity to take on your business. But money is not the only thing that you should be seeking. You want a buyer who shares your values and your vision for the company. They also should possess the right skill set to maintain the company's success and even grow that success. You should not waste your time with a prospective buyer that doesn't have the chops to take the business in the right direction.

7. Always Listen

Even if you feel it is too soon to sell and someone is reaching out to you, it is always wise to hear him or her out. It could result in a meaningful relationship that can be beneficial in the future. They could also reveal some things about your company that you have not yet considered, sparking new ideas and opportunities in the realm of business acquisitions.

6. Devise Practical Earn-outs

If you plan on getting additional payment as part of the sale of your business based on the achievement of certain performance metrics, be realistic about setting these goals. Falling short of these targets can result in less money for you and enhanced leverage for the buyer.

5. Get Your Tech in Order

Today nearly everything is powered by technology. You use it to help you get organized, but you also run the risk of letting things fall through the cracks. Think about all the logins and passwords that give you access to things that run the business. Establish a plan to streamline your tech while keeping it secure for a transition in management. There are enterprise cyber-security management solutions that can assist with these matters.

4. Know Your Number

Have you asked yourself, "What is my business worth?" When you understand the precise valuation of your business, you will be able to ascertain the difference between a fair sale and a bad deal, and get the money you deserve. This includes a company analysis married with a market analysis. You should enlist the help of an M&A expert to determine the valuation of your business accurately. It is worth it to ensure that you get your maximum value.

3. Put it on Paper

Having the proper paperwork drawn up for legal purposes is important in the event that something were to happen to you so that you can convey your plans and wishes for the business. The task of creating this safety net will also help you plan more clearly for the future. Sometimes there are details you may overlook until you go to put it all on paper. You should outline your plan and make sure any necessary signatures are on file.

2. Assess the Market

Markets fluctuate and can change at any given time. But if you carefully evaluate your industry's outlook and growth projections, you can time your exit strategy for when you can get the most value for your company. If the outlook is not trending toward optimism, you can take the time to consider how you can bolster the value of your business and make it more desirable in the future.

1. Partner With an Advisor

Valuating and selling a company is not easy. Neither is planning an exit strategy. Seeking the help of experts such as an M&A advisory firm can take an enormous weight off of your shoulders. It can also ensure that the exit process goes smoothly, stays on track, and achieves your specific objectives for both you and the company.

Benchmark International can help you establish your exit strategy and broker the sale of your company so that you get every last penny that you are worth. Call us to get the process started. Even if you are not 100% sure that you are ready to plan your exit, we can help you devise strategies to grow your business in the meantime.

The global oil and gas industry is expected to remain relatively stable in 2019, even amid oversupply risks and volatile pricing, as oil demand continues to increase. Oil usage is expected to grow by more than 3.5 million barrels per day.

 Key Industry Trends for 2019

• Natural gas remains a major player as a generator of lower-carbon power, especially in North America. Over the next decade, it is expected to surpass coal to become the second-largest source of fuel worldwide.
• China and India are leading the way in overall energy demand growth. India is projected to have the largest additional oil demand and fastest growth through 2040.
• U.S. sanctions on top exporters such as Iran and Venezuela continue to affect the global oil industry, as a retraction in the oil supply leads to inflated global oil prices.
• Improvements in infrastructure are becoming more critical because production and the physical ability to move products directly impacts pricing.
• The oil and gas pipeline market is predicted to grow at more than 6% by 2024.
• Sustainability is becoming a more central issue as renewable energy draws more investment from oil companies, and both consumers and companies wish to mitigate methane emissions.
• The industry is focusing on how digital technologies can improve capital productivity. Robotics, artificial intelligence, blockchain, and data analytics are being implemented to enhance efficiency and production.
• The oilfield services sector will see a 10 to 15 percent increase in earnings, with a positive outlook for offshore oilfield services. There are more than 100 new projects planned for 2019 approvals and $210 billion earmarked for offshore oilfield services worldwide.
• After years of limitations, deepwater exploration and production activity is likely to resurge this year with a spike in investments in deepwater projects.

Increased Drilling Activity

2019 is experiencing increased activity in global oil and gas drilling, led by the United States due to shale production. Outside the United States, global drilling activity is expected to rise by 2.5 percent. Across the world’s eight major oil and gas producing regions, each is predicted to see a higher number of wells drilled.

2019 Forecasted Percentage Increase in Drilling Activity by Region

Africa: 8.7 percent

Saudi Arabia: 5.4 percent

North America: 5.1 percent

Western Europe: 3.9 percent

South Pacific: 3 percent

United Arab Emirates: 2.5 percent

Far East/South Asia: 2.6 percent

South America: 1.7 percent

Eastern Europe/Former Soviet Union: 1.4 percent

Iraq: 1 percent

The most growth in the overall global drilling market will be in offshore oil and gas drilling, with expected growth at around 6 percent. The most active offshore drilling regions are Brazil, Canada, Norway, Angola, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi, China, and India.

Rystad Energy has reported that global deepwater liquid production is set to reach a record high of 10.3 million barrels per day in 2019. This is a result of new fields in Brazil and the Gulf of Mexico. Other leading deepwater producers include Angola, Norway, and Nigeria.

Ready to Move Forward?

Contact us at Benchmark International if you are interested in exploring your options and embarking on the next chapter of your business.  

What Is Buy and Build?

When private equity acquires a well-positioned platform company to acquire additional smaller companies, using the developed expertise in a specialized area to grow and increase returns, it is considered a buy-and-build strategy. This strategy is common with private equity firms with shorter holding periods of about three to five years.

Why It Is An Effective Growth Strategy

If a buy-and-build strategy is executed correctly, a great deal of value can be created when smaller companies are combined under the control of a new company.

• This type of acquisition saves time regarding the development of specialized skills or knowledge, allowing for growth and expansion to other markets more quickly and successfully with lower production costs.
• Creating a larger, more attractive company offers a path to exploit the market’s inclination to assign larger companies higher valuations than smaller ones.
• It provides a clear plan when deal multiples are at record levels and there is a need for less traditional strategies.
• Buy-and-build deals generate an average internal rate of return of 31.6% from entry to exit, versus 23.1% for standalone deals.

Getting It Right

The buy-and-build acquisition is not simple to execute. The process demands meticulous planning and due diligence for the strategy to work. The best deals usually employ multiple paths to create value.

• Synergy between the acquirer and the acquired is important to the outcome of the deal. Companies should target existing firms that will be a good fit as a team both tactically and culturally. The human element should always be considered.
• The management team must be an appropriate fit and have experience with these types of transitions.
• There should be a vision in place for where the company will be five years down the road.
• The platform company must be stable enough to endure the process regarding operations, cash flow, and infrastructure (IT integration in particular).
• Sector dynamics should also be considered. Avoid sectors that are dominated by low-cost rivals or mature, stable players. Focus on sectors with many active smaller suppliers and service providers. Consolidation should result in cost savings and improved service.
• While no two deals are the same, there are patterns for getting it right. Those experienced with buy-and-build strategies are more likely to lead to a successful deal.
• It can be difficult to identify private equity firms because of the nature of the way they do business. It helps to have an experienced M&A firm with extensive connections and a proven track record of negotiating successfully with buy-and-build-focused private equity firms.

