Buying a Business

If you are part of an expanding business, you will no doubt be aware that organic growth can only take you so far.

The next step in your plans may be to snap up a smaller company, merge with a competitor or ambitiously buying a larger business rival. RMT’s specialist Corporate Finance team can work with you to:

• Refine your growth plans
• Look for acquisitions
• Assess offer prices
• Raise finance
• Negotiate the deal for you
• Help you plan the integration

While it is often left until after takeover deals have been signed and sealed, integration can make or break an acquisition. Understanding what value your company can gain from an acquisition early on in the process will help in pricing the company correctly and indicating areas which need to be planned during the process.

Acquisition Targets

We are proactive when it comes to acquisitions and believe that prospective approaches can unearth lucrative opportunities for clients. Of course, confidentiality is essential and client names are never divulged until the appropriate letters have been signed by all parties.

When buying a business uncovering the right acquisition is paramount and we can guide you towards suitable targets as well as manage the process to ensure your current business is not neglected.

We believe an acquisition should never be rushed and will approach the owners of potential targets for you to find out if they are willing to explore selling their businesses. This will ensure you anonymity and assist you in finding suitable targets before proceeding further.

Valuing an acquisition

When you finally move in on a suitable acquisition, a strong understanding of how much you should pay for it is a must. Attributing a value to a firm is a complicated process involving many factors. We will work with you to carry out a valuation of the target business, model the potential financial effects on your operation and help you identify key synergies.

Strengthened by a clear perception of the target’s value, the next stage is fraught with hidden pitfalls – the negotiation process. We can handle all aspects of this important step and project-manage any external parties such as advisors, lawyers or bankers.

Negotiation management is crucial to the smooth running of any transaction and our team has extensive experience of delivering successful outcomes.

Due diligence

The final stage is to undertake a thorough due diligence review on the acquisition target by investigating the financial, operational and legal position of the company. We will drive this process through either our Transaction Support Services team or an independent team depending on the demands of any banks that may be involved.

Once due diligence is complete, the finishing post is in sight. The legal documentation will have started during the due diligence phase and will involve many meetings with the legal team. We will project manage the process and attend the meetings with the lawyers. The completion date will arrive when all parties have agreed on legal documentation and terms on which the deal has been struck. A number of points are often left to the last completion meeting, although we always strive to keep these to a minimum.