Move carefully in making an acquisition
We”™ve decided to do an acquisition. Without an acquisition we”™ll have difficulty hitting our growth and profit goals, and may be facing a significant loss next year. We”™ve never done one before, so we”™re not sure where to start or what to look out for.
Top Thoughts: Acquisitions are potentially a great way to grow the business. Most acquisitions start with lots of optimism and end up not delivering the expected results. Figure out what your company needs, then go get it. Be careful to pay only for assets you can secure. Look for buyers who are ready to do business.
If you feel like you”™re beating your head into the wall, it may be faster and more profitable to do an acquisition as a way to beef up revenue and profit. Perhaps the recession has taken a toll on your customer base. Or costs have risen faster than profits. Or new innovations are pulling customers away. Or you can”™t locate the human talent you need. When the core business maxes out, add to the mix of what you own.
Keep in mind that when all the dust settles, most acquisitions fall far short of expectations. That”™s not a reason to avoid doing one, just a warning of caution. It is possible to do an acquisition well and help your company get to the next level. The answer is in the details of how you go about acquiring and managing the newly acquired business.
Start by profiling what your company is good at and what areas need help. Fill in two columns, strengths and weaknesses, for each of the 6 Sisters: Leadership, Sales, Finance, Marketing, Operations, Human Resources. Be realistic about where the company needs reinforcing.
Build a shopping list. Need customers? Need goods to sell to existing customers? Have unused production capacity? Need equipment and expertise to improve profitability? Strong enough at marketing? What about training and development?
Get to work to find acquisition targets that meet your company”™s short, mid-, and long-term needs. Figure out the value that would come from adding specific attributes, volume, skill. Think of the acquisition as time sensitive ”“ if you can”™t reap rewards within one to two years, it may not be worth doing.
Check on the security of the assets you”™re buying. Are there outstanding liens or loans due on hard assets. If you”™re planning to acquire personnel, which is the case in most acquisitions, are confidentiality agreements, non-competes and golden handcuffs in place ”“ on the right personnel.
I recently heard a business owner brag that he had sold his company, only to start another company and lure former employees and clients to that new entity. The acquirer folded within two years. Not particularly admirable, but certainly possible without the proper contracts.
Consider the potential seller”™s motivation and experience. If this is their first conversation about selling the business, and they”™re just shopping around, they may not be as realistic or quick to close as you”™d like. If they”™ve been to the doorstep of a deal before, only to have it fall through, the experience may help to reduce their expectations, or be a warning sign that they”™re unrealistic.
Ask about the seller”™s advisers. Beware if there”™s no lawyer or accountant to work with. At a minimum, that will slow the process of information gathering and document creation. Trust is built between buyer and seller by putting information and deals on paper and affixing signatures, no more, no less.
Have an acquisition process ready to roll the day you take possession. Put people in charge. Quickly secure personnel, inventory, equipment, customers, and production, in order to minimize losses. Know how much revenue has to be produced ”“ at what margin ”“ to make the acquisition work. Measure results daily, until the new business is on track.
Looking for a good book? Try “Do-It-Yourself Business Sales Guidebook: A Proven System to Help You Sell a Small Business with Less than $1 Million in Revenue,” by Ben Brickweg.
Andi Gray is president of Strategy Leaders Inc., www.StrategyLeaders.com, a business consulting firm that specializes in helping entrepreneurial firms grow. She can be reached by phone at 877-238-3535. Do you have a question for Andi? Please send it to her, via e-mail at AskAndi@StrategyLeaders.com or by mail to Andi Gray, Strategy Leaders Inc., 5 Crossways, Chappaqua, NY 10514. Visit www.AskAndi.com for an entire library of Ask Andi articles.