Griffin Bliler is a member of the Business Practice Group where he focuses on business and corporate law, mergers and acquisitions, business formation and real estate.
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Time to sell? COVID and taxes loom over an active M&A market
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You’d be forgiven
for thinking the mergers and acquisitions market would be upset by the past year of uncertainty, that the prospect of selling your business in this environment might be daunting and any plans you had to exit would have to be delayed.
But many M&A industry experts say the market is strong and conditions favorable for owners considering a sale of their business.
“Valuations have definitely not come down, which I think people were assuming would happen,” said Cheryl Aschenbrener, partner and national leader of transaction advisory services for Illinois-based Sikich. “It peaked a lot of potential sellers’ interest,” she added. “Busy isn’t even the word. We’re on warped speed.”
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When first cousins Peter Guidi, 60, and JJ Mokarzel, 62, decided to launch a bourbon company, Joe Louis Spirits, in Old Orchard Beach, Maine, they each drew from experiences with prior partnerships to structure their business. Both men knew they needed to be equally committed to the venture’s success but bring complementary skills to the table.
Despite being 50-50 partners, they agreed that Mokarzel would have the final say on any split decisions. “A ship can only have one captain,” says Guidi. “It’s a waste of time and effort if all you’re going to do is struggle for control,” he says.