Involving an M&A professional to represent the seller is good for both sides. Sophisticated buyers know that going in, and successful sellers learn that, to their lasting benefit, on the way to the finish line.

In today’s market, 70% of buyers are financial buyers – family offices, private equity groups, or perhaps synergistic buyers. They are professionals, and buying businesses is what they do for a living. They like to have someone on the other side who can package the information as they want to see it, who knows the process, who can guide the seller through it.

From the perspective of an experienced buyer, having an M&A professional involved in the deal on the seller’s side actually:

• speeds up the process, and
• increases the chances for a successful closing.

Buyers Are Willing To Pay Premium to Guarantee a Successful Deal

We recently closed a deal in which a large company bought a business through us. Six months later the buyer came back to us and said, “Here’s another company we want to buy. We’ve signed a letter of intent with the seller, and we want you to represent them.”

We pointed out to the buyer what they already knew: If we represent the seller, our job is to get as much money out of the buyer as we possibly can.

The buyer’s reply: “We really want this company, and without professional help, we will not get a deal done.”

So, at the buyer’s request, the seller hired us. We ended up selling the business, to that buyer, for almost double the price to which they had originally agreed.

But the buyer was willing to pay the extra amount, which included our fees, as a premium for the relative certainty of closing the deal.

The buyer’s willingness to pay that premium should not come as a total surprise. The purchase of an attractive business requires substantial commitments of time, energy, and money – on both sides – and neither buyer nor seller will devote their maximum effort if they foresee too many issues on the other side that could cause the deal to fall apart.

From the buyer’s viewpoint, they appreciate knowing that:

• the company has been professionally valued and critically assessed by an experienced third party;
• the M&A intermediary can keep the seller grounded in the realities of a complex deal, the timeline (see a simplified sample below), the exchanges of information, the bothersome minutiae of due diligence, and more;
• the seller has someone on their side who can hold their hand and keep them committed to the deal when the going gets tough (as it invariably does);
• the seller has someone on their side who speaks the buyer’s language and can look at the deal through the buyer’s eyes (while retaining their commitment to the seller’s interests); and
• the seller’s M&A professional will see the deal through to a successful closing and help ensure that the post-closing process – including the transition of ownership – is completed.

Involving an M&A professional to represent the seller is good for both sides. Sophisticated buyers know that going in, and successful sellers learn that, to their lasting benefit, on the way to the finish line.

*This article originally appeared in IBG Foxfin site.

Object Consulting was advised by Neil Bourne, Managing Principal at Eaton Square.

Object Consulting is an Australian IT services business that specialises in Software Development, IT Project Delivery, Systems Integration and IT Project Delivery primarily for large State Government Departments. Object Consulting is a well-regarded brand in the Australian market with a 25-year history of delivering complex solutions to large enterprise and government clients and we were pleased with the high level of interest from a broad variety of industry participants in this purchase opportunity.

The DWS Group (ASX:DWS) is an ASX listed provider of IT Services to Australian businesses and Government agencies. The DWS Group have delivered Customer Experience, Technology & Strategy to some of Australia’s largest names & all levels of Government.

Read the full press release here.

Eaton Square

Eaton Square is an international cross-border M&A and capital service provider with operations in 15 offices with over 50 M&A and capital professionals across US, Canada, China & Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, UK, Switzerland, Singapore and Israel.

We assist growth-oriented, technology and services businesses to:

• Capitalise on the value they have built-in their business for shareholders
• Undertake mergers and acquisitions
• Access the capital they need to grow and expand

We are focused on four key opportunities:

1. Mergers and Acquisitions – buy side, sell side, mergers
2. Capital Raising – growth capital, bank debt, private equity, second round of capital raising
3. Public Markets – full or partial new market listing, reverse listing with capital raise
4. Transaction Readiness – market attractiveness, transaction preparations and organisation shaping, business and capital strategy, execution

For more information, please contact:

Neil Bourne
Managing Principal

neil.bourne@eatonsq.com
Ph: +61 416 199 696

Eaton Square would like to congratulate the shareholders of Kathy Jones and Associates on the recent sale of their firm to ERM.

Kathy Jones & Associates (KJA) was advised by Warren Riddell, Eaton Square Principal in Sydney.

Kathy Jones and Associates is a leading stakeholder engagement and communication consultancy in Australia has been acquired by ERM. KJA has led stakeholder engagement and communications for multi-billion dollar infrastructure and urban regeneration projects, such as the new Sydney Metro, the Northern Beaches Hospital, and the Barangaroo Precinct on Sydney Harbour over the past two decades.

The merger with ERM will help KJA reach new locations, expand growth opportunities and access the resources sector, all of which beneficial to their 70+ employees in Sydney and Melbourne.

The acquisition of KJA follows global corporate sustainability consultancy giant ERM’s 2017 acquisition of Australian sustainability consultancy Pacific Environment, which also has a background in major infrastructure and urban growth.

Eaton Square

Eaton Square is an international cross-border M&A and capital service provider with operations in 15 offices with over 50 M&A and capital professionals across US, Canada, China & Hong Kong, Australia, UK, Switzerland, Singapore and Israel.

We assist growth-oriented, technology and services businesses to:

• Capitalise on the value they have built in their business for shareholders
• Undertake mergers and acquisitions
• Access the capital they need to grow and expand

We are focused on four key opportunities:

1. Mergers and Acquisitions – buy side, sell side, mergers
2. Capital Raising – growth capital, bank debt, private equity, second round of capital raising
3. Public Markets – full or partial new market listing, reverse listing with capital raise
4. Transaction Readiness – market attractiveness, transaction preparations and organisation shaping, business and capital strategy, execution

Over the past 18 months, Eaton Square:

• Reviewed >300 potential deals
• Signed >50 client mandates
• Closed 12 M&A and capital raise deals (expect 18 by end 2018)
• Grew by 50% in terms of offices and Principals globally (to 15 and 50, respectively)

For more information, contact:

Warren Riddell
Principal
warren.riddell@eatonsq.com
Ph: +61 414 445 170

Warren brings over 30 years of expertise in business strategy and transaction management developed client side, advisor side and as a financier, in the UK, US, Middle East and Asia Pacific.