These reasons are among several as to why it is a sensible decision to enlist the help of an experienced M&A firm such as Benchmark International for your vision for growth. Count on us to help you get your buy-and-build strategy done right.

1. Globalization Isn't Declining—It's Transforming
Arindam Bhattacharya

https://www.ted.com/talks/arindam_bhattacharya_globalization_isn_t_declining_it_s_transforming

Mr. Bhattacharya is a Boston Consulting Group Fellow, Senior Partner in their New Delhi office, and worldwide co-leader of the BCG Henderson Institute in Asia. Hear his interesting argument as to why globalization is not going extinct but instead is evolving due to cross-border data flow.

2. How to Build a Company Where the Best Ideas Win
Ray Dalio

https://www.ted.com/talks/ray_dalio_how_to_build_a_company_where_the_best_ideas_win

Mr. Dalio is the founder, chair, and chief investment officer of Bridgewater Associates, the largest hedge fund in the world. Learn how his strategies helped him create such a successful hedge fund and how you can use data-driven group decision making to your advantage.

3. Why the Secret to Success is Setting the Right Goals
John Doerr

https://www.ted.com/talks/john_doerr_why_the_secret_to_success_is_setting_the_right_goals

In this talk, engineer and venture capitalist Mr. John Doerr discusses the established goal-setting system "Objectives and Key Results," or "OKR," which is currently being used by companies such as Google and Intel.

4. The Global Business Next Door
Scott Szwast

https://www.ted.com/talks/scott_szwast_the_global_business_next_door

Mr. Szwast is the marketing director for UPS, and he has spent 25 years supporting the international transportation industry. In this talk, he explains how the image of global business is misunderstood and why businesses should stop hesitating to consider crossing borders.

5. How to Break Bad Management Habits Before They Reach the Next Generation of Leaders
Elizabeth Lyle

https://www.ted.com/talks/elizabeth_lyle_how_to_break_bad_management_habits_before_they_reach_the_next_generation_of_leaders

Tune in as esteemed leadership development expert Elizabeth Lyle offers a new approach to cultivating middle management in fresh, creative ways.

6. Business Model Innovation: Beating Yourself at Your Own Game
Stefan Gross-Selbeck

https://www.ted.com/talks/stefan_gross_selbeck_business_model_innovation_beating_yourself_at_your_own_game

Mr. Gross-Selbeck is Partner at BCG Digital Ventures, and he has 20 years of experience as an operator and a consultant in the digital industry. In this talk, he discusses the unique aspects of today's most successful start-ups. Also, he shares strategies for duplicating their philosophies of disruption and innovation that can be applied for any business.

7. How the Blockchain is Changing Money and Business
Don Tapscott

https://www.ted.com/talks/don_tapscott_how_the_blockchain_is_changing_money_and_business

Mr. Tapscott is the executive chairman of the Blockchain Research Institute. In this talk, he explains Blockchain technology and why it is crucial that we understand its potential to redefine business and society completely.

8. What it Takes to Be a Great Leader
Rosalinde Torres

https://www.ted.com/talks/roselinde_torres_what_it_takes_to_be_a_great_leader?referrer=playlist-talks_for_when_you_want_to_sta

In this talk, leadership expert Rosalinde Torres describes simple strategies to becoming a great leader, based on her 25 years of experience closely studying the behavior and habits of proven leaders.

9. How Conscious Investors Can Turn Up the Heat and Make Companies Change
Vinay Shandal

https://www.ted.com/talks/vinay_shandal_how_conscious_investors_can_turn_up_the_heat_and_make_companies_change

Mr. Shandal is a partner in the Boston Consulting Group's Toronto office, leading their principal investors and private equity practice. Hear his chronicles of top activist investors and how you can persuade companies to drive positive change.

Selling a company is a momentous life event for any business owner. You have worked hard to build it and want to achieve the highest acquisition value possible when you are ready to sell. To do this, you should be fully prepared for any prospective buyer to conduct rigorous due diligence, which means you should be prepared to do your own.

What is due diligence? A comprehensive appraisal of your business to establish its assets and liabilities and evaluate its commercial potential. 

If you carry out thorough due diligence before putting your company on the market, it will be primed and ready for the buyer to conduct their due diligence process. By being sufficiently prepared, your business is going to appear more attractive to buyers.

Planning Ahead is Crucial

First things first: plan ahead and plan early. Give yourself enough time to optimize the company’s value before putting it on the market. A carefully planned sales strategy is sure to garner better value than what appears to be a hasty fire sale. It is best to wait to sell until you have done everything that you can to maximize your company valuation. When you take the time to position your business attractively for the marketplace, it reduces the odds of a negative outcome.

Start by identifying the key value drivers for your business and how they can be improved. This will help you find obstacles to a sale before a buyer does, and give you time to address any issues. These drivers include:
• Skilled, motivated workforce
• Talented management team
• Strong financials and profitability
• Access to capital
• Loyal and growing customer base
• Economy of scale
• Favorable market share
• Strong products/services and mix of offerings
• Solid vendor relationships and supplier options
• Sound marketing strategy
• Product differentiation and innovation
• Up-to-date technology and workflow systems
• Strong company culture
• Research and development
• Protected intellectual property
• Long-term vision

It is common for buyers to be especially concerned with company culture and existing customer relationships. Make sure your employees and your customers know what to expect and share your vision. If there is misalignment in these areas, it can unfavorably impact the post-sale performance of the company.

Why Documentation Matters

Having all your documentation in order, ensuring its accuracy, and putting it all on the table is going to make you a more trusted seller and increase the value of the business. It will also help you avoid constant back-and-forth requests from a buyer, which can be a distraction for you while you’re trying to run a business.

Creating a secure and efficient virtual data room (VDR) for storage and review of documents offers major advantages. A VDR is a secure online document repository that enables efficient collaboration between parties in any location so they may share information at any time during the pre-deal phase. A VDR also makes it easier to compile and verify every document internally and avoid duplicating efforts. Plus, it offers exceptional security to safeguard against confidential information ending up in the wrong hands. Once you have your VDR completed and vetted internally, you can open the files up to outside partners. Overall, the VDR is your secret weapon in making sure all of your documentation is centralized and that you are presenting your company in the very best light.

You can learn more about the documentation you will need to compile here.

Timing is Everything

You want to sell at the right time based on the market, which is always changing. Being adequately prepared to sell means being ready to act when the time is right. And selling at the right time means getting more value for your business.

Something else you must consider is if you are truly ready to sell. This is not the time to be emotional. Once you’ve initiated the sales process, the last thing you want to do is change your mind when buyers are already involved in the conversation. This will give you a reputation of being disingenuous and not being a serious seller, scaring off potential buyers in the future and devaluing your company.

