Every single business acquisition will be different and will have various challenges that have to be met. However, in all cases we have the same principle that appears. There are two companies that have different ownerships that unite and then operate under one roof. We have companies that help manage acquisitions like Generational Equity. They are normally involved in the process because of all the things that have to be managed. However, if you want to handle it alone, here are some tips that you want to know about.
Assembling An Acquisitions Team
You want to have a special internal team that features representatives from sales, marketing, operations and finance departments. Outside experienced advisors include investment bankers, accountants, lawyers, employee benefits specialists and other specialists. The idea is to have many people involved that can plan everything properly. You cannot simply have one company take over another one and implement the same practices that only one utilizes.
Creating An Acquisition Plan
A plan is very important in any merger. You need to know exactly why the acquisition happens, what objectives exist and how everything will be finances. Many things are taken into account by specialists like cost savings, efficiency, choosing target companies and more. Drafting the acquisition plan is the very first thing that is necessary in order to make a really good process go forward properly. In many cases companies start working on the acquisition too fast and fail to understand everything that is going to happen.
Putting A Price On The Deal
One of the toughest parts of the business acquisition is pricing it properly. There is no real valuation method that is going to highlight the actual worth of the company since value stands out as being subjective. Market value stands out as the general indicator that can be considered but many other facts have to be taken into account. Price factors do include discounted cash flow, earnings, equity, meaning, projected earnings, strategic value and possible new earning streams that could appear. You want to analyze assets like brands, licenses, intellectual property and customer lists.
Remember the fact that one of the common reasons why acquisitions fail is having the two parties disagree to the value of the companies. This makes everything difficult and price discussions are always going to be problematic. There may be some seller cultures that are different and normally, when price problems appear, it is important to focus on getting outside help to deal with the problem.
Acquisition Financing
We always have unique structures in transactions. You need to finance the deal since cash is normally not available at the discretion of the companies involved. In many situations it will be necessary to take out a loan and plan to deal with some future debt. Structure is vital in this situation and financing should be acquired before the process starts. If you do not have all the money, it is a guarantee that you are going to be faced with some problems. Get back to planning and factor in the necessary finances.
