Mergers and Acquisitions or “M&A” typically involves larger companies and more complex transactions than what is typically considered business brokerage. However, smaller firms may also require M&A expertise if they want to retain equity in the business, want to structure an “earn-out” over time, or their business sale involves more financing complexity than a straight buy/sell.
M&A deals typically involve companies with more than $1 million (usually $2.5 to about $100 million) in earnings and often require non-conventional financing and involved methods to structure the transaction.
The buyers in M&A deals are often “strategic buyers”; large industry players “rolling up” companies in the industry or financial firms such as private equity and hedge funds, seeking exposure to the industry to diversify or complement their investment portfolios. At TC Business Brokers, we have extensive private equity and other large financial buyer contacts.
Some private M&A deals involve recapitalizations where the business owner/seller retains an equity interest in the company and may be offered a management position at the acquiring firm or benefit from a future planned retirement.