Professional Help is Key

If it sounds like preparing for the sale of your company is an exhaustive undertaking, that’s because it is. But you do not have to do it alone. If you enlist the expertise of a reputable mergers and acquisitions firm, they can lead the way and help you get the most value for your company. A good M&A Advisor will know better than anyone how to steer you through the due diligence process.

They will also know when the market is in the right place for a sale, and give you access to quality buyers that you can trust. It is also important to note that buyers are going to take you much more seriously when you have partnered with a highly regarded M&A firm.

At Benchmark International, we’re here for you. Our experts are ready to partner with you to exceed your expectations and make great things happen.

PitchBook Data| @PitchBook

PitchBook is a financial data, research, and technology provider that covers global venture capital, private equity, and M&A transactions. Here you will find comprehensive news and analysis, as well as deep-dive info on individual business sectors.

Mergers&Acquisitions| @TheMiddleMarket ‏

See what is happening in private equity and get a healthy dose of all things related to M&A, including in-depth analysis, articles, and commentary in the middle market from an array of sources.

Benchmark International | @benchmarkgroup

As one of the most powerful M&A firms in the world, this list would not be complete without including our very own Benchmark International Twitter account. Get the latest news and industry insights, and see how our Benchmark team stays dynamic on the world stage.

The M&A Advisor| @themaadvisor

The M&A Advisor is the premier network of M&A, turnaround, and finance professionals. Read great industry articles, and get access to information regarding conferences, awards, and meetings.

The Deal| @TheDealNewsroom

The Deal has served investors, advisors, and dealmakers with high-level analysis of “the deal economy.” Their Twitter account is an excellent extension of a news source that started as a print newspaper in the 1990s and has grown into a sophisticated M&A information tool.

WSJ Private Equity| @WSJPE

The official Twitter account for the Wall Street Journal PRO's is where you will hear from their global team of editors and reporters covering all topics related to private equity worldwide.

Flipidea| @Flipidea_AI

Flipidea uses machine learning to discover insights from failed businesses and predict failure from startups. While the account does not have many followers, the account’s timeline of tweets reveals an interesting compilation of information that can be of value to entrepreneurs, including an array of interesting retweets. 

Buyouts| @Buyouts

Buyouts Insider offers industry intelligence and is a handy source of news, data, and analysis of trends in the leveraged buyout and private equity industries.

Mergermarket| @Mergermarket

Mergermarket provides M&A intelligence, data, and research designed to give subscribers an edge. It is a robust Twitter account for anyone interested in M&A, and can sometimes be a source for finding out about unannounced deals.

M&A Critique| @mnacritique

The social media arm of this India-based magazine gives insight regarding deals related to M&A, restructuring, insolvency, takeovers, and joint ventures.

Smart Business | @Smart_Business

The Twitter account of Smart Business Magazine offers a U.S.-based perspective on business insights, advice, and strategies for growth. Here you will also find individual profiles on dealmakers and interesting viewpoints from American business leaders.

M&A Navigator| @manavigator

M&A Navigator is a great tool, especially if you prefer simplified access to your headlines. There are no flashy graphics or photos, just the headlines on what is happening in the world of M&A.

Buyers tend to assuage their discomfort with deal structure.  When negotiating with buyers, it is prudent for the seller, guided by a seasoned M&A Advisor, to consider what the underlying issue is, discomfort, instead of addressing the result of that discomfort, a specific deal structure. Huh, you say? Let me dive a bit deeper.

Buyers of businesses use deal structural devices to cure many issues or concerns. Let's take a second to illustrate the most typical elements of a structured deal. While the following encompasses the most common deal structures, it is, by no means comprehensive.

Cash at the closing table is obvious and needs no further illustration. A seller note or seller financing is also fairly simple. The seller essentially serves as a lender to the buyer. The attorneys draft a promissory note, perhaps a stock pledge agreement and incorporate them and potentially other documents in the definitive agreements. The buyer pays off the principal of the note and interest over the course of a few years.  Seller notes don't tend to be contingent upon anything other than the solvency of the entity backing the note. They are deferred. Rollover equity, often known as Seller Rollover, Rollover or simply Roll, occurs when the seller maintains a position in either the existing business or Newco. In some circumstances, a seller may sell 80% of the shares in his or her company while in another, that seller may sell 100% of the shares in her business and simultaneously reinvest what amounts to 20% of the proceeds in Newco. This is generally a cashless exercise. It is critical for the seller to engage seasoned advisors to assist in structuring the rollover in the most tax-efficient manner. The final typical structural element of a deal is an Earnout. Where the seller note isn't contingent upon performance, an earnout is. Earnouts pay out a prescribed dollar amount over time as certain agreed upon and defined metrics are achieved. While these tend to be quantitative metrics like EBITDA and Revenue, they can also be tied to qualitative measures like maintaining key customers or employees or integrating technology. In addition, earnouts can be tied to maintenance or growth.   

As I hinted at earlier, buyers use these structures to cure their apprehension. What is behind that discomfort or apprehension? Many things but at the heart of most of those is the oft-cited, yet misunderstood concept, risk. Risk, in a business context, is the chance for an unanticipated outcome. Risk can be specific to a business, to an industry, to geography or more global. Risk isn't inherently bad, thus the risk/reward model, but it needs to be accounted for in decision making. Buyers, in their initial diligence, aim to understand the underlying risks and determine their tolerance for said risks. When structuring an offer, they seek to allocate and incorporate those risks.   

Some buyers seek out businesses that are very easy for them to understand, have very predictable financial performance and robust operational teams.  Those types of businesses, if proper controls are also present, will garner simple offers with a high percentage of the deal in the form of cash. This is a low-risk deal. A business with more volatile performance introduces incremental risk. A buyer may still be interested in the business but may shift cash at close to an earnout. If the business is growing rapidly, but that growth hasn't been consolidated in the buyer's eyes, that earnout may be linked to the growth of earnings or revenue. Perhaps the buyer will apply a three-year average to EBITDA to incorporate the volatility into the valuation.  If the seller wants to be paid on the recent growth, a buyer may use an earnout to bridge the valuation gap. A buyer willing to pay 5x EBITDA in an all-cash deal may pay 8x or more if allowed to incorporate structure, thereby mitigating their risk.

If the seller is adamant that he or she won't accept an earnout, it behooves an M&A advisor to dig deeper into where the actual buyer's discomfort lies.  Rather than fighting the earnout, might it be a better strategy to uncover the underlying issue and solving that? The earnout is the solution, not the problem. Why might a buyer incorporate an earnout? There are several possible reasons; 1. Earns reduce the cash required to close the deal.  2. They create alignment between buyer and seller post-close, thereby ensuring the seller continues to act like an owner even when he longer is an owner. 3. They confirm their diligence. Can these concerns be addressed in other ways? Of course, they can. If the earnout is moved to a seller note, no additional cash at close is required of the buyer to fund the deal. Both two and three can be addressed through a seller roll. If the buyer wants to ensure the seller acts like an owner, make him an owner. Rollover allocates some of the risks to the seller in both an earnout and rollover equity. Perhaps an employment contract signed by key employees would provide the buyer some comfort? Many deals incorporate an options pool, Management Incentive Program (MIP) or Profits Interest as additional ways to create alignment post-close. 

