How could the current economic and political cycle in Alberta impact the biggest transaction of your life? How will financial markets, interest rates and/or the Canadian dollar impact deal terms and multiples? This macro view of the economy and the M&A environment in Alberta will put things into perspective so that you can plan for a successful transition.

Introduction by Matthew Kellow, Managing Director, Growth & Transition Capital, Prairies, BDC

The process of selling or transitioning a business is complicated and uncertain. This session provides a bird’s-eye view of the transition process so that you know exactly what you should be doing in order to get your business ready for sale. The speaker will guide you through a roadmap of where to start, what areas of the process provide the most opportunity and how to mitigate risk so you can ultimately maximize the reward and successfully exit your business with confidence

You’re contemplating ways to turn years of hard work into cash, but what are your options? Should you look to your senior management team as potential investors, assuming they are interested and able to invest in your business? Should you look outside your firm for strategic buyers? Could Private Equity, Family Offices or other entities provide liquidity opportunities? In this session a panel of experts will help you learn what distinguishes different classes of buyers, depending on your size of business, and what other options you have to generate capital. The panel will discuss various liquidity options including:

• Strategic buyers
• Private equity
• Management buyouts
• Other recapitalization options

For many business owners, a management buyout is the best transition option available.  While a transition within the senior ranks of your business may be the best option, there are risks and potential missteps to avoid.  The panel will identify opportunities that could impact your successful MBO, as well as diverse ways to finance the transaction. They will cover:

• Management Buyout (MBO) and Leveraged Management Buyout (LMBO)
• What buyers will need to ensure that the venture is profitable
• The impact and strategies to increase cash flow
• Different types of financing
• Opportunities and risks

There are many reasons to look outside the ranks of your firm or family to find a potential suitor for your business.  Depending on the size and type of business you operate and your own personal circumstances – marketing your company to strategic, financial or other buyers, including private equity, might be your most lucrative exit strategy.  

That said, the values discussed in any potential offer for your business will vary significantly depending on the type of potential third party buyers approached; and even moreso, by how potential buyers are approached.

The panel will elaborate on best practices that will help you optimize and strategize a 3rd party transition – with the goal of ultimately finding and securing a buyer at a fair price. Through an interactive discussion you’ll learn:

• Which types of third party buyers are potential suitors
• Why companies should be sold, not bought
• How to decide on the breadth and nature of a sale process
• Why timing and deal tension matters, and how to create it
• Which terms have an impact on price, and which do not
• The roles an advisor can play through the sale process, and how to manage them

Transitioning a business can be a complicated process – especially when family is involved.  What impact will the transaction have on your family, your emotions and on your lifestyle? The discussion will help bring order to chaos by providing tools and perspectives so you can successfully navigate your family business transition. Examples of real life situations will be highlighted in this case study to illustrate what other business owners and their families have done to effectively prepare for the biggest transaction of their lives.

Bring your burning transition questions to our exhibit area. This is your opportunity to meet and obtain advice from Canada’s leading and most reputable experts on the subject of exit-strategy.
                                                    

Join Conference Chairman Aroon Sequeira in a “fireside” chat with Dan Duffy, former President of Trans Tech Contracting and Vice President of NCSG Crane and Heavy Haul TRAN Tech Inc. Dan Duffy started Trans Tech Contracting Inc. with three partners and one heavy haul trailer back in 1996. With the help of Aroon Sequeira at Sequeria Partners Inc., Dan sold the company to North West Capital in January 2009, and subsequently reselling to Tri-West Capital several years later. Today, Dan is the Vice President of NCSG Crane and Heavy Haul TRAN Tech Inc.

When you sell or transition your business you may face a significant tax bill. If you’re not careful, you could find yourself with less than half of the saleprice in your pocket. Fortunately, with the right preparation and enough time to implement, there are a number of opportunities to limit or even eliminate tax. We will look at how to structure your company well in advance of a potential sale or recapitalizations  This session will also review in detail new tax changes that will impact all private businesses.

When is the right time to start thinking about your post transition plan and what does it look like?  What impact will the transaction have on your family, your emotions and on your lifestyle? Hear a panel of experts review a case study of a real transaction and discuss the internal and external steps required.  This discussion will include how to handle the transition from wealth creator to wealth manager, and the role of the family trust advisory.

Hear from a panel of business owners who have gone through a transition with their businesses and now have the opportunity to reflect on the process in the rear-view mirror. What would they change if they were to do it all again, if anything? Would they negotiate differently, would they identify different strategic consultants or would they second guess their decision to sell? Panelists will help build and broaden your frame of reference by sharing their own tales from the trenches.

