MidasFund Will Not Acquire Distressed Companies; However, it Will Buy Stable Divisions of Bankrupt Companies.  Here's Why.   "Last week’s announcement that MidasFund had started acquiring zombie companies caused a flurry of emails," writes Rob Slee on the MidasMoments blog of the MidasNation site.  "Many of you asked about the differences between acquiring distressed, zombie and healthy companies. Let’s dig ...

With Limited Resources, the SEC is Using a "Risk Analytics" Strategy to Target Areas of Concern, Explains Exec at Conference Recent examinations of newly SEC-registered private equity firms is helping regulators understand the complex world of private equity, according to delegates and speakers at PEI’s CFOs and COOs Forum 2013 in New York, writes Nicholas Donato at Private Equity Manager.  More: ...

Watch Out for Decreases in Communication, Respect, and Aspiration; Increases in Isolation, Negativity, Rifts.  Good News?  It Can Be Cured. Rosabeth Moss Kantor asks on the Harvard Business Review Blog Network:  How do you know a team, company, or country is on the slippery slope of decline and needs a culture shift?  She writes that she found nine universal warning signs of change-in-the-wrong direction in ...

Deal Activity Will Likely See a Surge in 2013 if a Meaningful Deficit-Reduction Compromise Can Be Reached  Wallace Witkowski at Marketwatch reported in mid-December that deal activity will likely see a surge in 2013 if a meaningful deficit-reduction compromise can be reached.  Otherwise the market will remain stunted as it was in the past year.   Democrats and Republicans didn't come to a full agreement by ...

The “Market” is Not Always Right When it Comes to Value, Especially in M&A Transactions The mergers and acquisitions market began a slow recovery this last year after a sharp downturn in 2009. Was the slowdown caused by banks reducing lending activity, cash hoarding by businesses, economic uncertainty, or the simple failure of buyers and seller to agree upon price? Michael Blake takes a look at how valu ...

U.S. Middle Market Leaders Express Preferences re: Spending, Debt, and Fiscal Cliff  The National Center for the Middle Market (NCMM) recently (early December 2012) conducted a survey of 1,000 U.S. middle market business leaders across all industry sectors and geographic regions to gauge their preferences for the outcome of the negotiations.  Here's what they found:   ...

Document Incentive, Retention, and Non-Compete Agreements; Build a Broad Management Team Business owners need to be careful about vague assurances to “take care of” key employees before an acquisition. Brett Stacey offers tips on how best to manage a transition in a responsible manner that’s likely to address hurt feelings, protect employee morale, and minimize law suits. ...

There’s Lots We Know about Private Capital. There are Things We Don’t Know, too—and Need to Be Aware of. Robert T. Slee explains in this excerpt several key macro insights—and related themes—that his recent book Private Capital Markets is based on.  The macro insights are that corporate finance theory doesn’t predict behavior in private capital markets, and valuation, capitalization, and transfer are not di ...

To Close Deals, Find the Best Buyer, and Clearly Demonstrate Value Company owners planning to sell need to convince buyers that the premium they’re asking for is legitimate, necessary, and justified. Ron Stacey offers tips on how to validate value to potential buyers. ...

Lots of Room for Innovation on Security. M&A Pros: Here’s What to Watch! What’s an important sector to keep an eye on in terms of M&A? Mobile Security. Mobile devices face at least four threats: Fraud (stealing $$), data theft, and probing and nuisance attacks. There’s room for innovation on everything from voice encryption, payment card processing, digital rights management, user authentication, ap ...

Owners: Don't Exit Before You're Ready, Lock Yourself In, or Count on Future Consulting There is no single formula that will result in a happy retirement for business owners. Over 75 percent of business owners say they regretted selling their companies a year after the sale, according to a PwC study entitled “Whose Business is it Anyway?” But there are ways to improve the chances that consultants can help o ...

Star Wars Creator Strikes Savvy Deal with Disney Quentin Fottrell at CBS MarketWatch reports that Disney will buy George Lucas' LucasFilm for $4.05 billion in cash and stock, the two companies announced Tuesday: Wade Westhoff, a financial adviser based in Danville, Calif., says of the Disney deal. “This is a textbook example of exit planning for a private business owner.” (Lucas and a spokesman for LucasFil ...

"It Got a Bit Ugly" Sarah E. Needleman at the WSJ Small Business Blog reports:  Ten months after co-founding a communications firm in 2008, Tami Hausman asked her business partner to meet at a local Starbucks. Things weren't working out, Ms. Hausman says, and she wanted to run the New York company on her own. ...

Owners Can Improve Cash Flow, Reduce Risk, and Generate Growth Successful exit plans require building long-term value, and Ron Stacey explains how business owners can begin to do that today by improving cash flow, reducing risk, and accelerating growth. ...

The Future Will Probably Include Not Only More ESOPs, But More High-Percentage (70-100%) ESOPs. Here’s Why What will happen with Employee Stock Ownership Plans and Trusts over the next few decades? Many authorities estimate that as many as one out of every two businesses will change hands over that time period as baby boomers enter retirement age and look to transition their long held businesses. Where does ...

There are Lots of Exit Options Owners Can Plan for, but Putting Together a Plan is Essential Business owners need to plan the sort of exit they hope for early on and treat exit options explicitly as part of their initial business plan. Whether owners are looking to sell outright, be acquired by another company, go public, choose simply to liquidate, or let the business run dry matters. Here’s why. ...

Choosing Board Members for a Family Business Can be a Delicate Process, but with Proper Due Diligence, a Perfect Fit Can be Achieved. Mario Vicari and Tyler Ridgeway cover some of the key points in choosing board members for a family business, covering topics from how a board should be structured, how board members should be qualified and compensated, and what work should be expected from them. ...

Good Values are Sometimes Overlooked.  How Can Private Equity Investors Best Assess Company Viability?   With nearly $1 trillion in dry powder, the private equity market is becoming steadily more competitive. EBITDA multiples are rising, PE firms are holding their portfolio companies longer, and pension funds are starting to make direct investments. So how do smart investors in private equity compete?   Axi ...

40 Percent of the U.S. GDP is in Privately Held Businesses. Here’s What You Need to Understand and Operate in This Market. Performing business valuation and mergers and acquisition work requires understanding a number of core discipline areas. With the expanded understanding of middle market finance, it is helpful to have a roadmap to complete any successful transaction or engagement.  ...

When Planning a Business Sale, Be Sure to Consider Personal Goals, Consistency, Salability, and Tax Implications Solid exit planning ensures that a business will realize top value when the owners are ready to move on.  How can business owners determine which strategies to focus on today to best build long-term growth?  It may depend on which exit option the owner ends up pursuing.  Here are nine options to ...