Preparing a Business for Sale in 3 Steps
We've created a 3-step guide to help prepare a business for sale, including exit planning, assembling your deal team, and starting the M&A process.
The Middle Market Review Insights on the Middle Market.
Thanks for subscribing!
Today we are launching The Winning M&A Advisor, a new publication from Axial.
As a complement to our extremely popular annual M&A Advisory fee guide survey, the Winning M&A Advisor will anonymously unpack data, fees and terms from the winning M&A engagement letters of professional M&A advisors using Axial to win new sell-side business.
Sign up HERE to get every issue of The Winning M&A Advisor directly to your inbox.
Consistent with all of our publications, all identity data and related information are fully anonymized to protect the privacy and confidentiality of Axial members.
We are excited to continue surfacing meaningful data and best practices from the top M&A advisors and capital partners transacting in the American lower middle market.
Sign up below to get every issue of The Winning M&A Advisor directly to your inbox. If you have ideas or questions, please drop me a line at [email protected].
| Engagement Letter Details | |
|---|---|
| Retainer Required | Yes |
| Retainer Applied to Success Fee | No |
| Retainer Amount | $5,000 |
| Retainer Duration | One-time start fee |
| Success Fee Structure | Sliding scale based on the enterprise value |
| Minimum Fee | $300,000 |
| Special Terms | |
| In the event that the business is sold to a buyer who already has an LOI in place, the Success Fee will be $150,000 plus 12% for any increase in the Enterprise Value above the current LOI. | |
Behind the Win:
As part of every Advisor Finder process, we ask business owners to provide a rationale for why they hired a given advisor:
- Specialist: They are an industry specialist, focusing exclusively on representing owners of marketing companies in sales and capital raises.
- Track Record: The advisor had marketed 13 relevant deals on Axial over the last decade. The majority of the deals generated substantial interest from Axial buyers.
- Prepared & Tailored: the business owner was impressed by how prepared the advisor was for each of their conversations. The advisor took the time to deeply understand the owner’s objectives, and tailored their experience and value based on the owner’s preferences – rather than the process seeming cookie-cutter or one-sided.
- Persistence & Value Delivery: the business owner was impressed by their organization, thorough and persistent follow ups, and the value they provided at every stage of the evaluation process, before an engagement had been officially solidified.
- Favorable Fees & Terms: exhibited in the details from the engagement letter surfaced above.
Looking to exit your business? Find an advisor you can trust.
| The Business Owner | |
|---|---|
| Timeline | |
| Owner Reaches Out To Axial | March 15th, 2024 |
| Owner Begins Interviewing M&A Advisors | March 25th, 2024 |
| Owner Signs The Winning Engagement Letter | April 4th, 2024 |
| Owner | |
| Age Range | 45 - 55 |
| Tenure With Business | Inception. < 10 years |
| Business Data | |
| Industry | Marketing Consulting Services |
| Revenue Range | $3M - $4M |
| EBITDA Range | $1M - $1.5M |
| Desired Transaction | |
| Change of Ownership | Majority sale (50%+) |
| Reason For Transaction | Received an unsolicited offer |
| Advisor Recommendation #1 | |
|---|---|
| Firm Type | M&A Advisory Firm |
| Generalist or Specialist | Generalist |
| Relevant Deals Marketed | 9 |
| Deals Marketed on Axial L12 | 10 |
| Average Revenue of Deals | $17,222,800 |
| Average EBITDA of Deals | $3,787,199 |
| Advisor Recommendation #2 | |
|---|---|
| Firm Type | M&A Advisory Firm |
| Generalist or Specialist | Specialist |
| Relevant Deals Marketed | 13 |
| Deals Marketed on Axial L12 | 4 |
| Average Revenue of Deals | $4,599,229 |
| Average EBITDA of Deals | $1,333,789 |
| Advisor Recommendation #3 | |
|---|---|
| Firm Type | M&A Advisory Firm |
| Generalist or Specialist | Specialist |
| Relevant Deals Marketed | 16 |
| Deals Marketed on Axial L12 | 3 |
| Average Revenue of Deals | $3,700,758 |
| Average EBITDA of Deals | $1,481,250 |
The Winning M&A Advisor – 1, 2 or 3?
Recommendation #2
Learn More About Joining Axial
Related Content
Subscribe to Middle Market Review
