Harvest

The Definitive Guide to Selling Your Company 2nd Edition

Chris Younger, David Tolson

• Publisher: Outskirts Press
• Year: 2024
• Print ISBN: 9781977242365
• eBook ISBN: 9781977278173
• Edition: 0
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Business Strategy
• Index: Business

Do you intend to sell your company one day? Want to unlock the secrets to harvesting maximum value from the business you worked so hard to build? 

Then this is the book you need.

HARVEST is a comprehensive manual for the business owner who wants to achieve a rewarding exit. It is based on the authors’ experience with hundreds of company-sale transactions—efforts that have delivered more than $3 billion in capital value to entrepreneurs.

Throughout these pages, investing banking experts Chris Younger and David Tolson underscore one critical message—the best time to plan is now.

Most business owners fail to adequately prepare for the rigors of taking a company to market. As a result, too many entrepreneurs leave money on the table or, worse still, invest heavily in an unsuccessful sale process that doesn’t reach closing at all. 

Younger and Tolson offer an alternative—a proactive, strategic approach to market readiness. They provide the perspective business owners need to plan effectively, navigate a long and stressful M&A transaction process, and walk away with confidence in the final deal.

HARVEST is a step-by-step guide to value creation. It leads readers from the early stages of evaluating exit objectives through hiring the advisory team, targeting buyers, and negotiating purchase agreements. Punctuated with firsthand stories from the deal-making trenches, HARVEST is also an entertaining and insightful look at investment banking realities most entrepreneurs don’t know about and, therefore, can’t consider when going up against experienced buyers eager to press every advantage.

The book breaks down the technical details of valuation, financial reporting, contracts, deal structure, and other topics at a level appropriate for the business savvy entrepreneur facing a first or second M&A transaction. HARVEST also includes information about the different types of buyers, the marketing and outreach process for a business (along with approaches to avoid!), post-acquisition communications strategies, and more. 

Readers will finish HARVEST with answers to their most pressing exit-related questions, including:

• 	 When is it the right time to sell my business? 

• 	 How do I know what my company is worth?

• 	 What can I do to encourage buyers to pay a premium over market value?

• 	 How do I find the best professional to represent me and my business?

• 	 When do I have the greatest negotiating leverage and how do I make the most of it?

• 	 How can I vet bidders and select the best offer based on my unique requirements?

• 	 What is due diligence, why is it so challenging, and how can I come through with my deal intact?

• 	 What can I do now to make the sale process easier and increase my chances of securing the exit of my dreams?

Entrepreneurs make incredible sacrifices to develop innovative products and services, create jobs, propel the economy, and improve our communities. When exiting the business, they want to know that their company, their people, their legacy, and their family’s future are secure. 

This book is the business owner’s roadmap to the HARVEST they deserve!

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Foreword and Acknowledgements
• CHAPTER 1 - Preparing to Harvest—Are You Ready for This?
• CHAPTER 2 - Valuation 101
• CHAPTER 3 - Deciding When to Harvest
• CHAPTER 4 - Driving Value Beyond Financial Results
• CHAPTER 5 - Understanding Financial Statements Inside and Out
• CHAPTER 6 - Your Business Is Worth a Multiple of…
• CHAPTER 7 - Capital Structures and Transactions
• CHAPTER 8 - Going to Market—The Sale Process Overview
• CHAPTER 9 - Investment Bankers: How to Pick the Right One
• CHAPTER 10 - “The Book”
• CHAPTER 11 - Sourcing Buyers and Types of Buyers
• CHAPTER 12 - Management Meetings with Bidders
• CHAPTER 13 - Letters of Intent, Due Diligence, and Lawyers
• CHAPTER 14 - Deal Structure—Making or Breaking the Deal
• CHAPTER 15 - The Communication Plan—Don’t Make This Mistake
• CHAPTER 16 - Deal Fatigue
• CHAPTER 17 - What Happens at and After Closing?
• About the Authors
• Glossary
• APPENDIX A - Form of Request for Proposal
• APPENDIX B - Due Diligence Information Request List
• APPENDIX C - Financial Ratios