The central idea is this. Rather than focusing all of your attention on the proposed structure of a deal, attempt to think through the concerns the buyer is trying to sooth with that deal structure. Solving for the actual underlying problem rather than the buyer's proposed solution may lead to better outcomes for both parties.

Retirement is a significant decision that you have waited your entire life to make. Most people retire between the ages of 60 and 70, but everybody faces a different set of circumstances that dictate when they can retire. So how do you know if you are ready?

The most important factor in retirement is whether your financial situation will allow you to do so with security and peace of mind.

• Do you have enough money saved? You want to live comfortably and maintain the standard of living to which you are accustomed. The last thing you want to do is retire and then realize you don’t have the means to live the way you are used to and end up having to downsize your dreams.

• Are the markets in the right place so that you maximize your investment returns? Maybe your portfolio took a little bit of hit recently. Giving it a little time to recover can be a wise strategy. Consider where the markets are and where they are forecasted to be in the upcoming months. If you time it right, you can make the most of your decision.

• Are you debt free? It may not be the smartest move to retire if you still carry debt you must pay, especially if it is significant. Retiring when you are debt free means retiring when you are worry free.

• Do you need a plan to cut down on potential expenses? If you have a strong desire to retire but feel that you are not as financially confident as you would like to be, you can devise a plan to reduce your monthly expenses and ease some of the burdens.

Of course, there is more to the decision than just financial factors. You must consider whether you are mentally and emotionally prepared for retirement.

• Are you no longer interested in pursuing career opportunities? If you are still hungry to attain work-related goals or you feel that you haven’t achieved everything you set out to achieve, then maybe retirement is not for you just yet. You do not want to retire and then feel that you are missing out or that you didn’t reach your full potential.

• Do you find yourself thinking about recreational and social activities more than you are thinking about work? If you find yourself standing on the golf course, wishing you could spend more time there, then it may be a good time to consider retirement. Sometimes getting out before you are completely checked out is in the best interest of you and your business.

• Do you have a plan for how you want to spend your time? It is not unheard of for people to retire only to become overwhelmed with boredom and a lack of purpose. Having a plan in place can help you stay busy and feel that you are achieving a new set of goals in life.

• If you are retiring with your spouse, are you equally ready and on the same page when it comes to how you will spend your time? If you are in this together, make sure your plan is truly in sync. If one of you wants to travel the globe and the other one just wants to spend time with the grandchildren, there could be a conflict that you didn’t even realize you would have to address. Plan your vision for retirement together.

These are all critical questions to ask yourself when deciding if you are ready for retirement. But there is one more crucial question that you must address.

• Do you have an exit strategy for retiring from your business? An exit plan is essential because it ensures that your business will make a successful transition into its next phase of ownership. Also, an exit plan will help you boost the value of your business so that you are prepared to sell at the ideal time.

A proven strategy for success regarding exit planning is to partner with a trusted advisor, such as Benchmark International. We can help you find the right buyer, maximize value, and craft a dream exit that leads to a happy and satisfying retirement.

When deciding to sell their business, sellers generally focus mostly, if not entirely, on internal factors. Revenue is growing and predictable. Earnings are improving as a result of increasing revenue and internal controls. Backlog is up. Customer concentration is low. This fictitious company paints a very compelling picture and is no doubt an attractive candidate for acquisition. However, while those are all important aspects and contributors to value, there are other factors that are beyond the seller’s control that not only impact the value of the business but also impact how sellable it is. In this piece, we will discuss some of the external market factors that impact M&A transactions. These factors are in no way comprehensive. The research wasn’t exhaustive. The intent here isn’t to create a definitive list of external influences. Instead, it is to demonstrate how important factors that are well beyond our control impact M&A deals. As a result, sellers should consider moving quickly if the factors within their control are positive.

Interest Rates

Interest rates, while still hovering around historical lows, will rise over the coming 18 months. Why is this important? Buyers, both financial buyers like Private Equity Funds, Independent Sponsors and Family Offices, and strategic acquires alike, use leverage to fund their deals. Many buyers will fund 40-60% of the cash at closing by way of debt in some combination of senior and junior debt instruments. When the cost of debt increases, buyers are faced with two options: 1. Use more equity, either out of their fund or from the corporate balance sheet to fund the transaction; or, 2. Lower the multiple they use to value the company. Given that the cost of debt is far cheaper for most buyers than their cost of equity, they generally favor using as much debt as is practicable. Most Private Equity funds are averse to using more equity and will instead, lower the valuation multiple. Compression of transaction multiples is coming, after a historic run. It is simply a matter of when.

Regulatory Environment

While we are in a much-publicized period of regulatory retrenchment, some industries are facing increased regulation. Many more are facing a changing regulatory environment. Whether there is more regulation or simply shifting regulation, the changes create both risk and uncertainty for buyers. Risk and uncertainty can impact the desirability of a company/industry and certainly can affect valuation.

Global Economic Concerns and Geopolitical Issues

Global economic issues can impact the M&A environment both generally and for specific industries. At the moment, we face a great deal of uncertainty related to trade with our largest trade partner, China. Tariffs are impacting companies across sectors by increasing manufacturing input costs, reducing the speed to market, and decreasing the demand for their products. Unrest in the Middle East, uncertainty in North Korea, Brexit, Russia, and all the alike contribute the geopolitical risks that impact M&A.

Industry Consolidation or Convergence of Industries

Industry consolidation can have a considerable impact on valuations. If you are in a fragmented industry that is in the early days of consolidation, this can have a very positive impact on the value of your business. However, if that consolidation began years ago, you may have missed the window. That doesn’t mean you can’t sell your business, but it will be more difficult to identify the buyer and may have an impact on valuation. The same can be said when industries converge. For example, the manufacturing and technology sectors have converged. Convergence of industries, depending upon where we are in that cycle, can create either risk or opportunity.

Changes in the Workforce Dynamics/Millennials/Gig Economy

The ready availability of a talented workforce can significantly impact industries and businesses. Due to workers having very little switching costs to move from one company or industry to another, construction and landscaping businesses have found it increasingly difficult to attract and retain talent. Specific industries that require talent to be aggregated in the same room for the entire workday face different challenges. The Great Recession, coupled with a generation of workers that place a premium on their time, has led to an enormous gig economy. It is not out of the question that the gig workforce overtakes the traditional workforce in the next decade. This shift will impact every business in ways we couldn’t possibly understand yet.

Political Trends and Risk/Elections

The constantly changing domestic political landscape impacts the M&A environment in numerous ways. We have uncertainty around healthcare. Any provider of healthcare or any business dependent upon reimbursement faces at least a measure of uncertainty. Immigration has become a hot button issue in the US. Wherever you fall on the issue, there is little doubt that American businesses rely on non-citizens to supplement the citizen workforce. Buying decisions are often postponed with looming elections. Tax planning is difficult when an administration change could entirely change the tax code…again. Political unrest creates uncertainty. Uncertainty is interpreted by buyers as being the equivalent of risk and manifests itself in the form of lower multiples.

