This is the Program Archives for the Winnipeg Business Transitions Forum.
This is the Program Archives for the Winnipeg Business Transitions Forum.
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.
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.
What a journey of growth, partnerships and transition is REALLY like for business owners
Selling your business needs a roadmap, and every entrepreneur knows that is not always easy to do. The strategic process is not a straight line. While you may have no plan to sell – operating and growing your business as if you are getting ready for an acquirer will help add value whatever stage your business is in. Being organized and clarifying your key strategic objectives isn’t always straight forward for a founder run company. There is a mountain of pieces to consider; what it’s like to work with new partners, cleaning up your data room and finances, preparing for the psychological impact of disassociating yourself from daily operations, selecting your advisors, determining what potential buyers want (and the list goes on!), are all challenging steps of the entrepreneurial journey. There is no set process, it is up to the business owner to make the tough decisions and ensure the work is completed. Hear from one entrepreneur’s journey through two transactions to understand some considerations that can help prepare you for the ups and downs of business growth & transition such as:
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 were focused on things that are not valued by 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.
Mitch Tetrault, President & COO of Monarch Industries and Shane Dunn, a Strategy and Transactions Leader at EY, have a fireside chat on the theory vs. reality of valuation in a transaction and the non-financial factors that drive value and a successful outcome.
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.
(add-on, half day workshop for entrepreneurs)
“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.)
The secret to succession planning success is to be ready to sell, even if your business is not for sale. By being proactive, you’ll maximize the value of your business when the time, buyer and terms are right. Selling or otherwise exiting a business is, by far, the most complex transaction that most entrepreneurs will ever undertake. Detailed planning is instrumental and ideally begins long before any decision to sell. Starting your transition checklist is key to the end result.
Some general key points to include:
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 workshop, 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.
While the idea of providing unfettered access to the confidential information pertaining to your business may sound scary, it is standard operating procedure when it comes to transitioning your business to an outsider. Learn about ways to maintain control of process without impeding success. While you may only go through the process with a buyer who you believe is qualified and fully committed to completion, many deals collapse at the due diligence stage. Buyers and their advisors will be on the lookout for red flags and trouble spots. This is your opportunity to learn about common “deal breakers” so that you and your advisors can prepare for them and maintain momentum during this crucial phase.