Working Capital: An M&A Battleground

Building a successful business is an incredible achievement. When it’s time to consider maximizing and monetizing that work, you're likely focusing on growth multiples, EBITDA, and finding the right buyer. But a critical element that’s often overlooked is when and how to strategically communicate the sale to stakeholders, employees, clients, and the general public. In our latest TobinLeff M&A Podcast episode, Partner Janet Tyler, a recognized martech expert who built and sold one of the country’s leading tech PR firms, joins me to discuss why your communications plan can be as important as your financials when you sell your business. We cover: • The key internal and external stakeholders you must include in your communications plan, from your core leadership team to your spouse and, most importantly, your clients. • When and how to disclose your sale process to management without causing disruption. • The crucial difference between an interview and a relationship-building dialogue with prospective buyers. • How your strategic communication plan can impact the selling process and a buyer’s perception of you as the owner. At TobinLeff, we know that M&A isn't just about the money. Selling your business is also about the people, the legacy, and creating an exciting future for your team. This episode will provide you with the strategic foresight to navigate a successful exit, demonstrating to prospective buyers that you are a confident, qualified seller with strong business acumen. Contact our team when you're ready to sell your business. Our team is always happy to share our expertise on what we’re seeing in the M&A marketplace and discuss how a TobinLeff partnership can help you maximize your selling price.

Selling your company demands significant investment of your time, energy, and emotion. The last outcome anyone wants is for the deal to fall through. While "deal killers" are always a potential risk, many can be prevented or mitigated with the right preparation. Successfully closing deals requires finesse and expertise. At TobinLeff, we’re grateful to have a diversely experienced team that allows us to equalize the playing field and maximize the selling price for business owners. We distilled our extensive experience into 7 key areas that impact the success of a deal closing: 1. Build Relationships: Trust in everyone involved in the transaction is paramount. 2. Prepare in Advance: It’s never too early to begin preparing. From setting realistic valuations to building the right transition team to getting your financials in order. 3. Tell Your Story: Clearly articulate quantitative and qualitative visions for growth. 4. Be Proactive: Address potential issues before they become obstacles. 5. Control the Process: Effectively manage due diligence and communication. 6. Run a Profitable Business: Maintain focus on operations, always assuming the deal might not close. 7. Keep Your Eye on the Prize: Put minor issues in perspective, and remember why you started the process. Selling your company is a marathon, not a sprint. For deeper insights into preparing your business now for a successful sale, subscribe to our channel or check out the resources on our website: tobinleff.com

Many of us have heard cautionary tales about Private Equity (PE) deals gone wrong. But that narrative hasn’t matched our clients’ experiences. In our latest podcast episode, “Advantage & Questions: Selling a Business to Private Equity”, our partners tackle common questions and objections owners typically have around private equity sales. In this conversation, the TobinLeff team shares insights on: Why negative stories about PE are often the exception, not the rule. The advantages of selling {company} to PE. What rollover equity is and how it positively impacts a sale. How TobinLeff helps clients vet prospective buyers to ensure a successful transaction. To learn about how to maximize the sale of your company or to discuss your M&A opportunities, contact our team today: www.TobinLeff.com

Most entrepreneurs are used to stepping into unknown terrain and climbing learning curves to hit their goals. However, selling a company is often a once-in-a-lifetime event, so your go-to-market journey should include a team who has been there and done that. That team should guide your transaction like an on-target GPS, helping you to navigate potential pitfalls and plan for reasonable expectations. TobinLeff has worked with over 250 clients on M&A transactions and exit planning solutions. In this video, our expert advisory team shares 5 heads-up lessons we share with our clients to achieve a smooth closing. To learn more about selling a business, visit tobinleff.com.

TobinLeff transaction partner and numbers expert, Chuck Gottschalk, shares valuable insights on why working capital is often viewed as a battleground in M&A transactions. In this 10-minute conversation, Chuck and David Tobin breakdown: A straightforward explanation of working capital A real-world example of what makes working capital complex The most common working capital mistakes to avoid Essential considerations related to working capital when selling your business Working capital is as much an art as it is a science. TobiLeff's team has worked with countless owners to achieve a fair outcome for both buyers and sellers. Contact us today to learn more about how TobinLeff can help you maximize and monetize your business value.

