Kison Patel is the Founder and CEO of M&A Science and Dealroom, and is an M&A industry veteran having acted as an M&A advisor for ten years in which he sold larger companies such as commercial banks and hotel chains. Through developing technology, educational content, and industry training, Kison aims to bring better practices to an industry with growing market pressures, transaction values, and competition.
In today’s business audio masterclass, we cover tips on maximizing your M&A exit price and how this will differ depending on whether you are looking to make an exit in the short term or long term.

Newsletter l Podcast l Free Resources 

https://www.dealroom.net/ – Check out Dealroom!

https://www.mascience.com/ – Check out M&A Science!

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kisonpatel/ – Connect with Kison on LinkedIn!

1. To maximize your sale price when you are looking to exit with a long term view, put yourself out there and start communicating with potential buyers to get an understanding on what a potential exit may look like and navigate it to get your best price.

2. If you are looking to sell with a short view, run a competitive process with investment banks and choose one that is most experienced for achieving exits for your companies in similar industries and deal sizes as yours. Auction bids can help to also increase the sale price.

3. Entrepreneurs tend to neglect the integration process that comes after a sale. Avoid this by asking questions and getting clarity at the start of the negotiation process to make sure that there is a good fit between you and the buyer, especially if you want to see your company being acquired by someone who you can trust to grow it.

[3.50] Kison spent 10 years as an M&A advisor in Chicago. When he got interested in technology, he got interested in how project management software can be used to help with the M&A process and this led him to start DealRoom. Over time Kison added more features and integrations into Dealroom, including a pipeline management.

[7.40] Kison shares that the M&A industry in the last 5 years has changed from a pure finance focus to a more people focus when it comes to the investment thesis and what investors are looking out for today.  More than ever, the post integration process in an M&A deal is coming to the forefront of the considerations of the deal process.

[12.50] Entrepreneurs tend to neglect the integration process that comes after a sale. This shouldn’t be neglected because it is common for entrepreneurs to be required to stay on in a company that they have sold for a few years to ensure that the company is able to transit smoothly.

[16.30] To better manage the integration process, ask questions relating to what are the drivers of the deal and what is the expectation post-acquisition.  This helps to set expectations and gain clarity. If the acquirer is not forthcoming with such information, it could be a red flag. The better the preparation process the better. Post-acquisition it would depend on the strength of the leadership and how well things are communicated.

[18.00] Depending on whether you are looking to exit your company in the short term versus the long term, the strategy and price that you can get for your company will differ. To maximize your exit price for a sale with a long view, put yourself out there and start communicating with potential buyers to get an understanding on what a potential exit may look like and navigate it to get your best price. If you are looking to sell with a short view, you typically would reach out to an investment bank and the investment bank will run the process to look for buyers.

[22.00] An auction process can help to drive up your price, but the highest price bidder isn’t always the winner. People are willing to accept a lower exit price if it means a better culture fit.

[27.30] Running a competitive process when engaging investment banks helps to make sure that you get the right partner to guide you in the exit process. Look for bankers who are experienced with transactions in your company’s particular industry and deal size. Avoid mismatches in deals because that when things can get awry.

[34.20] Dealroom is a lifecycle management solution for M&A and also provides various consulting services to help with the M&A process.

Kison Patel is the Founder and CEO of M&A Science and Dealroom, and is an M&A industry veteran having acted as an M&A advisor for ten years in which he sold larger companies such as commercial banks and hotel chains. Through developing technology, educational content, and industry training, Kison aims to bring better practices to an industry with growing market pressures, transaction values, and competition.
In today’s business audio masterclass, we cover tips on maximizing your M&A exit price and how this will differ depending on whether you are looking to make an exit in the short term or long term.

Newsletter l Podcast l Resources 

https://www.dealroom.net/ – Check out Dealroom!

https://www.mascience.com/ – Check out M&A Science!

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kisonpatel/ – Connect with Kison on LinkedIn!

1. To maximize your sale price when you are looking to exit with a long term view, put yourself out there and start communicating with potential buyers to get an understanding on what a potential exit may look like and navigate it to get your best price.

2. If you are looking to sell with a short view, run a competitive process with investment banks and choose one that is most experienced for achieving exits for your companies in similar industries and deal sizes as yours. Auction bids can help to also increase the sale price.

3. Entrepreneurs tend to neglect the integration process that comes after a sale. Avoid this by asking questions and getting clarity at the start of the negotiation process to make sure that there is a good fit between you and the buyer, especially if you want to see your company being acquired by someone who you can trust to grow it.

[3.50] Kison spent 10 years as an M&A advisor in Chicago. When he got interested in technology, he got interested in how project management software can be used to help with the M&A process and this led him to start DealRoom. Over time Kison added more features and integrations into Dealroom, including a pipeline management.
[7.40] Kison shares that the M&A industry in the last 5 years has changed from a pure finance focus to a more people focus when it comes to the investment thesis and what investors are looking out for today. More than ever, the post integration process in an M&A deal is coming to the forefront of the considerations of the deal process.
[12.50] Entrepreneurs tend to neglect the integration process that comes after a sale. This shouldn’t be neglected because it is common for entrepreneurs to be required to stay on in a company that they have sold for a few years to ensure that the company is able to transit smoothly.
[16.30] To better manage the integration process, ask questions relating to what are the drivers of the deal and what is the expectation post-acquisition. This helps to set expectations and gain clarity. If the acquirer is not forthcoming with such information, it could be a red flag. The better the preparation process the better. Post-acquisition it would depend on the strength of the leadership and how well things are communicated.
[18.00] Depending on whether you are looking to exit your company in the short term versus the long term, the strategy and price that you can get for your company will differ. To maximize your exit price for a sale with a long view, put yourself out there and start communicating with potential buyers to get an understanding on what a potential exit may look like and navigate it to get your best price. If you are looking to sell with a short view, you typically would reach out to an investment bank and the investment bank will run the process to look for buyers.
[22.00] An auction process can help to drive up your price, but the highest price bidder isn’t always the winner. People are willing to accept a lower exit price if it means a better culture fit.
[27.30] Running a competitive process when engaging investment banks helps to make sure that you get the right partner to guide you in the exit process. Look for bankers who are experienced with transactions in your company’s particular industry and deal size. Avoid mismatches in deals because that when things can get awry.
[34.20] Dealroom is a lifecycle management solution for M&A and also provides various consulting services to help with the M&A process.