ServicesMergers and Acquisitions
Mergers and Acquisitions in Elgin
We help private business owners combine with, acquire or sell to another company. You get a clear valuation, a deal structure you understand line by line, and a straight answer on whether to fix a weak spot first or move ahead now.
What a Small-Company Merger or Acquisition Involves
Most mergers among private companies are really acquisitions. One owner buys the other's stock or assets, and the price is tied to earnings, contracts and people that have to survive the transfer. The work is in pricing those pieces correctly and writing terms that hold up after closing.
Before we put a deal in front of anyone, we look at what would drag the price down. Sometimes the sensible move is to correct it first: document owner add-backs, get a key customer onto a written contract, or confirm the lease can be assigned. Sometimes the flaw costs less to price into the deal than to fix, and we tell you that instead.
We have handled over $5 million in businesses sold, and we work with owners from Elgin out to Taylor, Hutto and Bastrop, meeting at our office or by phone and video.
What We Do on a Merger or Acquisition
- A valuation that accounts for the combination
- We work out seller's discretionary earnings or adjusted EBITDA, depending on your size, and split your value on its own from the extra value a strategic buyer may expect. The space between those numbers is your room to negotiate.
- Choosing the structure
- Assets or stock, cash at closing, a seller note, an earnout or rolling equity into the new company. We show how each option changes your taxes, liability and risk.
- Private outreach
- Buyers and targets sign a nondisclosure agreement before learning your name or seeing your figures. Employees, customers and suppliers are told nothing until you choose.
- Getting ready for diligence
- We help pull together three years of tax returns, profit and loss statements, contracts, leases and equipment lists, so the other party gets quick, consistent answers.
- From LOI to closing
- We negotiate the letter of intent, then work with your attorney, CPA and any lender until the purchase agreement is signed and the money moves.
Signs It Is Time to Bring In M&A Help
A competitor made you an offer
An unsolicited offer is usually priced for the buyer. A valuation tells you whether it is fair before you reply.
Growth has stalled
Buying a competitor or a complementary company can add customers, staff and capacity faster than building them yourself.
A buyer wants an earnout
Earnouts pay part of the price later, based on future results. The measurement terms decide whether you ever collect it.
Your contracts may not transfer
Leases, franchise agreements and customer contracts often need consent to assign. Finding that late can stall a deal for weeks.
A partner is ready to leave
If the question is one owner buying out another, our Partner Buyouts and Succession page covers that path in detail.
What Drives the Cost of a Merger or Acquisition
Nothing is due when you list with us. You sign no retainer, the paperwork hides no charges, and we earn our fee only after the sale closes and the seller is paid. What changes from one deal to the next is how much work it takes and which outside costs, like legal and accounting, you should plan for.
How big and complicated the company is
One location with tidy books needs far less work than several entities with real estate and multiple owners.
How the deal is built
A stock purchase, earnout or equity rollover takes more drafting and tax work than a plain cash asset sale.
State of the books
Personal costs mixed into the business or missing tax returns mean more CPA hours to produce statements a buyer will trust.
Loans in the deal
Bank or SBA loans add appraisals and lender conditions. Our Acquisition Financing Guidance page walks through them.
How a Deal Moves With Us
- 1
Confidential valuation call
We talk through your financials, customers and goals and give you a free, confidential valuation as the starting point.
- 2
Fix-or-proceed review
We list what a buyer or partner will discount, such as customer concentration or undocumented add-backs. For each item we say whether correcting it first should raise the price, or whether to go ahead now.
- 3
Search and screening
We find and qualify buyers or acquisition targets, collect signed NDAs and confirm they can finance the deal before sharing details.
- 4
Letter of intent and diligence
We negotiate price and terms into a letter of intent, then manage document requests and site visits during due diligence.
- 5
Closing
We work with attorneys, CPAs and lenders on the purchase agreement and closing documents until the transfer is complete.
Mergers and Acquisitions Questions
Is a merger different from selling my business?
For private companies the line is thin. In a true merger both owners keep a stake in the combined company; in an acquisition one side buys the other out. We help you compare both, since a merger keeps you involved while a sale is a cleaner exit. If a full exit is the goal, our Sell a Business page covers that route.
Should I fix problems before going to market?
Only when the fix should earn back more than it costs and can be done in a reasonable time. Putting a top customer on a written contract often does. Reworking a full set of systems often does not, and pricing it into the deal is the better answer.
How do you keep the deal confidential?
Buyers see a blind profile with no name first. Full details go only to parties who sign an NDA and show they can fund the purchase. You approve each one.
Do I pay anything to start?
No. You sign no retainer and write no check to begin, and the valuation costs you nothing. Our fee is paid from the sale proceeds at closing.
Can you help me acquire a company instead?
Yes. We screen targets, review their financials and structure the offer. Our Buy a Business page explains buyer registration, and new listings go to registered buyers first.
Find Out What Your Company Is Worth to Another Company
Start with a confidential conversation about your numbers and your goals. We will tell you what to fix, what to leave alone and how a deal could be structured.