On October 13th, Grant Thornton and The Deal co-hosted an informative webinar entitled “Middle Market Global Dealmaking Review & Outlook.” The panel was comprised of:
As you can see from this group, this exploration into Middle Market trends was well represented by this panel of industry luminaries. In an hour they covered several key trends that are affecting transactions today and will continue to be significant in the near future. Some of the issues they examined include:
This last point was probably what leaped out at me as I listened to the session. Professional buyers are requiring more and more information from sellers to shield themselves from as much risk as possible. This is how two of the participants described the current due diligence environment:
Sal Fira: Buyers as a whole are more disciplined. Value creation models are being fashioned. Now it is much more than a financial due diligence and includes an operational team that is developing value drivers even before the deal is closed. Due diligence is so vital now. Lot more risk on the landscape now – cyber risk, cross-border rules – the world is a lot more complex.
Kenneth R. Meyers: We take a very planned approach to due diligence, especially compliance due diligence. For example, we look very closely at the target and the target’s supply chain. The other big area is data protection and IT. Every deal will be an IT deal now.
The reason I am pointing out this emphasis on due diligence is simple: Far too many sellers enter the final phase of selling their company (due diligence) and are woefully unprepared for the level of detail, the 100-200 questions that buyers typically ask, during that stage of negotiations. There are two levels of this preparation:
As we work with our clients, we ensure that both of these areas are addressed in advance. Our dealmakers do a fantastic job of preparing our business owners for the 30-60 days of grueling research by the buyer(s). But even so, I find it fascinating how challenging due diligence can be for even prepared sellers:
As you will hear in these video clips, if you enter due diligence without preparation both from a documentation standpoint and emotional and mental one, chances are good that if your deal even closes, the trauma you will go through will be challenging for you and your loved ones.
So get ready before negotiations reach that point. To learn more about due diligence and how to be prepared, I suggest that you attend a Generational Equity exit-planning conference. Spending a few hours with us will provide you with tremendous information about how to exit in an optimal fashion, with a special emphasis on what to really expect during due diligence. To find out when we will be in your area again, follow this link and a typical agenda of what we cover can be seen here.
If you are interested in the witnessing the webinar on Middle Market Global Dealmaking, you can watch it here.
By Carl Doerksen, Director of Corporate Development at Generational Equity.
© 2021 Generational Equity, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
The information we learn from customers helps us personalize and continually improve your experience. Here are the types of information we gather.
We receive and store any information you enter on our Web site or give us in any other way. We do not sell or rent your personal information to others without your consent. We use the information we collect only for the purposes sending promotional information, enhancing the operation of our site, serving advertisements, for statistical purposes and to administer our systems. We DO NOT use third parties to provide customer service, to serve site content, to serve the advertisements you see on our site, to conduct surveys, to help administer promotional emails, or to administer drawings or contests, but reserve the right to do so in the future without advance notice.
DealForce, LLC’s affiliates are all part of one corporate family, they work with one another and may work together to provide services to you. The sharing of your information among affiliates enables DealForce to serve you more efficiently and makes it more convenient for you to do business with Generational Group. DealForce is permitted by law to share information with its affiliates. All of our affiliates follow similar privacy policies.
For reasons such as improving personalization of our service, we might receive information about you from other sources and add it to our account information.
Generational Group may license the use of its intellectual property including but not limited to its name, likeness, and logo for the use of affiliated offices. Such affiliated offices may not be owned, controlled, managed, supervised or staffed by employees, officers, or agents of Generational Group. Affiliated offices may be independently owned and operated. For more information about a particular office, please contact Generational Group at its office in Dallas, Texas.
This page may contain other proprietary notices and copyright information, the terms of which must be observed and followed.
Information on this web site may contain technical inaccuracies or typographical errors. Information may be changed or updated without notice. Generational Group may also make improvements and/or changes in the products and/or the programs described in this information at any time without notice.
Generational Group does not want to receive confidential or proprietary information from you through our web site. Please note that any information or material sent to Generational Group will be deemed NOT to be confidential. By sending Generational Group any information or material, you grant Generational Group an unrestricted, irrevocable license to use, reproduce, display, perform, modify, transmit and distribute those materials or information, and you also agree that Generational Group is free to use any ideas, concepts, know-how or techniques that you send us for any purpose.
Our computer system protects personal information using advanced firewall technology.
Information Generational Group publishes on the World Wide Web may contain references or cross references to other products, programs and services that are not announced or available in your country. Such references do not imply that Generational Group intends to announce such products, programs or services in your country. Consult a Generational Group representative for information regarding the products, programs and services which may be available to you.
Generational Group makes no representations whatsoever about any other web site which you may access through this one. When you access a non-Generational Group web site, please understand that it is independent from Generational Group, and that Generational Group has no control over the content on that web site. In addition, a link to a non-Generational Group web site does not mean that Generational Group endorses or accepts any responsibility for the content, or the use, of such web site. It is up to you to take precautions to ensure that whatever you select for your use is free of such items as viruses, worms, Trojan horses and other items of a destructive nature.
IN NO EVENT WILL Generational Group BE LIABLE TO ANY PARTY OR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL OR OTHER CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES FOR ANY USE OF THIS WEBSITE, OR ON ANY OTHER HYPERLINKED WEBSITE, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY LOST PROFITS, BUSINESS INTERRUPTION, LOSS OF PROGRAMS OR OTHER DATA ON YOUR INFORMATION HANDLING SYSTEM OR OTHERWISE, EVEN IF WE ARE EXPRESSLY ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.
Furthermore, all information contained within this website is the property of Generational Group.