Whether you're a Buyer or Seller, successfully completing M&A transactions requires a skilled team of advisors who have negotiating experience, the right temperament to deal with many different personalities, and the willingness to listen to your needs.
Hiring advisors
Having someone to look at a situation from a distance, to be able to consider that situation from a perspective of a detached outsider, can often be the greatest benefit to a person who is buried in the minutiae of day to day operations and worries.
Both Buyer and Seller need the following advisors:
- An attorney to draft the purchase agreement
Legal issues are always at the forefront. The lawyer is a very important advisor to both sides. Similar to the intermediary, each has its own lawyer.
- Accountants to audit or review the number and more importantly, to interact with the other side's accountants.
Accounting is another issue that can cause a deal to crash and burn. Accounting may be a science, but the application of accounting, especially in companies utilising family accepted accounting principles, can become an art.
- Advisors to negotiate the deal and to make sure it gets across the finish line (investment bankers).