The Boomers are Retiring: Opportunities for Business Buyers
It turns out the average retirement age for Australians is the highest it's been since the 1970s. With apparently 20% of new employment since 2019 being people aged 55 and above!
Category: Preparing to Exit
How to Sell a Business Lesson #9: What do I need to do to be ready?
The terms “Exit Ready” and “Investor Ready” have become very popular when discussing what might need to happen in the period running up to when an owner might wish to merge or exit their business.
How to Sell a Business: Lesson #8: What will it cost me to sell my business? Who do I really need to help me?
Selling your business is an important and significant life event. Few people get to build an enterprise that somebody else wishes to own and will pay a significant sum for.. Often, it’s the most valuable material asset you own and is the result of a lifetime’s work. When it comes time to sell or merge, it makes sense to do it right.
Exclusivity period-why bother?
An exclusivity period is normally agreed upon between the vendor and the buyer once the headline indicative terms are agreed. These terms are typically set subject to due diligence and contract. Whilst these terms are rarely binding (although there are exceptions), they do set a detailed framework for what is going to happen as parties move toward a completed deal.
What are tyre kickers and how you can avoid them
I was struck by the recent article in the Australian Financial Review by Yolanda Redrup, who quoted a frustrated CEO of Infomedia saying he had “closed the door on tyre kickers”.
I have witnessed this frustration many times, where vendors become sick of so-called buyers who turn out to be not serious acquirers.
How to Sell a Business Lesson #7: How to fairly structure a deal
Lesson #7 in our series, How to Sell a Business, covers the critical matter of deal structure. Once a willing buyer and a winning seller agree that they wish to transact, how should the transaction be constructed?
Rapid, unexpected disruption!
New AI phenomenon ChatGPT has the potential to be a big disruptor. For business owners, it highlights just how the best laid plans can come undone, and there is no perfect time to sell.
How to Sell a Business Lesson #6: How to sell a business when you’re not making a profit?
Businesses in Australia make an average profit of just under 10% of turnover. However, 20% of businesses in Australia don’t make any profit, that’s about 200,000 companies! In Lesson #6 we address the very real question facing those owners who are not making any profit, is my business worth anything?
How to Sell a Business Lesson #5: Does the Size of my Business Matter to Buyers?
Following on from “How to go about Finding the Right Buyer for my Business” we turn to the subject of size! Does it matter?
Size is one part of a buyer’s criteria; the short answer is that it depends on what they are looking for.
Valuations for tech start-ups have fallen. Why? and What does it mean?
Valuations for tech start-ups have fallen. Why? What does it mean?
Five months ago, the market sell-off smashed valuations in the tech. sector. Angel funds felt the brunt of the lower valuations and lower multiples. Many start-ups have lost out.
What to do when approached by a buyer?
In speaking with a lot of owners of private businesses, I often hear stories of them being approached - seemingly out of the blue - by someone knocking on the door and looking to buy their business.
When to sell? This year, next year, sometime… never?
This question was recently addressed by our European colleague John Willcox-Jones. We’ve shared his insights here because they’re very relevant to Australian businesses.
Sellers beware – the unsolicited approach!
Unsolicited approaches are all-too-common in Australia too, so we thought we’d share our European colleague John Willcox-Jones’ advice on how to evaluate and handle unsolicited offers.
Is this a good time for a business owner to contemplate an exit?
Our view on this is yes, with some important caveats. Firstly, and now more than ever, a business really needs to be across its numbers and have a well-articulated outlook.
Entrepreneurship – What is it? Is it innate? Or must it be nurtured?
Entrepreneurship is a subject among several others which were tackled when I was interviewed by Anthony Moorhouse who himself is an entrepreneur and was a client of Oasis for over