GW Equity

FAQ

Who needs this service?
Successful business owners have created valuable assets by understanding the needs of their clients and customers. Their companies compete in the marketplace because of the mutual recognition of value behind every transaction the companies make. It is the rare business owner who can identify, attract, and complete a transaction with, a prospective buyer of his company – the buyer who shares a mutual recognition of the company’s value. GW Equity’s experts have helped hundreds of mergers and acquisitions take place by enabling the business owner to establish the company’s value, by helping buyers recognize the value, and by helping the two parties close a deal. We make the difficult process simple and effective for our clients.

Why GW Equity?
There are many competent consultants in the merger and acquisition field. GW Equity distinguishes itself by bringing together a big, experienced team of people who have devoted their careers to the pursuit of the right deals for our clients. We have the unique ability to create a seller’s market for a company and to achieve maximum value for a merger or acquisition. We analyze a company to establish its valuation and potential before we create its market offer. We use our analysis to create an informative, attractive presentation to potential buyers.
We use our extensive databases of prospective buyers to solicit and finalize a short list of the best prospects. When the time is right, we structure and negotiate the optimum deal.

Where does this relationship with GW Equity lead?
Simply put, the relationship produces the best deal possible. In a larger context, the relationship puts GW Equity to work first on the assessment of the ideal transaction for your business, then on the execution of the right deal. Together, you and GW Equity will document the five-year outlook for growth and profit for your company. Your advisors will create sophisticated presentation materials and place them in the hands of prospective buyers most likely to recognize and want the premium value of your company. When the right buyer is found, GW Equity will put you at greatest advantage in negotiation.

What does GW Equity provide?
From the moment you first consider selling your company, GW Equity will be working in your interest, first to determine the tangible and intangible value of your company and to help you identify efficient ways to enhance its value. The valuation process enables your advisors at GW Equity to create a sale presentation for the company that appeals to buyers. Next, we find buyers and assist the client in negotiating and closing the deal. Start to finish, GW Equity also provides confidentiality for our clients.

What other services will my company need?
Expect GW Equity to fulfill all your needs associated with the sale of your company. In the same way that many companies and institutions retain outside auditors, legal counsel and financial advisors to monitor their procedures as well as their compliance with various laws and standard practices, so do our clients occasionally bring in experts to review the efforts of GW Equity. We welcome and value the opinions of our clients’ other trusted advisors.

Are the benefits worth the investment?
You can compute that value for yourself. Keep in mind that three-fourths of those who sell their companies on their own are leaving as much as 75% of the value of those companies on the table. GW Equity’s expertise will maximize the value you can expect to derive from the merger or acquisition of your company. When you compare the reasonable cost of our expertise against the enhanced value of your transaction, you will conclude that the benefits of our services are worth considerably more than they cost.

How will I know which is the right buyer?
A big factor in GW Equity’s success in making great deals for our clients is our array of extensive databases of prospective buyers. These exclusive, proprietary databases, combined with our expertise in assessing value and executing deals, assure our clients that we will bring the right buyer to the table. Even so, we protect our clients’ right to screen the short list of prime prospects and to eliminate any that the client believes to be the wrong prospective owners.

How do I establish the true market value of my company?
There are many important factors in determining the value of a company. Some, like the ratio of assets to earnings, are obvious and quite significant. Others are subtle but surprisingly substantial. In order to assure that the right buyer will be able to consider all the value factors, sellers need the assistance of merger and acquisition experts like GW Equity. Our valuation team can highlight future cash flow potential, identify intangible values and help buyers focus on the kind of return they can expect from the investment. Keep in mind that an incentive driving many mergers and acquisitions is the efficiencies, like excess capacity or extensive logistics, that a prospective buyer can apply.

Can I protect my good employees’ tenure with the new owner?
Often, a trained and efficient staff and management team is the consideration that appeals to a buyer as much as any other factor. Owners preparing to sell their companies often create incentive programs to induce key personnel to remain in place when ownership changes. This assures the buyer that the operation will remain stable beyond the ownership transition. Efforts to reward loyalty and protect tenure among key personnel may be negotiated as terms of the sale agreement. If the buyer is reluctant to endorse any promises, this could be a crucial factor in the deal.

When is the right time to sell my business?
Keep in mind that the time to sell is when the right buyer is ready. Owners can’t count on advertising and acquaintances to produce an array of offers from premium buyers. On the other hand, GW Equity works with sellers to excite the interest of premium buyers with a realistic portrait of the company’s potential for growth and profit several years out. By structuring a deal and negotiating a favorable transaction for the seller, GW Equity can influence timing that is favorable to the seller’s intentions.