Milestones and stumbling blocks in business succession

This 45-minute online seminar was recorded on December 15, 2022. After booking, you will receive a download link to the recording, which you can then use for your entire company.

The IT systems house market is more competitive than ever before. Institutional companies are preparing, new groups are emerging, and individual firms are having to follow suit and make acquisitions. Or, conversely, they are selling off assets. 
Three key phases characterize a corporate transaction, or the transfer of a company from the seller to the buyer:

1. Falling in love
   Falling in love made easy, or: Taking the right steps to find the perfect buyer. A short checklist of essential points illustrates what is truly relevant for preparing a company sale and which points are particularly prone to problems.  
2. Getting engaged
   What happens once a suitable buyer has been selected from the pool of potential interested parties? Anyone who thinks that nothing much can go wrong at that point is mistaken. It is precisely during this phase that the process protocol must be strictly followed and is therefore prone to errors. 
3. Marry
   A lot of work lies ahead before the big celebration. Only once this is completed can the couple walk down the aisle. But who hasn't heard of last-minute panic? A thousand voices whisper to the future couple. The level of confusion is at its peak, and on top of that, all sorts of formalities have to be taken care of. In phase 3 of the company sale, the risk of a breakdown increases exponentially. Reason enough to take a close look here as well and see where the pitfalls lie.

Milestones and Pitfalls is definitely not a promotional event, nor does it replace in-depth consultation, but it demonstrates, using real-world M&A experience, what to consider when selling or acquiring a company. It also explains why, while a self-managed transaction might initially seem like a way to save money, good advice ultimately generates a significantly higher company value and leads to a better strategy for both buyer and seller.

Lecturer:
Michael Hoh is a partner at ascon M&A Consulting. His areas of expertise include industry-specific business valuation, the sale and acquisition of companies in the IT ecosystem, succession planning options including financing, all related legal (primarily corporate law) implications, as well as topics such as pitfalls of company sales, due diligence, advance healthcare directives and representation arrangements, etc., to maintain business operations.