Our approach

Effective sale of middle-size businesses

Factors of successful sale of middle-size business significantly differ from those in M&A deals of large companies and in buying and selling transactions of small enterprises.

Services of international auditing and consulting companies of ‘Big Four’ and of some domestic investment banking firms are usually used by large-scale companies. They act as financial advisors in M&A transactions.

Business brokers render their services for small-size companies. They act as intermediaries between buyer and seller like realtors do in buying and selling deals of real estate.

But neither financial advisors’ approach nor business brokers’ methods meet the successful sale requirements of medium-sized companies.

Desonn Partners offers specialized consulting and brokerage services in buying, selling and investment transactions of middle-size businesses in Ukraine.

Selling price maximization

In transactions of selling large-scale businesses there is no necessity to conduct extensive marketing activity on searching and choosing the best buyer as list of investors willing to pay maximum price is short and well-known to the seller.

That is why M&A advisors concentrate their attention on financial, legal and tax aspects of transaction and do not have strong competences in marketing and sales.

Middle-size businesses usually have a lot of potential buyers both strategic and financial ones both within their industry and their country as well as outside.

Effective marketing efforts on searching and choosing the most interested and solvent buyer ensure considerable increase of selling price of middle-size business.

Direct marketing and active sale methods

Business-brokers also focus on buyer searching while providing the sale of business. However, in the case of small-size businesses the subjects of sales are most often the companies which activity is based on the certain asset such as: real estate, machinery and equipment, Internet-resource. For such businesses the sale methods that are usually used for commercial property deals are more appropriate. These methods include a subject exposition at the market by advertising in mass media and further processing of incoming inquiries.

Most often in the case of middle-size companies the best potential buyer is not in position of active searching of acquisition opportunity. Such a buyer has to be identified, found and made interested.

Therefore, unlike business-brokers we apply the methods of target searching, direct communication and personal sales.

Confidentiality and clients' interest protection

Confidentiality issues and timely information disclosure is extremely important while selling middle-size business both for personnel of the company and for its contractors.

Applying target marketing and active direct sales methods allows to ensure confidentiality of the forthcoming transaction and to provide step-by-step and controllable information disclosure both inside and outside the company.

Integrated approach to the deal

The middle-size companies are more difficult objects of buying and selling in financial, tax, legal and management aspects of transaction as compared with small enterprises.

The value of middle-size companies is mainly determined by intangible assets value such as: a customer base, qualified personnel, recognizable brand, and effective management system. Usually such businesses are dynamic – they either grow or decline.

Therefore their valuation is more complex task than estimation of small enterprises. It should be based on the deep performance analysis and detailed business-plan development.

This requires higher professional competences in strategic management, business planning, financial accounting, investment analysis, taxation, and corporate and commercial law.

Effective sale of middle-size businesses requires harmonious combination of «external» competences in marketing and sales, inherent to business brokers, and «internal» competences in financial, taxation, law and management, inherent to M&A advisors.

Desonn Partners combines these competences that allows us effectively accomplish the task of sale of medium-sized businesses through all stages and to get the maximum result for our client.