出售企业前要问自己的10个问题

Business Owners Focus Understanding the Business Saleand Dividend Recap Process You put time, energy, and passion into growingyour business. Let us help you get to what comes next. William Blair is here to guide owners of family or other closely held businesses through the big decisions,such as evaluating liquidity options as you consider next steps. We know that for business owners, thestakes are high—from both a financial and an emotional standpoint—so trusted expertise is essential asyou take the next steps. Understanding the structural and procedural steps to selling your business or completing a dividend recapprocess is as important as thinking about your personal wealth before a liquidity event. We offer guidance on: S A L E O R R E C A P •What to Consider When Deciding to Sell or Recapitalize Your Business•How Do I Sell My Business...or Complete a Dividend Recapitalization Process?•Side-by-Side Comparison of Business Sale and Dividend Recap Processes W E A LT H M A N A G E M E N T •Be Sure to Think About Personal Wealth Well Before a Liquidity Event•How Personal Wealth Planning Aligns with the Business Sale Process•10 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Selling Your Business What to Consider When Deciding to Sell or RecapitalizeYour Business You may be considering selling your business orrecapitalizing to realize greater wealth or increaseliquidity. But which approach will work best for you?Following are key considerations for each. Pros and Cons of a Dividend Recap With an equity recapitalization, which may also bereferred to as a minority sale, your equity would bereduced by the amount sold to outside investors.With a debt recapitalization, you as the businessowner would retain 100% of the equity ownership. Your Business for Sale–What to ExpectWhen evaluating whether selling your company is the appropriate path to pursue, you as a business ownershould think about the following: •Dividend recapitalizations can be an effective way forowners to “take some chips off the table” while retainingcontrol of the company.•In the case of an owner who wants to run the companyfor an extended period and believes that the companyhas significant growth opportunities over the nextseveral years, a recapitalization exit strategy allowsthe owner to cash out some of his or her equity and stillparticipate in a sale down the road (i.e., “take a secondbite of the apple”).•Dividend recapitalizations can also work well insituations where some family members want toretain ownership of the company while others wantto liquidate their positions.•Not every company is a candidate for a debtrecapitalization because taking on the additionaldebt could hurt the company’s future performance.But for companies that have relatively low levels ofdebt, have a history of consistent profits and cashflows, and operate in industries with low cyclicality,a debt recapitalization may be an appealing option,especially when interest rates are low. •Strategic buyers could be larger companies in yourindustry, similarly sized competitors, or companies inadjacent industries.•Often the buyer—especially when it is a private equityfirm—may request, or even require, that the previousowner stays involved in the business, either in amanagement or advisory role.•Buyers may require sellers to “roll over” a portionof the sale proceeds as an equity stake in theacquiring company.•There may be an “earn-out” component to the seller’scompensation, where a portion of the sale proceedsare paid upfront, and the remainder is paid when/ifthe company meets performance or timing goalspost-transaction.•An outright sale may be an attractive option for acompany whose owner is getting ready to retire andhas no likely successor. How Do I Sell My Business...or Complete a DividendRecapitalization Process? We have outlined below a brief “business for sale” process,followed by dividend recapitalization considerations,and the pros and cons of each. There are many factors toconsider. The opportunity to be acquired or to generateliquidity can be both exciting and overwhelming, and thestakes are high—from both a financial and an emotionalstandpoint. We help guide owners of a family business orother closely held businesses through these monumentaldecisions, working together to evaluate the optionsavailable to create liquidity. If you are a business owner, you may have consideredselling your business or recapitalizing, immediately or inthe future. You might want to realize greater wealth, orgain liquidity to reinvest or use for new projects. You maywant to separate value from control as part of your wealthtransfer planning. Your reasons are as unique as you are,and important to what comes next. However, completing a business sales process or a dividendrecapitalization is no small task. These are complicatedprocesses with multiple steps and require coordinatingwith a number of professionals. The right advisor can help.So can reviewing best practices to ensure you understa