Key Benefits
- Equipping sellers and their advisers to navigate, negotiate, and execute transactions while understanding buyer audiences, how to interact with them, and how to maximise deal interest.
- Improve your practical understanding of choices and alternatives through the whole M&A process, from preparation to closing.
- Enhance your decision-making abilities across all the commercial aspects of the sale negotiation.
Do You Need to Attend This Course?
How to sell a business is a ‘must know’ for anyone involved, or expecting to be, in the sale of a business, including:
Business owners considering a sale, especially owner-managers who may wish to have a better understanding of what a sale involves and the alternatives to a sale
Family business advisers
M&A professionals in investment banks, boutique advisory businesses, and the corporate finance arms of accountancy firms
Corporate business development teams, for example, in large, diverse PLCs, where disposals of parts of the business may be on the agenda
Venture capitalists wishing to understand the options for their growth investments
Private equity professionals
And a ‘nice to know’ for:
Legal and other advisers involved in the M&A process, seeking a better understanding of the business sales process and how sellers and their financial advisers initiate deals, structure sale processes and negotiate terms.
Business selling training is an engaging online session tailored for those with prior experience in the acquisition process, aiming to refine their understanding of the critical elements that contribute to successful deals.
Technical Content
Introduction
The concept of tradecraft – why a sales process should be bespoke
The place of judgement
How to (and how not to) debate a point
Understanding why businesses are sold – and bought
Many circumstances may drive a sale
Course focuses on ’willing sellers’, not ’ forced sellers’
Why understanding buyer motives is equally relevant
Choosing an adviser – seller’s perspective
How to differentiate and choose the right adviser
Alternative methods of sale
‘Seven solutions’ framework
When is an IPO a realistic option?
Financing - alternatives to a direct sale
Why a merger is rarely a good idea
Private equity/ MBO: positives ... and reservations
Auction sale to trade
Pre-sale preparation
What steps can or should be considered, and why?
Contrast long-lead time, multi-year preparation with immediate launch
Focus on the presentation of ‘clean’ financial information
The role of management – incentives and rewards
Two case studies - Dealing with an inbound approach and no prior preparation
Positioning a business for sale – case study/ worked example
Based on a real-world transaction
You’re given key financials and market backdrop
Valuation comparables data is provided
Your task is to marshal a series of arguments aimed at maximising buyer interest and value to the seller
Business value framework (Brief *)
Three main approaches: assets, earnings, market
Focus on multiples to understand the approach most commonly used
Why is EBITDA the most common value driver
Enterprise (business) value and equity value
Tradecraft and timetable; process choices
Sell-side best practice
Review the classic M&A auction process
How many buyers to approach?
Transaction marketing documents – the role of teaser, IM, and management presentation
Principles underlying information release and what this means for buyer and seller
Evolution from expression of interest through to indicative and final offers
Case study – ‘under the radar’ marketing – a twin-track sale
Case study – use of A and B lists
Case study – classic auction approach
Due diligence in the sale process – seller’s perspective (Brief **)
The place of due diligence in M&A
Breadth of due diligence areas – may surprise you
Three ways in which due diligence can, and will, affect the deal
Three possible approaches to due diligence
Stopping diligence from causing delays
Driving process and price
Techniques for managing buyer interest
Driving value across the whole deal
Bringing a sale process to a head
Case study – driving the price through a successful auction process
Heads of agreement
Three ways to use these to the seller’s advantage
Cash, debt, and working capital (Brief ***)
Why do deal terms have to reflect these – and how
Seller perspective on these key value points
Process for finalising - Completion accounts vs locked box – When is each approach appropriate?
Case studies – completion accounts and locked box (with ticker) deals
Sale and Purchase agreements – key issues for sellers/ financial advisers
What the financial advisers have to take the lead on in the SPA
Understand protections that buyers may seek – and when these are realistic/ necessary
Seller’s warranties and Disclosure Letter – interaction with due diligence
*More fully covered in the ’Valuation Essentials’ course
**More fully covered in the ’Due Diligence in M&A Transactions’ course
***More fully covered in the ’Deal Closing Skills for Corporate Financiers’ course
Training Objectives
How to sell a business covers the important objectives you’ll face:
This course is appropriate for business owners/sellers and their legal and financial advisers
Enable practitioners with less experience to accelerate their learning around the sale of a business, through discussion of tradecraft, alternatives, case studies, and best practices
Give an understanding of why businesses are sold, and also why they are bought
Help sellers understand the options open to them in planning a process and the choices at each stage
Draw out key value points and other commercial terms where wins and losses may ensue
Business selling training empowers participants with the confidence to anticipate and navigate the complexities of the process
Training Course Summary
At Redcliffe Training, our course on how to sell a business covers every key aspect of the process. From understanding the motivations of potential sellers to navigating final pricing and legal agreements, we provide comprehensive guidance every step of the way. A key element is explaining the importance of thoroughly preparing a business sale and the benefits this brings, through a focused sales effort aimed at maximising value. The principal steps in the sale process, and the key documents at each stage, are clearly explained in the course. An important section focuses on the value of understanding potential buyers, and how best to drive their interest: selling a business calls for a thoughtful, bespoke negotiating strategy, even if you want to learn how to sell a small business. This business selling training offers a comprehensive foundation for anyone looking to sell a business or collaborate with sellers.
Your trainer
Course Trainer · 30 yrs experience
- Mergers & Acquisitions Courses
At Redcliffe, our business selling training is conducted by a seasoned expert with more than 30 years of experience in corporate finance and capital markets. Having held key client-side positions and led advisory teams, our trainer offers in-depth insights drawn from decades of hands-on experience. At the Department of Energy, he was a civil servant involved in the privatisation of British Gas, a global IPO involving a large advisory team. He also worked in the Hungarian Government for two years (1990-92) with the privatisation agency, collaborating with numerous advisory firms, as the changing political environment triggered massive ownership change. Our expert has held prominent roles at leading investment banks, including Swiss Bank Corporation International (now UBS) and Lazard. He also co-founded a successful M&A advisory boutique. He retired in 2021, after a distinguished 13-year tenure in KPMG's global M&A business, based in Scotland. Drawing on extensive experience in business sales and a wide range of M&A and equity transactions across North and Central America, Asia Pacific, Europe, and, more recently, Africa, his courses—including business selling training—are enhanced with real-world case studies from transactions he's personally led, seamlessly combining practical insights with key theoretical concepts.
Reviews
No reviews yet for this course. Check back soon.
FAQs
Frequently asked questions for this course will appear here soon.