Dry Powder in PE Funds/Excess Cash on Corporate Balance Sheets

An economy on an unprecedented run of success has created enormous cash reserves in the corporate coffers. Strong performance by private equity funds has made raising subsequent funds easier. Also, outsized multiples have reduced the number of investments many PE funds have made, so they too have tremendous stores of dry powder to deploy. Abundance of capital to deploy into transactions certainly should help with valuations. PE funds, in particular, have only one mandate: buy businesses, grow them, and sell them 3-5 years later for a meaningful return. As such, there is no risk of them using their capital for other projects. The same can’t be said, however, for strategic acquirers. Corporations have many competing uses of their cash. If the environment for M&A turns unfavorably, businesses may pursue growth through organic initiatives. For example, they may opt to forego M&A deals in favor of greenfielding new territories, launching new products, building out new technologies, or exploring alternative revenue models. Alternatively, some may view the best use of their cash is to distribute it out to owners in the form of a dividend.

In summary, there are many outside influencers on the M&A market that simply cannot be controlled. While companies can put mitigation strategies in place, they cannot exert control over external market forces. When the key factors within a potential seller’s control are favorable, it behooves them to seek out a talented M&A advisor, like one from Benchmark International, to assist them. We can help them to ride the tailwinds, overcome the headwinds, and navigate the obstacles.

1. Most M&As Fail
According to collated research and a recent Harvard Business Review report, the failure rate for M&A is between 70 and 90 percent. To effectively complete a deal, there must be a clear strategy and open communication among all parties.

2. Expect Due Diligence
Experienced buyers conduct meticulous due diligence. They want to know exactly what they are taking on, and that includes factors such as obligations, liabilities, contracts, litigation risk, and intellectual property. As a result, sellers should be prepared to provide very thorough documentation.

3. Priorities Change
Your company may be a good strategic fit today, and in a year from now. But people are fickle, and priorities can change, so a good offer today could be a non-existent offer later.

4. Employees Will Have Questions
In any sale of a business, employees are going to have questions about how the transaction will affect them. Also, the buyer will want to know how specific issues are handled. Will there be layoffs? Have confidentiality agreements been signed? What about any stock options? How will management be changed? These are just a few questions that should be anticipated.

5. Don’t Overlook Technology
These days, virtually every industry is impacted by technology. In the M&A process, it is important to think about how IT platforms will be consolidated or integrated, how technological changes can affect inventory, and how cloud management will be used, among many other factors.

6. M&As Are Often Funded by Debt
Low interest rates on loans encourage M&A. In 2015, acquisition-related loans worldwide totaled more than $770 billion, the most since 2008.

7. Competition Will Result in the Best Deal
The more bidders there are on a sale, the more favorable the conditions are for the seller to negotiate a higher price and better terms. Even if there is only one serious bidder among several, the perceived level of interest can lead to brokering a better deal.

8. Synergy is a Must-Have
For an M&A deal to succeed, vision and strategy need to be synergized at the executive level and communicated to all management. M&As can fail due to a misalignment of vision for the culture, the industry, each company’s role, and more. The cultural fit of two companies can be crucial to how successfully they meld.

9. It Can Take Awhile
From beginning to end, most mergers and acquisitions can take a long time to be completed, usually in a period of around 4 to 12 months. The length of time depends on how much interest the seller has generated and how quickly a buyer conducts due diligence.

10. You Need an M&A Advisor
An experienced M&A advisory team can help ensure that the complex process of selling or buying a company goes smoothly, addressing all of the issues mentioned above on this list.

Are you considering buying or selling a privately held business? Below are a few stats that you might find surprising:

As a business owner, have you given any consideration to your succession plan?

It is important to note that a succession plan is not the same as an exit plan, but rather an element within an exit plan. Succession planning is focused on the interests of the business when an owner departs and another takes over. Exit planning is focused on the interests of the business owner, with succession just being one aspect in the overall plan.

It is actually quite common for small business owners to not have a succession plan, or even an exit plan, in place. Regardless of whether you have no plans of retiring anytime soon, the future is unpredictable, and having a solid, documented strategy in place can be crucial to the health and fate of your business. You will want to be ready for any scenario or opportunity that comes along.

Timing is everything, and 2019 is the prime time to sell a business for maximum value. The conditions are extremely favorable right now for several reasons, and waiting could mean that you miss out an ideal opportunity. 

This is an intriguing time to be involved in the global food and beverage industry. 2019 remains promising for M&A opportunities for several reasons. Giant food companies are on a spree to expand their portfolios with food innovation. Food start-ups and smaller private food companies are looking to cash in on growth and exit strategies. And private equity and venture capital firms are motivated to get their piece of the pie.  

A strategic partner is another business entity with which you form an agreement to share resources with the mission of growth and mutual success. There are different types of strategic partnerships.

• Horizontal Partnership: Businesses within the same field join alliances to improve their market position. Example: Facebook and Instagram.
• Vertical Partnership: Businesses team up with companies within the same supply chain (suppliers, distributors and retailers), often to stabilize supply chains and increase sales. Example: LiveNation and Ticketmaster.
• Equity Partnership: An investor acquires a percentage interest in a business, providing needed capital and sharing in profits and losses.
• Joint Venture: Two or more businesses form an entirely new legal entity in which the profits and risks are shared, and the original companies continue to exist on their own. Example: Microsoft and NBC’s creation of MSNBC.
• Merger: Two companies agree to go forward as a single new company and the original companies no longer exist. Example: Exxon and Mobil, now Exxon Mobil Corp.
• Acquisition: One company takes over another company and establishes itself as the new owner. Example: AOL and Time Warner, now Time Warner.

Why Do I Need One?

A strategic partnership can be an extremely powerful tactic that gives your business a competitive edge. According to a study by the CMO Council, 85 percent of business owners believe partnerships are essential for business success.There are several reasons why it is a commonly relied-upon growth plan.

• Expansion into new markets
• Increased brand awareness
• Product line extension
• Access to new customers
• Improved supply chain performance
• Added value for existing customers
• Acceleration of innovation
• Strengthening of weaknesses
• Sourcing of capital

A successful partnership must be built on a solid growth strategy and make sense from a capabilities perspective. The goals, values and culture of all partners should be aligned. You also need to have the right infrastructure in place. And the timing of the venture can be critical depending on the market. A partnership is a major endeavor and you absolutely want to get it right. Unfortunately, most organizations are not armed with the proper connections, resources and management capabilities to maximize the potential of a partnership. According to a report by the Business Performance Innovation Network (BPI):

• 43 percent of business partnerships have high failure rates.
• 45 percent are unable to maintain long-term, successful relationships.
• 42 percent of partnerships are not well leveraged.
• 67 percent of companies that agree to work together lack formal partnering strategies. 

How to Get It Right

The smartest way to ensure that you are entering into a successful partnership is to seek the guidance of an advisor such as Benchmark International. We have the connections, experience, data-driven analytics, and knowledge to help you devise a carefully crafted growth strategy that is built on confidence and captures the most value. If you are a founder, an owner, an entrepreneur, or part of the leadership of an established company, we encourage you to reach out to us and start the conversation about how a strategic partnership can benefit your business.

The global real estate environment is off to a strong start for 2019. While uncertainties regarding trade, Brexit, and other geopolitical tensions linger, we have yet to see any major weaknesses in real estate markets. The sector continues to attract capital and pricing levels are holding steady thanks to strong capital flows. 

Real Capital Analytics (RCA) reports that acquisitions of income-producing commercial real estate last year rose by 3 percent to $963.7 billion. That is the third highest annual total on record behind 2007 and 2015.

The Multifamily Sector

Multifamily housing is expected to continue to attract sustained investment and debt capital. Multifamily demand remains steady and is driving up rent prices as younger generations are being priced out of home ownership and older generations are downsizing. The top three emerging markets to watch in the United States for multifamily housing this year are Phoenix, Portland, and Tampa Bay.

Workforce Housing

The growing need for workforce housing is also driving the market for multifamily housing. In fact, workforce housing has actually outperformed the overall multifamily market in each of the last four years.According to a report by CBRE, workforce housing has brought in nearly $375 billion in investment over the last five years. That is more than 51 percent of the total for all multifamily asset classes.

Tech, Retail & E-commerce

Real estate fundamentals remain strong amid trends surrounding urbanization, retail, and ecommerce. Suburban markets are adapting to technology and becoming more urbanized with added focus on community-oriented retail concepts. Retail stores and shopping malls are undergoing an identity transformation, as retailers are adjusting their real estate needs to accommodate omnichannel experiences, especially in the U.S. and Europe. Additionally, e-commerce companies are adding smaller, satellite facilities to their networks of regional distribution centers as a reaction to the demand for fast, low-cost shipping.

Tech firms and flexible space providers continue to have a major impact on the global real estate market this year. Flexible space providers are targeting their focus on larger enterprises. More and more firms are leasing shared spaces. And as employees become more mobile, companies are adapting and coworking is becoming more popular. Coworking is primarily focused in high-wage markets and cities with a large number of professional services companies. Coworking spaces in tech markets are nearly double that of other markets.

Mixed-use real estate is also going to remain a significant opportunity, with the convergence of retail, office, residential, hospitality, and community-focused spaces. This adaptation is causing a shift in the types of tenants that properties are accommodating, resulting in shorter lease agreements.

REITs and Mergers & Acquisitions

Investors are expected to continue to diversify into secondary markets in search of yield. This includes real estate investment trusts (REITs), which have recently increased valuations and pay healthy dividends. Global REITs are projected to outperform other sectors and deliver strong returns in 2019. The property sectors among REITs expected to see the most M&A activity this year are industrial, self-storage, data center, multifamily, and student housing. Experts also predict the possibilities of some deals in the hotel REIT sector.

The year 2018 outperformed 2015’s prosperity for global commercial real estate investment in the current cycle, with a five percent increase in global investment volume. The U.S. accounted for 52 percent of global transactions. A total of six investors from Canada, France and China invested a record $41 billion in U.S. entities.

The value of U.S. entity-level transactions increased threefold last year, driven in majority by cross-border investment. Toronto-based Brookfield acquired Forest City Realty for $11 billion, making Brookfield the second-largest property owner in New York City, led only by the city government, and boasting a NYC portfolio worth around $32 billion. In 2018, Brookfield also acquired the second-largest U.S. mall owner, General Growth Properties, for $15 billion. Both Forest City and GGP were publicly traded REITs. 

Global Hotspots

International property is sustaining its 2018 performances as a remarkably popular market. Some of the top cities for real estate investment in 2019 include Lisbon, Toronto, Dallas-Forth Worth, Melbourne, Singapore, Berlin, New York City, Vancouver, Raleigh, Montreal, Tokyo, Madrid, Osaka, and Sydney. Specifically, the city of Lisbon has been noted to be the 2019 investment capital of Europe. This is due to increased tourism, a growing economy, and competitively lower pricing.

Contact us

If you are interested pursuing a growth strategy or an exit plan. No matter what sector you work or invest in, Benchmark International can help you take your aspirations to the next level.

The state of Tennessee is expected to see sustained economic growth in 2019. The state has a record-low unemployment rate, with nearly 43,000 new jobs projected for Tennesseans this year. The state’s inflation-adjusted gross domestic product is also expected to rise. The transportation and utilities sectors are predicted to see positive gains and the healthcare and real estate markets are expected to remain strong.

A Healthcare Hub

Since 2017, the U.S. state of Tennessee has experienced a surge in M&A activity. The healthcare and technology industries are major drivers behind the increased action, especially in the city of Nashville. In 2018, the private equity firm KKR purchased Envision Healthcare Corp. for $9.9 billion. Apollo Global Management acquired LifePoint Health for $5.6 billion. LifePoint Health then merged with RCCH HealthCare Partners. This momentum is expected to continue through 2019, with much optimism surrounding the healthcare market in particular.

According to Mergermarket, Nashville ranks fifth in the U.S. in terms of the overall value of healthcare M&A deals closed since 2015, with $30 billion in transactions. The upswing in activity is largely due to new technological and data opportunities in the healthcare sector.

In the early part of 2019, we have already seen major M&A ventures surrounding Nashville healthcare businesses. Maryland’s Omega Healthcare acquired Nashville’s MedEquities Realty Trust, Inc. for $600 million. HealthStream, Inc. purchased healthcare-training company Providigm for $18 million. HCA Healthcare, Inc. purchased North Carolina-based Mission Health for $1.5 billion. HCA now owns and operates more than 170 hospitals in 20 states across the country.  

It is important to note that Nashville is home to the headquarters of almost 20 publicly traded healthcare companies and an overall industry that creates more than $92 billion in annual revenue. These healthcare companies employ more than 570,000 people worldwide. The area is anticipated to continue to shape the industry landscape in what is an increasingly inviting market. Strategic buyers and private equity investors will be keeping a close watch on the growing opportunities in this region as the year progresses.

The Real Estate Market

Another industry that is forecast to have a strong year in Tennessee is real estate, specifically in Nashville, which is home to more than 600,000 people. The city’s real estate market has continued to grow over the past decade. Home values increased 8.2% last year and are expected to go up 8% this year. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Nashville ranks as the nation's fifth-surest investment bet for 2019. This real estate market is positively impacted by several factors, such as ample redevelopment opportunities, low mortgage rates, high demand for housing, a large student population, and plenty of young families. Because Nashville is also known as the Music City and boasts a major tourism industry, there is also a large market for tourism-related rentals.

The attractive quality of life is also a big draw. Last year, Nashville was ranked 11^th out of the 100 best cities to live by U.S. News & World Report, up from 13^th the year before. We will have to wait and see if it climbs even higher on the list in 2019. 

In addition to the city of Nashville, the Memphis and Knoxville areas also offer attractive real estate markets for investors. This is due to affordable housing and high quality-of-life benefits.

