Considering A Merger Or Buyout For Your Small Business? What To Know First
If someone has approached you to merge your small business, or for you to join their company, there are a lot of things you want to consider. There are a lot of risks financially and personally when you do this, so you want to make sure that it makes sense. Here are a few things you'll want to consider doing before you start the process or before you commit to any deals with another company.
Poll Your Employees and Customers
You want to know what the customers you currently work with are going to think of the move, and what your employees would think. It can be difficult to ask without having the customers or the employees panic, but if there are benefits for both, it may be easy to persuade everyone to get on board. There could be a lot of benefits when joining a larger company or merging, so you want to start with the potential opportunities and benefits when explaining and asking opinions about the merger.
If you have a board, other partners with ownership, or any investors, you'll have to consult with them before you even agree verbally to any type of deal or contract.
Consult a Corporation Lawyer
You need to consult with a corporation lawyer to go over any documents the other company wants you to sign and so that you have someone representing you in the deal. You want to make sure that you aren't going in without all of the knowledge about what could happen with your customers and your employees or where you could take losses financially. Your lawyer will walk you through the merger, help negotiate terms to make sure that you profit as much as possible, and ensure that you aren't getting overrun in your own business.
Get an Appraisal and Audit
Find out exactly what your business is worth if you were to sell it on the market and what you should be getting for it in the merger. Have this done so you can make the best decisions before your merge, and so you have the option to show other potential buyers or companies that want to merge what your business is valued at.
Before you decide you're ready to join a larger business or to merge with another business, look into these three things. This way, you can rest easy knowing that you made the best decision for you, and for those that are associated with your business. For more information about the process, contact a firm like Colver Law, LLC.
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