The question of the extent of the circle of people who may be informed about the sale of the company is a concern for entrepreneurs even before the initiation and actual implementation of the sales process.
This is an extremely sensitive issue. More and more frequently, companies have to face the question of who they can let in on the plan. It is a question of trust, to which the answer is: as few people as possible and as many people as absolutely necessary.
In order to sell one’s company at the most attractive price, analytical precautions must be taken, as investors want to have a clear, yet in-depth look at the company for a first impression. The preparation of one’s own company for sale is of fundamental importance. The better the entrepreneur and his company are prepared, the higher the transaction security.
The M&A consultant knows the classic interests and viewpoints of the investors. He will therefore conduct his analyses in a straightforward manner and turn his attention only to what is absolutely essential. This saves the company a lot of resources.
The entrepreneur should be able to continue concentrating on his business. In order to relieve the entrepreneur as much as possible during the preparation phase, we recommend the involvement of other trusted key people such as the tax advisor, the CFO or the commercial manager. In most cases, they are already bound to discretion by their professions. Sensitization programs are conceivable for reasons of discretion and usually increase the employees’ willingness to participate in the process.
The consultant’s goal here is to ensure that the entrepreneur, in the best case, only participates administratively in the preparation. The M&A advisor must process and analyse the company’s historical data records with the utmost precision and advertise them to potential investors in a way that increases their value. This requires close cooperation with the relevant key people from the company, who are well versed in the company’s finances and other focal points. The people involved provide the consultants with all the data sets necessary for the sale, which the M&A consultant prepares accordingly. In the event of queries, the latter can contact the selected parties directly.
Due to the close exchange, the key persons involved and the consultants quickly develop into a well-rehearsed team, which often forms the basis for a successful and value-optimized company sale.
Together, they get to know the company from new perspectives. This very often leads to the identification of new strategic options, such as the expansion of particularly profitable business areas or industry strategies, and reveals any potential for optimization.
For this reason, it is advisable to expand the circle involved to include selected employees, as they can use the knowledge gained for the ongoing development of the company.