Mergers & Acquisitions – They say selling a business is an art – we’ve turned it into a science
Schedule a Consultation
Businesses for SaleMorgan & Westfield is committed to making the process of buying a business as simple as possible. Browse our businesses for sale now.
Buyer’s GuideHere is an overview of the process of buying a business, presented in concise summaries from our experts.
Learning from your mistakes is an important life lesson. Learning from the mistakes of others is smart business. Jim Stevenson shares a high-level overview of two M&A transactions that have gone wrong and points out the lessons that can be applied to any transaction. His suggestions include going after the smart money, not just the most money, performing risk assessment and research on the buyer’s track record, running a company while managing the sale, and creating an integration plan, not just a timeline.
“Every deal will have challenges. It’s whether that challenge is big enough to say that that deal went wrong or not.”
Jim Stevenson
| Why is it important to consider what can go wrong in a deal? What can be learned? [1:58] | |
| What went wrong when a larger company acquired a smaller company and then overleveraged debt? [7:23] | |
| What percentage of deals go wrong? [10:24] | |
| How can a seller avoid common risks that might lead to a deal going wrong? [15:10] | |
| How extensively should a seller complete due diligence on a buyer before finalizing the sale? [21:25] | |
| Where did things go wrong for the tech company that took its eye off running the business and focused on the deal instead? [25:08] | |
| What percentage of sellers don’t hold themselves together throughout the sale process? [31:56] | |
Jim Stevenson, Founder and CEO of Bletchley Group, is a proven strategic advisor and inspirational leader who drives business growth through complex, challenging, or uncertain times. With a career spanning 20+ years, he focuses on strategy, organizational transformation, and growth, adding over $700M in value to clients. Several years ago, he joined Spark International as a Partner, a boutique fundraising and M&A firm, recognizing the value these brought to his clients in their growth journey.
We invested over a decade perfecting every step of the process. The result is a method proven to reduce your risk and maximize your price.
View Our Process Now
SBA Lender
Stop letting questionable add-backs and messy books cost you hundreds of thousands on your business sale. Learn exactly what bank lenders, especially those focused on SBA 7(a) loans, will and…
Financing Specialist
Stop guessing what your business is truly worth and learn the core differences between the lower and upper middle markets and what drives a higher business valuation. Discover why professional…
You’ve invested your blood, sweat, and tears into an enterprise that has provided for you, your family and your employees. The moment has finally come for you to start a new chapter in your life. Explore your options now.
Schedule Your Consultation
Who We Are
What We Do
Our Experience
Text
Audio
Other Resources
Let’s Talk
LinkedIn: