TheBridge
Issue: 30
 MARCH 2015
2015 M&A Source Spring Conference Preview Now Available!

Registration is now open for the 2015 M&A Source Spring Conference and Dealmakers Expo, to be held May 4-7 at the Sheraton in Atlantic City, NJ USA. If you missed last week's conference preview webinar, click here to download the recording. This preview offered a rare sneak peek into the M&A Source course instructors' material as well as a glimpse of the exciting workshops and panel discussions that will be offered. 

The 2015 M&A Source Spring Conference will focus on Capitalizing on the Recovery. The conference will feature three new courses - such as Tax Boot Camp for the M&A Deal Maker - and two recently updated courses. Additionally, conference attendees will have access to interactive workshops, daily networking opportunities, and the M&A Source Dealmakers Expo where Private Equity Groups (PEGs) are ready to meet face-to-face and make deals happen!

Register now to take advantage of the early bird discount - rates increase after March 31! For more information on the Spring Conference, visit:

Interested in participating in the M&A Source Dealmakers Expo? Contact [email protected]
In This Issue
Sharing Apples
Did You Just Call My Baby Ugly?
Top 10 Mistakes When Making an Acquisition
Editor's Desk - Mike Camerota
Determining Benchmark Working Capital in a Business Acquisition
Where Does the M&A Advisor Add Value?
Welcome New M&A Members

Sharing Apples

Joe Lindsey, M&AMI, CBI
Chair of The M&A Source 

 

George Bernard Shaw (1856 - 1950) was an Anglo-Irish playwright.  A gifted writer, he is the only person to receive a Nobel Prize (in 1925 for Literature) and an Oscar (Best Screenplay for "Pygmalion" in 1938).  You may not know that he was a charter member of the Fabian Society, Britain's oldest political think tank. The Fabians are committed to democratic socialism.

Did You Just Call My Baby Ugly?

John Warrillow
Keynote Speaker at 2015 M&A Source Spring Conference 

 

It's easy for negotiations to get unnecessarily ugly. Here's how to better understand the person on the other side of the table.

We often talk about selling a business as a transaction between two things: One business buys another. But in reality, it is a transaction between two people.

Top 10 Mistakes When Making an Acquisition
Gary W. Ampulski, PhD, CEPA

With the economy in a sustained recovery and lenders willing to help, it is very tempting to consider an acquisition as a growth option for many business owners. Most accomplished acquirers will tell you they have learned more from their mistakes than they have from their successes. Current market conditions suggest it is a seller's market with frothy multiples requiring an even more comprehensive assessment of the opportunity. Here are 10 things to avoid during due diligence based on the experience of those who have learned how to do it right.

Editor's Desk

As Chair of the Communications Committee and Editor of the BRIDGE, I welcome your questions, comments, suggestions, letters to the Editor, etc.  Our goal is to provide content that is relevant to our readers.  Your feedback will help us achieve that goal.

Members of The M&A Source are encouraged to submit articles for publication. If selected, published articles can be applied toward earning or maintaining the M&AMI credential.  
 
Mike Camerota,  M&AMI,  CBI 
Determining Benchmark Working Capital in a Business Acquisition
Darrell Arne, CBI, CPA, ASA   

Takeaway: Having a good understanding of the company's working capital needs is extremely important in a sales process. Invest the time necessary to understand, in detail, the operating cycle of the company for sale.
In an article titled Multiple of EBITDA or SDE: A Car With or Without the Gas (and the Driver), I compare and contrast two levels of earnings, two types of market multiples, and the resulting two quite different valuation conclusions, or the most probable selling price (MPSP).

Where Does the M&A Advisor Add Value?
Kenneth Marks
Founder and Managing Partner
High Rock Partners, Inc. 

 

Takeaway: Where does the M&A advisor add value? A survey conducted by High Rock Partners, Inc. provides insight into what functions performed by M&A advisors were most valued by mid-market business owners that sold their companies.
Our firm, High Rock Partners, Inc., surveyed private company sellers after their deal was done to gain insight into what was important to them and to better understand the selling process through their eyes. We leveraged our national network of contacts to gain broad perspective in a variety of industries and states. We noted a few interesting statistics from the survey that might help you as you think about selling your company

 

 Click Here to Read More

Welcome New 

M&A Source Members

Russell Cohen

Michael Wildeveld

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About Us
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The association is organized and operated to promote members' professional development to better serve their clients' needs, and to maximize public awareness of services performed by intermediaries and ancillary advisors who facilitate solutions available for lower middle market merger and acquisition transactions. 

The M&A Source was established in 1991 to address the challenges faced by merger and acquisition professionals. This international organization currently has more than 250 M&A dealmakers including intermediaries, investment bankers, attorneys, accountants, financial planners and others involved in the M&A process.