Early-stage strategies to drive up sale value!

Hello everyone,

I would like to ask everyone about their experiences as a Seller in the initial stages of a deal, and what strategies you each have seen (or deployed) in your first conversations / interactions, to maximise value for your company?

For example, in one transaction I was involved in, the Buyer later told our team that our initial actions in rejecting their approaches only made them more sure that we were a solid acquisition target, who was worth their time pursuing! Admittedly this was an uninvited approach, but I think it exposes a powerful dynamic that can dramatically increase sale value.

On the other hand, when considering putting your company to market, you do not have this luxury, as your team are obviously inviting bidders to approach you. But there are a huge number of things you can do differently in these initial interactions, from your style, the volume of information you include in the Information Memorandum (IM) / Teaser document, the extent to which senior management are involved in early discussions, the reasons you give for putting. your company to sale, and so on.

Would be great to hear your experiences in this Forum!

Thanks,

David