The sale or transition of a business involves many moving parts. Whether you’re conducting a management buyout or running a process to find a third-party buyer, you’ll inevitably require support from tax and legal experts as well as investment bankers and other M&A professionals to close the deal successfully.

After attending this session, you will understand the benefits of having an exit team, what skill sets to look for and how to select the best advisors for your business transition. This session will also examine advisor fees and compensation.  

The LOI is signed.  Great – but challenges lie ahead that must be carefully navigated to avoid collapse or changes to the negotiated deal, after-all, buyers and sellers often have differing needs and objectives.  While the idea of providing unfettered access to your confidential business information may sound scary, it is standard operating procedure once a letter of intent is signed. This panel discussion will highlight key areas of tension and risk for sellers. You’ll learn ways to maintain control of the sale process without impeding success.

This is your opportunity to learn about common “deal breakers” so that you and your advisors can prepare.

Common challenges that will be discussed include:

• Working capital  
• Post LOI tax structuring
• Common omissions not dealt with in an LOI
• Declining company or economic performance during process
• Unsophisticated legal counsel
• “Busted” auctions
• Breaches of confidentiality
• Delays obtaining third-party consents
• Buyer financing difficulties
• “Deal fatigue”

Bring your burning transition questions to our exhibit area.   This is your opportunity to meet and obtain advice from Canada’s leading and most reputable experts on the subject of exit-strategy.

“How to Maximize The Selling Price of Your Business and Protect Yourself In The Process”

A not-to-be-missed educational workshop for business owners who are serious about maximizing the proceeds of an eventual sale.

In this two-part, half-day workshop we’ll take a deep dive into operational and financial engineering that can take years to execute – guaranteed to increase the value of your business and improve the probability of finding buyers when the time is right.  We’ll show you which areas of your business buyers value most (and why), and explain how to manage personal and corporate risk.

(Only 50 seats available. Business owners only. Workshop is an additional charge.)

• Value assessment: What is your company worth? Common methods of assessing value will be addressed.
• Operational and financial bootcamp.  What areas of your business should you focus on to increase value + surprising areas of your business that can destroy value.
• What buyers are looking for and why some businesses are considerably more attractive than other businesses.
• The competitive sale process: Learn how a competitive sale process works, and why it is the best way to maximize price and terms of an eventual sale.

• How to protect yourself from unexpected business risk prior to a transaction
• How to prepare your company (and you personally) for a successful sale.
• Learn what risks should be addressed, including subtleties of legal agreements, non-compete clauses, wills that misalign with shareholder’s agreements, powers of attorney and more
• There are several ways to structure the sale your company (including how and when you get paid). What are your options?
• Learn how to manage confidentiality and protect yourself against rogue competitors, suppliers, employees or customers.
• Tactics to avoid major post-sale surprises
• Shrewd buyer tactics that you need to know about

*The conference has been approved for the following continuing education credits:
– Alberta lawyers may consider including this course as a CPD learning activity in your mandatory annual Continuing Professional Development Plan as required by the Law Society of Alberta.
– FEA designates may earn 7 hours of CE for the entire conference.
– CPAs may include this content as verifiable CPD credits.

Introduction by Tabreez Lila, Director of Growth and Transition Capital at BDC Capital

The decisions you make today will ultimately impact your business in the future. What are the current economic conditions and market trends that business owners need to consider when thinking about transition? How will interest rates and/or the Canadian dollar impact deal terms and multiples? This macro view of the economy and the M&A environment will put things into perspective so that you can plan for the biggest transaction of your life.

Performance, leadership and culture are the building blocks of all successful businesses.  Understanding how strength in these areas drive the value and potential salability of your business value is critical. As a business owner you need to focus on “growth” in all three areas to ensure you have the right team in place, even if you have no plans to sell.

There are different types of buyers: strategic, private equity, management and family among them. Understanding your potential buyer universe will help clarify your objectives for selling and what you want success to look like. In learning about the different classes of buyers and capitalization options, you will quickly see that it isn’t a one size fits all game. It’s about the best fit for your type and size of business. In this session you will hear from different buyers and what influences their purchasing decisions. This session will help attendees prioritize which of the following breakouts to attend (A1, A2, A3)

There are many reasons involved in looking outside the ranks of your firm or family to find a potential suitor for your business. Depending on the size and type of business that you operate and your own personal circumstances, positioning your company to strategic, financial or other types of buyers including private equity, might be your most lucrative exit strategy. This session will dive into the mechanisms of selling your business to a third party for the best price and terms.

