Planning for a Future Sale

Good planning ensures that the sale of your company and subsequent transition of ownership proceed smoothly.

ASG Partners' Pre-Sale Planning phase can last as little as a month or as long as several years, depending on how early our clients find us. Some owners begin planning years in advance in order to maximize the benefits of an eventual sale; others contact us with a desire to retire relatively soon.

If you are thinking about selling your business two, three or five years from now, there are many ways you can position your company now to maximize its value down the road. Issues to be addressed sometimes include:

• Ensuring stable management
• Non-compete agreements
• Selecting the ideal form of incorporation (e.g. C corporation vs. Subchapter S)
• Minimizing customer concentration issues;
• Handling leases and other material agreements; and
• Assessing value and timing considerations

If you have a shorter period of time in which to plan your sale, then your focus is usually on assembling the right team of professionals to help you through the sale. In addition to a firm like ours, you will need a transaction attorney, a CPA, potentially a financial advisor and possibly other team member.

We encourage owners who are contemplating a sale to contact us as early as possible. An ASG Principal will be happy to have a confidential, no-fee, no-obligation discussion with you about your company. You can email us or call us at 425-450-4800.

Once we have spent some time on Pre-Sale Planning, we move on to the Valuation phase.