Smart Business Magazine, April 2020
April 2020 Smart Business 35 of money and a lot of buyers chasing good deals so consider other deal sources If you decide that your goals can be achieved through organic growth stepping away from M A can be a wise move If youre committed to making a deal its important to find a seller with whom you have a good rapport so it may take some time to find the right partner Stay the course and dont get frustrated Arena says You might have to kick a lot of tires Just trust your legal team your search firm your accounting firm and your evaluation team The more clearly you can communicate your vision the more successful your search will be Arena is an advocate for a good concise story that lays out your case for making a deal Its crucial in her role as an intermediary who will then make her clients case to potential sellers When my strategic buyers sit down and they tell me their story it has to make sense to the sellers that I call on their behalf Arena says I call sellers on behalf of a specific buyer and there has to be a reason for the acquisition It cant just be world domination It could be I want every staffing company in Cuyahoga County because I want the girth I want to be huge Whatever the reason the seller is going to want to know Why do you have interest in me Arena spends a lot of time counseling clients in the staffing industry but she also works with a wider range of strategic buyers and private equity firms No matter the industry a buyer needs to have a good idea of what it wants If you dont have a clear picture of whats important to you youll waste time looking at companies that dont match your buying criteria and time will be wasted Arena says Take the path less traveled If youre wavering between making an acquisition and building organically there are some important metrics to consider What would it take to enter that market and what would the cost be Arena says What would it cost if you built in that market Would that be easier and less risky because you wouldnt be taking over a poorly performing business that didnt have any of the equipment you needed anyway Acquisitive companies struggling to find a match may want to evaluate their process for identifying potential sellers Buyers should make unsolicited offers or hire a firm to do so Arena says Dont get caught up in buying companies from investment banks where a lot of people are competing for the same businesses Look elsewhere You wouldnt believe how many lawyers are putting companies up for sale Two of my deals last year were done by lawyers Theres a lot Theres got to be enough of a business case to make an acquisition before you start looking JILL ARENA PRESIDENT ARENA ENTERPRISES
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