For M&A transactions, focus and energy are often on multiples and terms. From TobinLeff's experience, if the focus is on the people, favorable terms will follow. This new video podcast, M&A is About the People, is a conversation between four of our TobinLeff Partners — David Tobin, Mary McKinney Flaherty, Roy Page, and Janet Tyler — that focuses on different points and perspectives including: How to establish a genuine rapport and mutual trust between buyers and sellers. How sellers and buyers should communicate before and during the due diligence process. Getting your leadership and management teams involved in the M&A process. Building team and cultural continuity internally when emotional stakes are high. How and when to communicate with clients. Selecting and working with a cohesive advisory team. We’ve learned a lot from the past 15 years helping business owners maximize and monetize their business value. We hope you’ll learn something new or reinforce your beliefs from this lively conversation. If you have any questions, TobinLeff's partners are available to help however we can: www.tobinleff.com

TobinLeff Founder, David Tobin, sat down with Jon Morris, founder and CEO of Fiscal Advocate, to discuss developing and tracking financial reports and KPIs to increase earnings and enhance enterprise value for a future sale. Jon is a proven entrepreneur. In 2004, with $10,000 by winning 2nd Place at the University of Chicago’s annual business plan competition he founded Rise Interactive. Over a 16-year period, Jon grew the firm into one of the largest independent digital agencies in the world with 300 people in 6 offices. This episode is chock-full of tips, including the following: The three most important KPIs to track the success of service-based businesses. How to create budgets and forecasts to support goals. How poor financial visibility can tank M&A deals. How investments in marketing and innovations can impact multiples. How the right supportive communities, playbooks, and advisors can help you prepare for a future exit. While many of these recommendations are geared toward owners who are about one to four years from a potential sale, these insights, when applied, will lead to growth no matter what stage of the business lifecycle you find yourself in! If you have questions or want to learn more about what the next steps look like for your own monetization journey, contact the TobinLeff team today.

Founding Partner, David Tobin, sat down with Mike Neumeier (Co-Founder and CEO of the Arketi Group) to discuss his exit planning journey. Mike secured investments from two private equity groups to form a platform company. In this video podcast, hear answers to questions like: How and why did Mike decide to sell? With multiple offers to choose from, why did he decide to sell to a PE group as opposed to a strategic buyer? How did he select the buyers/investment partners? How and when did he communicate the selling process to employees and clients? What were some of the challenges he faced during the M&A process? What does it feel like to “take chips off the table” while still maintaining a meaningful equity stake? How did he juggle both exit planning and day-to-day operations? What advice does he have for fellow business owners who are considering selling?  Tune in to listen to the highly informative conversation. Contact our team with any questions you have after listening.

Studies have estimated that more than 50% of all M&A transactions do not achieve their expected value or never close. Even if those stats are remotely accurate, the results are disheartening because no business owner wants to go through the time, expense, and emotional drain of trying to sell their company only to experience a deal falling apart. At TobinLeff, we pride ourselves on helping our clients get their M&A transactions closed on their terms. In this podcast, four of our partners — David Tobin, Bruce Bishop, Chuck Gottschalk, and Mary McKinney — share strategies and action steps to help avoid deal killers or reductions in purchase prices. Some of the topics discussed include: How to set realistic expectations on value and deal terms How to get in front of potential weaknesses and deal killers How to package and present your value proposition so buyers know what they are buying and see value How to approach the process from a position of strength How to perform reverse due diligence to qualify buyers and be confident that visions and values align How to control the due diligence process How to make sure lawyers and accountants keep the deal on track How to minimize deal fatigue and keep yourself and your team energized through the process

In 2022, Maura Corbett sold her company, Glen Echo Group, to Berlin Rosen, a portfolio company of the PE Group, O2 Investment Partners.  In this episode, Maura joins the TobinLeff team to discuss her selling journey and cover a number of topics, including: How and why did she decide to sell her company? What was her process for choosing an M&A advisory firm? How did TobinLeff prepare the company and Maura for the process? Why did she select Berlin Rosen and O2 Investment Partners as her ultimate buyer? How did she involve key employees in the process and reward them when the sale happened? What final advice would Maura give to owners considering selling their companies? Watch or listen now for an inside look into M&A.