Deal Transparency
Friday, October 3rd, 2008By Mike Myatt, Chief Strategy Officer, N2growth
If deal transparency isn’t at the forefront of your M&A strategy, you might want to stop and do a bit of thinking. In some ways the world of corporate M&A is much the same as it was 20 years ago, and in other ways the events of the last few weeks have changed the landscape dramatically. The Bailout, the current capital and credit crunch, and the outcome of recent litigation have taken and already inefficient market and made it even more so. In today’s post I’ll share my observations as to what might be the single biggest trend that will influence how transactions will be closed in today’s changing marketplace…deal transparency.
Managing Disposition Risk
Monday, September 8th, 2008By Mike Myatt, Chief Strategy Officer, N2growth
Today’s Myatt on Mondays question comes from an entrepreneur who asks: “What provisions can I place into a purchase and sale agreement to limit my post disposition liability when selling my business?” While there are virtually endless numbers of provisions that can be incorporated into a purchase and sale agreement it is important to remember that in most circumstances when a seller includes language that mitigates his/her risk that the buyer will want a corresponding price adjustment. That being said, the reality is that all negotiated business points are just that; negotiated…they are dependant upon how badly a seller desires to dispose of the business, how sophisticated the buyer is and how motivated the buyer is to acquire the business. In today’s post I’ll share some of the more common indemnification provisions that can be used to manage a seller’s risk…
Due Diligence - Not Optional…
Friday, August 22nd, 2008By Mike Myatt, Chief Strategy Officer, N2growth
As much as you wish it might be so, due diligence is really not an optional consideration. Have you ever made a decision based upon what you thought was a thorough understanding of all pertinent information only to find out after the fact that you didn’t know as much as you thought you did? It’s not much fun to find yourself on the wrong side of the information gap…Incorrect data, omissions, information that is biased or skewed, misrepresentations, misunderstandings, or any number of other scenarios that lead to the creation of information gaps can be very costly in today’s business environment. In today’s post I’ll discuss the critical nature due diligence…
Public vs. Private
Wednesday, July 16th, 2008By Mike Myatt, Chief Strategy Officer, N2growth
Public vs. Private finance…The question is, which option is better, and why? Entrepreneurs, investors, and advisors have very strong opinions as to whether you’re better-off with private equity or an IPO when seeking to finance, sell, or otherwise seek investment capital for your company. In today’s post I’ll share some recently released information which may help you make the right decision…
Capital vs. Influence
Tuesday, July 1st, 2008By Mike Myatt, Chief Strategy Officer, N2growth
I have long held that the influence a capital partner brings to the table is significantly more valuable than their capital in the grand scheme of things. I often work with clients helping them to navigate the complexities of the financing world, and since I’ve authored other posts on valuation, capital structure, negotiations, employment agreements, etc., in today’s post I’m going to focus on what you want out of an investment partner post closing. Hint its not about the money.
Secondary Markets 101
Wednesday, March 26th, 2008By Mike Myatt, Chief Strategy Officer, N2growth
With the meltdown in credit markets over the past several weeks I thought it may be insightful to look beyond the typical cries of mutual greed on the part of lenders and borrowers alike to some of the lesser known underpinnings associated with this debacle. I’m not disputing for a second that many lenders have pushed the razor’s edge with aggressive, perhaps even in some cases predatory lending, and that many borrowers were (and still are) all too willing to accept potentially disastrous loan terms in an attempt to create a short-cut in the wealth building process. However my suspicion is that most of you reading this post don’t have clear visibility to the fact that there is a third head to the greed monster which I’ll reveal in today’s post…
Read The Full PostMid-Market Capital Opportunity
Friday, March 14th, 2008By, Mike Myatt, Chief Strategy Officer, N2growth
Today’s post will focus on the analysis of mid-market capital providers, which I believe provide the most significant opportunity for companies seeking funding in today’s tight credit markets. If on one end of the spectrum you’ve recently been given the cold shoulder by a bulge bracket lender, or at the other end of the spectrum been rebuffed by a smaller financial player, you’re not alone. In the text that follows I’ll lead you to the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow…the mid-market capital providers.
Read The Full PostLeveraging Corporate Real Estate
Tuesday, October 9th, 2007By Mike Myatt, Chief Strategy Officer, N2growth
Most corporations of any size and scale have large investments in the land and facilities necessary for the successful operation of their business. While making corporate investments into real estate assets may seem to be a reasonable strategy at first glance, they are rarely investment or capital driven decisions, but rather operating decisions that in retrospect usually fail to maximize the leverage and value of their land and facilities beyond what is typically provided for within traditional ownership and financing structures. In today’s post I’ll address one of the popular options for leveraging your corporate real estate assets
Read The Full PostPositioning Your Business for Sale
Thursday, July 19th, 2007By Mike Myatt, Chief Strategy Officer, N2growth
While the M&A space is very frothy with transactional volumes at record levels and premium valuations abounding, the risk associated with getting deals done might just also be at an all time high. Ideally selling a business should really be about taking what the CEO believes is the best deal, however lately it has become more about doing the deal that the CEO perceives as the most defensible transaction when evaluating the impact of the sale on a variety of constituencies. In today’s post I’ll share my thoughts on getting the right deal done with the least amount of litigation risk
Seller Considerations
Wednesday, June 27th, 2007By Mike Myatt, Chief Strategy Officer, N2growth
Let me begin with the disclaimer that there are many different types of exit strategies and many different reasons for exit. That being said, in the text that follows we will only focus on the entrepreneur who sells the business and stays on in an executive capacity for the new entity. Most entrepreneurs are taught to begin identifying their exit planning strategy as early into the lifecycle of a venture as possible. In fact many entrepreneurs are so predisposed to selling their company for the proverbial pot of gold at the end of the rainbow that they spend more time positioning for sale than operating their business. But my question to you is this Is selling your business all that it’s really cracked-up to be? In today’s post I’ll discuss the flip-side of the coin by pointing-out what most entrepreneurs usually fail to consider; the downside of selling a business
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