Through an interactive discussion you’ll learn:

• How the right type of partner can prepare you for the sale that is right for your business
• How to decide on the breadth and nature of a sale process
• Why timing and creating deal tension matters
• Terms that affect price and those that don’t
• How to manage majority and minority shareholder agreements
• How to prepare your management team for the cultural transition that lies ahead

When considering a Management Buyout (MBO), how do you equip your management team to become a credible bidder for the business?  How is your leadership team positioned to perform? Have you effectively replaced yourself with the right skill sets and integrated your best people into the company’s operations, so they are prepared to become owners? Is the team aware of the risks and opportunities involved?

This session will cover:

• When should you begin your succession planning
• How to prepare your senior management team for transition and the shift in leadership roles
• How to ensure your management team is well-advised and independently advised.
• Strategies for partner buyouts
• Different types of financing and strategies to increase cash flow
• Implementing your post-closing transition plan

If intergenerational transition is right for your business how are you professionalizing a family owned and operated firm? How are you supporting this shift in leadership? How do you put the right governance in place? Professionalizing your family business is perhaps one of the most complicated change-over options emotionally. Building capacity in the next generation needs to begin early on, and you may also need to consider outside, non-family executives.

In this session, presenters will share their unique tools and perspectives so that you can successfully plan for your own family business transition.

Bring your burning transition questions to our group of experts. This is your opportunity to meet and obtain advice from Canada’s leading and most reputable experts on the subject of exit-strategy.

In this fireside chat, you will hear from business owner, Joe Murphy, President of Fireball Equipment, about the critical moments surrounding his company’s succession plan – in the transition of leadership and transition of ownership.

In order to attract a wide range of financial and/or strategic buyers, you must identify the areas of risk within your business well in advance. Potential buyers and their advisors will be on the lookout for red flags and trouble spots once an offer is on the table; this is your chance to learn about “deal breakers” that work within your business so that you and your advisors can prepare. Common challenges that will be discussed include:

• Working capital and tax structure issues
• Declining company or economic performance during the process
• Unsophisticated legal counsel
• Delays in obtaining third-party consents
• Cyber-security risks
• Tactics to avoid major post-sale surprises
• “Deal fatigue”

The successful sale of a business involves many moving parts, making it the largest and possibly most complicated transaction of your life. You can’t do this alone, you will need a team of professionals to help you successfully sell your company. The right team will get you the best price, terms and most importantly, ensure that the transaction closes.

After attending this session, you will understand what the ideal exit team looks like and how to select the best advisors for your business. You’ll also learn what your exit team will cost and how they’ll be paid.

Long-term thinking about your business is an enormous endeavor and the process of a sale can throw that thinking into chaos. One of the most important elements that gets lost is what happens after the deal is signed. Having a post-transition plan to help manage the impact this monumental change will have on your family, your emotions and your lifestyle is vital.

This session will provide helpful insights into what internal and external steps you should consider in order to handle the change from wealth creator to wealth manager.

Join Josh Matthews from PwC as he sits down with a business owner to discuss how transactions impact the business owner, executive team and staff.

Hear from a panel of business owners and experts who have gone through transition with their businesses and now have the opportunity to reflect on the process in the rear view mirror. The panel will share insights on what they wish they had known at the beginning of their transition journey and key learnings they have taken into their next endeavours.  What would they change if they were to do it all again, if anything? Panelists will help build and broaden your frame of reference by sharing their own war stories and tales from the trenches.

“How to Maximize The Selling Price of Your Business and Protect Yourself In The Process”

A not-to-be-missed educational workshop for business owners who are serious about maximizing the proceeds of an eventual sale.

In this two-part, half-day workshop we’ll take a deep dive into operational and financial engineering that can take years to execute – guaranteed to increase the value of your business and improve the probability of finding buyers when the time is right.  We’ll show you which areas of your business buyers value most (and why), and explain how to manage personal and corporate risk.

(Only 50 seats available. Business owners only. Workshop is an additional charge.)

• Value assessment: What is your company worth? Common methods of assessing value will be addressed.
• Operational and financial bootcamp.  What areas of your business should you focus on to increase value + surprising areas of your business that can destroy value.
• What buyers are looking for and why some businesses are considerably more attractive than other businesses.
• The competitive sale process: Learn how a competitive sale process works, and why it is the best way to maximize price and terms of an eventual sale.