Make a Move

If you are a business owner looking to create value, whether it’s in the state of Tennessee or on the other side of the world, contact Benchmark International to craft a strategy that best suits your company and your aspirations. 

The outlook for the global construction market for the year of 2019 remains positive, with an expected five-percent sector-wide growth in revenue. Robust economies, low interest rates, and increased infrastructure spending are key factors behind the increased confidence. The world’s fastest growing market is the Asia Pacific region, due to growing investments in China and India’s construction sectors. In North America and Europe, growth is being driven by new technologies in already strong construction markets. Also, a number of South American and Middle Eastern countries may see their markets recover in the coming year and have the potential for growth in the future.

M&A Momentum

Mergers and acquisitions for the construction industry are poised to follow the vigorous deal activity of 2018. Construction tech startups raised $1.27 billion in venture funding in the first three quarters of 2018 alone. Public companies were seeking growth. There was increased interest in individual sectors such as energy. Private equity firms were actively buying and selling. Another significant factor was a need for ownership changes due to a growing retirement-age population. These trends are predicted to continue throughout 2019.

Tech Startups

Construction technology startups are expected to continue to have a considerable impact this year. This industry segment has seen more than $10 billion in funding over the past 10 years, with most of the money coming from early-stage venture capital deals. As these tech companies evolve, bigger firms are making full acquisitions. One strategic reason behind these large acquisitions is for companies to procure more talent in a more efficient manner, which in turn is anticipated to drive business growth.

Smart Cities

Society is seeing a heightened focus on infrastructure upgrades and the creation of smart cities. In 2016, smart-city tech spending reached $80 billion globally. By 2021, spending is expected to grow to $135 billion. Smart cities use Internet sensors and other technologies to connect elements across a city to gather data and enhance the lives of its residents. Partnerships between private and public companies are helping governments incorporate new technologies in an increasingly urbanized world. The advent of smart cities was initially seen in Europe, and now the U.S. has begun to integrate technology into urban infrastructure.

Offsite Construction

The quickly growing modular construction market is projected to reach $157 billion by 2023. The capability to build taller modular buildings is reaching new heights, with some buildings stacking up to almost 20 stories. This offsite type of construction is addressing certain industry needs, such as the need for skilled labor, the need for affordable housing, and the need to complete projects more quickly.

Connected Construction

A rapidly emerging trend that many investors are watching closely is connected construction. Companies are incorporating technology into construction sites to save time and money. Bluetooth connectivity is driving the emergence of new worksite tools that can be tracked, monitored, and even deactivated. Mesh networks are enabling sites to be fully connected to wireless networks in order to streamline processes around obstacles in the way of man-hours, status updates, supply deliveries, blueprint consultations, and more.

These emerging technologies have prompted several recent acquisitions, just to name a few.

• Autodesk Inc. purchased construction productivity software company PlanGrid for $875 million.
• Autodesk also spent $275 million to buy BuildingConnected, a networking platform of more than 700,000 construction professionals.
• Trimble bought construction software company Viewpoint from Bain Capital for $1.2 billion.   

Enlist Our Expertise

If you are interested in buying, selling, creating a growth strategy, or even devising an exit plan for your business, contact Benchmark International to get the expertise that is proven to make successful deals happen around the world every day.

Once you have decided it is the right time to sell your company, it’s time to find the right buyer. You are going to want to sell to someone that shares your vision for the business that you worked so hard to build. At the same time, you do not want to waste your time on prospects that are not serious or financially fit. An important step in the vetting process is knowing what information you should request from potential buyers. Start by reviewing this list of questions to generate additional ideas and help you manage expectations. 

“Do you have prior experience with acquiring a business?”

A buyer’s track record is paramount when considering whether or not they have the necessary resources and competencies to handle an acquisition. What is their experience? Do they have any success stories? What about failures? Nobody wants to sell to someone who has acquired businesses only to see them fail.  

“Why are you interested in buying my business?”

Understanding a buyer’s motives is crucial when seeking someone who is going to operate in the best interests of your company. If they share a passion for what you created and have a solid plan to build upon that success, they are far more likely to take your business in the right direction. Asking this question can also help you ascertain how serious they are about working towards a deal.

“How do you plan to finance the sale?”

Securing capital is often complicated and you can learn a great deal about a buyer from their answer to this question. It will demonstrate how experienced and how serious they truly are, helping you to weed out the dreamers. How do they plan to structure the deal? Can they prove that they have the funds available? How much cash is on the table? A serious buyer is going to be adequately prepared to answer this question and may even provide documentation.  

“How long have you been looking to acquire a business?”

This is a serious question when it comes to avoiding giant wastes of your time. There are people who will claim to be eager and ready to invest in a business, but they really are more interested in talking about the idea of it, as opposed to actually sealing any deal. How many deals have they passed on, and why? Ask for explanations. Sometimes deals simply do not work out. But if someone has a routine of waiting around for the perfect deal for years, you probably want to move on.

“How do you plan to carry on the legacy of my family business?”

If you have a family-owned business, it is likely that it matters to you that the company’s legacy remains in tact. This means you need to find a buyer that cares about maintaining its heritage and has a plan to do so. If you have family that will continue to be employed with the company, you will want assurance that the new owner is including them in their plans.

Don’t go it alone.

There are many considerations when seeking the right buyer for your business. To help you navigate the entire process, it is vastly beneficial to partner with a mergers and acquisitions firm that has the connections and resources to match you with the right investor. A firm that cares about the future of your business. The experts at Benchmark International will do all the homework for you and protect your interests to ensure that you get the very best deal possible.  

Value-based Care

Quality, affordable healthcare remains an important issue for people all over the world, from Europe and the United States to Asia and Africa. As global healthcare spending continues to skyrocket, people are demanding more bipartisan policies from their political leaders to address the problem. This is why value-based care solutions are starting to play a major role. The industry is undergoing a shift in focus from treating illness to achieving and maintaining wellness. These solutions are more productive and less wasteful, as they aim to avoid unnecessary testing and interventions. Up until now, this role has been typically driven by health plans, but physicians and health systems are getting more involved in the full spectrum of care. All of these elements of value-based care represent huge growth opportunities in the digital healthcare coming-of-age, with various forms of technology as the major impetus.  

Technology, Artificial Intelligence, and Data

Technologies that automate nonclinical duties such as paperwork are being developed to save physicians time and allow them to focus on patients. The implementation of electronic health records (EHRs) and artificial intelligence tools is expected to better connect patients, physicians, health systems, and health plans. Physicians will be able to utilize EHR data to manage illnesses with fewer scheduled in-person appointments.

Virtual care is also an emerging market factor in the changing healthcare landscape. Many people put off doctor visits until their condition worsens, which increases costs such as emergency room expenses. New virtual care technologies are enabling patients to see a physician from the comfort of home. It also means that physicians are able to see more patients. TeleHealth Services is an ideal example of this trend. It uses digital information, computers and mobile devices to access and manage health care services remotely. In the last few years, nearly three quarters of major employer health plans had incorporated TeleHealth software services into their benefit packages.

