Corporate Development Issues
The processes of either selling your company or one of its businesses, acquiring another company, or engaging in a strategic partnering relationship, present numerous business and other issues:
What is the best business strategy?
What opportunities are really available?
What is the value of your company or of a potential acquisition?
How will the combined business plan be optimized and the businesses integrated?
How can a deal be structured to resolve business, legal, tax, accounting, human resources and securities issues?
How can the process be managed while you keep your focus on running your business?
What are the key issues that will need to be negotiated?
The Key Role of the Investment Banker
While your accountant, lawyer, directors, and other advisors can provide valuable assistance and each has their distinct responsibilities, it is your investment banker who takes responsibility for working with you and your advisors to answer these questions, determine your ultimate objectives, and identify the means for achieving those objectives. Your investment banker then plays the key role in managing the process and negotiating the transaction. This key role that the investment banker undertakes is a critical element in achieving better execution and increasing the likelihood of a successful transaction.
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Selecting an Investment Banker
When selecting an investment banker, you need someone who:
understands the strategic value of a transaction so that you can achieve the maximum value,
understands the buyer’s and seller’s perspectives, including issue and transaction approval processes, to resolve the variety of issues that will arise, and
can negotiate a transaction that enables you to achieve your objectives.
To meet these criteria, your investment banker needs to have the ability to understand and resolve a myriad of business, legal, tax, accounting, human resources and securities issues. While no one can assure you of a successful transaction, Equation Partners believes that our capabilities and the demonstrated track record of our principals will ensure better execution and maximize the likelihood of success.
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Senior Level Experience and Expertise
Some transactions are relatively straightforward, but most are not and require a level of experience and expertise that only a senior level advisor can provide. Equation Partners has advised on some of the most difficult types of transactions - from the sale of a company headquartered in Europe with offices and customers in numerous countries around the world, to the divestiture of a business from a publicly-traded company with various integrated operations and therefore without its own P&L. Our clients will attest to our ability to identify issues early in the process and to structure and negotiate a transaction to minimize or resolve the difficult issues.
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Cross-Border Experience
Many transactions include an element of international business, even when the buyer and seller are US entities. And of course, the ability to acquire businesses in other countries can clearly enhance strategic value, or in the sale of a business, potential foreign buyers improve the likelihood of identifying the best acquirer.
Issues that generally arise in cross-border transactions relate to local regulatory requirements, more restrictive employment rules, antitrust and merger filings, accounting differences, and tax considerations. At a minimum, there are additional due diligence demands. Working with your lawyers and accountants and management of the two companies, the goal is to identify and resolve potential issues early to avoid delays and minimize restructuring.
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Get to Know Us
Ultimately in selecting an investment banker, you are selecting individuals who will be advising you and managing your transaction. That is why we expect you to get to know us before making your decision. To assist in your evaluation, we will provide you with references from prior transactions for which we have acted as advisors. Some of our clients, such as Teradyne, have demonstrated their satisfaction with our services by having us advise them on multiple transactions. Similarly, the CEO of Parker Guitars engaged us several years after the sale of Softbridge where he was previously the CEO. Our clients also know us for our persistence. Although the initial effort to find a buyer for Security Integration was not successful, two years later we initiated and closed the sale of Security Integration after independently identifying a potential buyer. Similarly, the sale of Newfront Software was reinitiated after a successful new product launch.
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