Selling a Company Advice
Selling an Utilities Business
A lot can go wrong during the sale of an utilities business these days. We'll tell you how to keep your sale and your future plans on track.
The business-for-sale market is just as frustrating for buyers as it is for sellers these days. Although there are plenty of entrepreneurs who want to buy an utilities business, capital restrictions are holding them back.
If your exit strategy involves selling an utilities business now, sellers need to make a strong case for buyers to purchase at or near the asking price.
Broker vs. No Broker
When selling an utilities business, you have two choices: Hire a broker to facilitate the sale or perform the sale unassisted. Is there a cost associated with hiring a broker? Sure - about 10% of the final sale prices. But a good broker will make selling your utilities business much less painful. You can also expect to receive a higher sales price for your business in a broker-assisted deal.
Closing Strategies
Today's utilities business buyers expect sellers to offer concessions to persuade them to close the deal. Concessions can consist of non-cash as well as cash incentives. It's not unusual for sellers to offer non-cash incentives to help inexperienced entrepreneurs get off to a successful start. A limited amount of training and mentoring may seem inconsequential to you, but to a young utilities business owner, they can be critical launching points for their ownership journey.
Laying the Groundwork
In addition to improving profitability and market share, planning the sale of your business will require you to think about how you will present your company to buyers. Professional business brokers understand buyers and know how to properly communicate an utilities business to the marketplace. Specifically, brokers can advise you about the preparation of financial statements and other documents buyers expect to see in a premium utilities business opportunity.
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