Tech-enabled medical devices and services are another growing trend. This includes wearable devices, digital therapeutics, and applications that collect and communicate data. Last year, FitBit acquired Twine Health, a health-coaching platform that helps people improve health outcomes while helping health systems, plans, and providers reduce healthcare costs. Last summer, Amazon acquired the online pharmacy PillPack for almost $1 billion, and drug giant GlaxoSmithKline entered into a four-year agreement with the online platform 23andme, the world’s leading DNA-testing-kit resource for consumers. Also in 2018, Roche acquired Flatiron, which uses oncology EHRs to connect oncologists, academics, hospitals, researchers and regulators on a shared technology platform. 

Cloud technology also brings new benefits to the table, such as easy integration of immense datasets, and AI capabilities that analyze data and provide insights remotely. Cloud technology is expected to continue to gain momentum, as data—both big and small—are finally being used in ways that may make a meaningful difference for the healthcare industry.

Healthcare Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) in 2019

The industry saw ample M&A activity last year, and this activity has already carried over into 2019, with several major deals already closing in January. There are also some big moves in the works that everyone is watching. A proposed merger between retail pharmacy CVS and insurance giant Aetna has drawn much speculation and scrutiny as it still awaits regulatory approval as of this month. Walmart has been in talks to merge with insurance provider Humana, another sign of major retailers attempting to take a stake in the healthcare industry. 

With the growing digital health market and continued pharmaceutical innovations, M&A strategies remain a preferred growth plan for executives and it is expected that there will be lively M&A activity throughout 2019. Southeast Asia has drawn abundant attention, with a 92 percent increase in healthcare IPO volume last year. Plus, the stock exchange in Hong Kong introduced new rules allowing biotech companies to issue shares even before recording revenue or profits. Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia all have ripe environments for new opportunities. And even despite trade tensions, rising interest rates, and volatile markets, deal-making activity in the region remains forecasted to grow. 

What it Means for You

Whether you are seeking a new investment, looking to grow your company, or considering selling your business, a great deal of financial opportunity lies in the global healthcare industry. 2019 may very well be the right year for you to make a move. If you contact our specialists at Benchmark International, we will use our global connections and mergers and acquisitions expertise to help you carefully craft the ideal opportunity for you and your next venture. 

Refinitiv has announced the findings of its annual Deal Makers Sentiment Survey conducted by Greenwich Associates – a survey which provides a quantitative assessment of M&A related and capital market activity in the year ahead.

The survey has revealed that, despite market turbulence, reassurance has been offered in terms of M&A and capital market trends as the deal making professionals surveyed are cautiously optimistic for the year ahead.

Build your dream team.

An important step in reducing your company’s dependence on you is to create your management dream team. Assembling the right people to take over the reigns can shift the burden off of you far before the time comes to sell. Make sure your team members know that they have your confidence by giving them more responsibility. This also means that there can be less reliance on you moving forward. Another significant benefit of having a stable and experienced management team in place is that it makes your company more appealing to buyers and ensures a smoother transition period.

Create documentation.

Before selling a business, it is imperative that your processes and procedures are fully documented. When you outline howthings work and whythey work, it can be key to your organization’s appearance of professionalism. Not having a proper roadmap to your operations could be a deal-breaker for prospective buyers, as they will want to follow guidelines that they see are proven effective or adapt those guidelines accordingly.

Having proper documentation in place also means that your management team can make informed decisions in your absence should you just want to vacation for a couple of weeks. It will also be needed to keep everything running smoothly when it is time to transition the company in the event of a sale.

Creating this documentation may seem like a tedious task that you may feel too busy to do, but remember that it is critical to reducing your company’s dependence on you and will ultimately pay off in the long run.         

Plan your exit strategy.

As a business owner, it is critical that you have a plan for your exit from the company. A sound exit strategy will allow your business to transition smoothly into the right hands. This forward planning will ensure that your business stays on track and is achieving your goals. After all, if you have not set any goals, how can you expect to achieve them? These goals will be crucial in increasing the value of your company prior to a sale. Your management team should clearly understand these objectives so they can work with you on the path to shared success, and eventually, without you.

Establishing an exit strategy can be complicated and somewhat intimidating, which is why most savvy business owners partner with an experienced broker such as Benchmark International. Our specialists will work closely with you to establish an exit plan that is tailored to your specific needs and helps take the guesswork out of the process. We can even help you find the right buyer because we have powerful connections around the world.

Exit planning can reduce your company’s dependence on you and arm you with confidence for when it is time to sell. Instead of worrying about where to start, just start by
giving us a call.

When you are ready to take the steps to grow your business, you need to determine the funding you can receive to help make it happen. Many different funding options are available, but how do you know which is right for you?

The first method that comes to mind for many people is borrowed funds. There are multiple options for gaining funding through lenders, including Small Business Administration (SBA) loans, traditional bank loans, micro-loans, and online business loans. SBA loans and traditional bank loans typically take months to secure and the repayment terms can run up to twenty-five years with interest rates varying. Micro-loans and online business loans can take less time to secure but they carry higher interest rates than bank loans and may have pre-payment penalties. Additionally, even if you get a loan, business growth is not guaranteed. If the borrowed funds are not used wisely, you can end up paying back money with interest that never helped you make any additional money in the first place, just digging you further into debt.  

Another method of funding is retained earnings. This approach uses a combination of operating cash flow and profits left in the business to fund your growth plan. Using retained earnings avoids adding debt and interest payments. You also stay in full control of your company by not involving outsiders in your business. However, use of retained earnings can be a very slow process if you must wait and build up the funds you need. You also run a major risk of not having the finances necessary to keep your company operating from a healthy perspective. 

Private equity is a way to acquire funding by selling shares in your company to outside investors. Through this long-term growth strategy, you avoid getting involved with a bank and you minimize your risk. With venture capitalists or angel investors, you also gain the benefit of added expertise and personal interest in the success of the business. One aspect of using equity capital is that shareholders will be expecting a return on their investment. This could result in the consideration of a merger with another company or having the company acquired by a larger company. 

Many companies choose to use mergers and acquisitions strategies because the growth is more imminent. Instead of waiting years for the business to grow itself, merging with another company can double the company’s size, reduce competition, and increase profitability. Merging with another business also gives you the advantage of acquiring intellectual property and expanding innovation. 

Working with an experienced growth partner such as Benchmark International will help you figure out the best direction for you, whether it is a merger, an elevator deal in which you retain a stake in the business, a cash-on-completion arrangement, or a complete exit strategy. There is a range of options available depending on how you want to see your company transformed. The best strategy will also depend on the state of your company and the current market. It is important that there is careful consideration of the cultural fit between the two companies and a firm understanding of how to manage expectations. Having the right connections around the world in various sectors is also a key attribute you want in your representation because it opens up a wealth of opportunities. 

The right partner can maximize value and make your vision a reality for the business that you have worked so hard to build. Benchmark International can be relied upon as a leader in the global landscape to get you the results you deserve.