Enjoy the conference!
What do economic conditions and market trends look like in a world recovering from COVID? How will a post-pandemic future impact supply chains? What are the outlooks for interest rates, unemployment, recessionary impacts and more?
This session will provide insights into both a macro view of the economy, as well as provide insights on regional and industry sector differences. You will also get an understanding of the current mergers and acquisitions environment and factors which might impact it in the future.
No plan to sell? No problem: These strategies will help you run a better business (that’s more acquirable)
As a business owner or leader, your goal is to create shareholder value while keeping your options open to sustain, grow, and protect your organization and the choices available to you. While you may have no plan to sell – operating and growing your business as if you are getting ready for an acquirer will help you add considerable value AND reveal a multitude of options you may not have considered. You never know if, or when, there may come a knock on your door.
This session will help you understand the areas in your business that can make it more interesting to acquirers. We’ll also help you understand risk areas – allowing you to prioritize which parts of your business need attention now. You will walk away with:
Strategies to Quickly Expand Your Business
The best time start growing your company was yesterday. Every entrepreneur has dreams and ideas to expand their business, but the big question is knowing the right time to jump… where and how high?
Business growth plans such as developing new products or services, expanding customer markets, increasing sales initiatives, opening new locations, increasing revenue streams, automating work processes and acquisitions are all exciting plans. Before rushing into expansion, however, business owners need to assess if they are ready for growth. When business starts to scale up, systems can begin to crack under the pressure. Weaknesses can be exposed that can’t always fix them once the journey’s started.
This session will:
This session will address Management Buyouts and Partnerships with Minority Investors
COVID has prompted a surge in non-traditional M&A deal structures, accelerated deals and rapid changes in business needs and opportunities. After this rollercoaster ride – perhaps you want to re-risk your business, while still maintaining control?
There are a number of transition options that aren’t reliant on a large amount of cash, and can take a variety of different forms, such as a management buyout or buy-in (MBO/MBI), acquiring minority stakes or entering cooperative arrangements through joint ventures, alliances, or partnerships as a success strategy.
This session will cover topics such as:
Considerations For Acquisitive Entrepreneurs
Implementing an outbound M&A strategy at your company is a high-value, high stakes game. How can you establish your M&A Mindset? The M&A process is intensive, with many steps – it can often take many months to identify acquisition targets, initiate and close transactions – all while you’re still operating your business. Learn how to operate and run your business while embedding process that will improve M&A outcomes.
Family businesses are unique in that transitioning them to the next generation is a complex, often deeply emotional, endeavour. How do you prepare for a generational business that is resilient, while keeping the legacy you have built intact. Building capacity in the next generation needs to begin early on, and you may also need to consider outside, non-family executives.
Fireside chat with a high-profile entrepreneur who scaled their business then sold his/her business. The discussion will also discuss how they lead their teams, drove innovation and the change in mindset after the close.
Buyers and sellers sit on the opposite side of the same coin but with the same goal of ‘getting the deal done’. Skillful negotiation of best deals and terms is an essential component of any deal process – its not just about the money.
Learn key negotiating tactics and techniques that can help any buyer or seller work towards success when trying to close a business investment, growth capital, or M&A transaction. This panel will also 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.
Through an interactive discussion you’ll learn:
Knowing if you can afford to sell, and when you are ready to take the leap is the most difficult decision for many business owners. In addition to building a comprehensive succession plan and ensuring your organizational structure will not leave you with a giant tax bill, it is important to address the other factors to ensure a happy and prosperous life after the close. Have you considered what life looks like after the close? The ability to shift from an entrepreneurial mindset to a capital management position requires planning and with the right preparation and enough time to implement. There are a number of opportunities to maximize the money in your pocket and ensure your financial success long after the close.
Wealth management tips and managing former business expenses post-transition
Mergers and acquisitions typically have extensive due diligence by the buyer. Tackling due diligence during an M&A transaction is an overwhelming task, but essential for closing a successful, equitable and efficient deal. Before committing to the transaction, the acquirer will want to ensure that it knows what it is buying and what obligations it is assuming, litigation risks and intellectual property issues, liabilities, problematic contracts, and more.
Understand what both buyers will be looking for, and what sellers need to have prepared in terms of:
This panel will cover a 10 point due diligence checklist and the key information a company must acquire from their target before moving forward with a deal in terms of:
Do you really know what your business is worth? What do buyers or investors look for when considering a deal and how are the COVID years calculated in the valuation? Where can you add the most value to your organization? What areas of growth will provide the greatest ROI? Most business owners don’t get nearly what they should because they weren’t prepared or focused on the wrong things that are important to buyers, and this can gravely affect the value of your company.
As a business owner, it’s imperative to focus on the specific areas of your business that drive value, even if you have no immediate intention of selling.
Hear from a panel of business owners who have gone through transition with their business and now have the opportunity to reflect on the process in the rear-view mirror. This panel will share insights on what they wish they had known at the beginning of their transition journey and their key learnings for their next endeavours. What would they change, if anything, if they were to do it all again? How much growth did their business experience prior to selling? These business owners will help build and broaden your frame of reference by sharing their own war stories and tales from the trenches.
3 or 4 entrepreneurs that have gone through transition (and growth)