• How to protect yourself from unexpected business risk prior to a transaction
• How to prepare your company (and you personally) for a successful sale.
• Learn what risks should be addressed, including subtleties of legal agreements, non-compete clauses, wills that misalign with shareholder’s agreements, powers of attorney and more
• There are several ways to structure the sale of your company (including how and when you get paid). What are your options?
• Learn how to manage confidentiality and protect yourself against rogue competitors, suppliers, employees or customers.
• Tactics to avoid major post-sale surprises
• Shrewd buyer tactics that you need to know about

The business decisions you make now during the COVID transition period will ultimately impact your business tomorrow and into the future.  This opening session will provide real insights into a macro view of the economy while better understanding economic impact from this pandemic, how organizations can prepare for the future and how to mitigate risk.  This session will also address the expected timeline for different sectors to recover.

Which critical steps should you take to achieve maximum value? With the global economy devastated by COVID-19 and related lockdowns, valuations are generally on a downward trajectory. However, not all businesses and industries are created equal. Widespread panic in markets can, more than ever, yield “gems” to the GP that “does their homework”. Modelling of the probable recovery of specific industries, lining up flexible lenders, detailed analysis of synergies, and forecasting possible “retooling” opportunities, amongst other things, can lead to returns that far outstrip what was possible in the previous bull market.

How has the role of an investment banker, lawyer and accountant changed post COVID? Will your advisory team help you streamline your business prior to selling and ultimately gain a bigger selling price at the finish line? This session will help you better understand the role each advisor plays and where they can make the difference as you look to transition.

A management buy-out can be an excellent succession strategy and likely a more common approach to succession post COVID. When considering a Management Buyout (MBO), how do you equip your management team to become a credible bidder for the business? How is your leadership positioned to perform going forward and engage in a potential MBO? When should you start looking at senior management team for potential transition?

 How will the new normal post COVID work environment permanently affect how you run your business? This discussion will look at key considerations for optimizing your leadership, team, and business environment both today and in the future.   

Private Equity, institutional and private money, is currently sitting on $1.2 trillion and looking to invest over the next 6 to 24 months.   What is investment looking for today when looking for businesses to acquire and how does this compare to private or institutional investment?

COVID-19 has not just changed the world but also the DNA of our workplace ecosystem in many ways. What are the key steps you need to take to effectively adjust, re-build, and grow your team and business? How open and transparent have you been with your team during the pandemic? This session will address numerous questions that entrepreneurs are asking themselves today and provide practical and proven approaches for how they can be effective leading their teams to renewed success.

In this Fireside Chat, you will hear the stories from a business owner that has gone through a transition of their business and now has the opportunity to reflect on the deal.  Nancy MacKay will join Darcy Kernaghan in discussion on how the sale affected their personal and professional life?  What would Darcy change if he were to do it all again?  Would he negotiate differently, work with different strategic advisors or have they second guessed the decision to sell?

While COVID-19 caused a dramatic slowdown to the deal making boom of the last several years as many businesses were forced to put transactions on hold and instead focus on shoring up operations, we expect to see a resurgence in M&A activity as dry-powder from financial sponsors searches for returns and strategic buyers look for opportunities to adapt, take market-share and take advantage of a new perspective on future prospects.  How do buyers get comfortable completing deals in a non- face-to-face environment?  How is due diligence being conducted?  How are deals being financed?  What technologies and solutions are being used to overcome logistical obstacles?  This panel discussion will consider these questions and more on how to get a deal done during COVID-19.

How has the pandemic affected family business and what strategies has your family initiated to manage the heightened emotional rollercoaster? Family businesses can be challenging to manage at the best of times. Some see these difficult times to make the necessary structural changes to allow the business to prosper for many years to come. This session will discuss many strategies that should be considered to effectively position your business post COVID.

Negotiating the sale of your business can vary significantly, not only between bidders but also with any particular potential buyer. The process selected and terms dictated by the seller in a transaction will impact the “price” paid. It is fundamental to understand how the selling process will impact what you receive for your company. The panel will discuss and elaborate on best practices, industry myths and misconceptions, and alternatives for consideration in designing a process to structure your transaction for a fair price.

Hear from a panel of business owners who have experienced COVID -19 but also previous business downturns including GFC and 9/11. The group will share real life experiences from the trenches and how they navigated through different market downturns. The panel will also share the personal side of how they managed themselves through COVID-19.