Most people expect sellers to value a business on the high end and buyers to value a business on the low end.  Some of this may be a product of negotiation posturing, sellers knowing that a buyer is not going to pay the full asking price, and buyers thinking that anything should be bought for…

For many business owners, owning the real estate from which the business operates and paying for it out of business operations over a period of years is a key financial benefit of owning a business.  In fact, for many small business owners the real estate is a key component of overall business value and an…

People do not like to answer hard questions, particularly if the truthful answer will make us look bad.  A dishonest person may just lie, while even an honest person will do what they can to avoid answering the question, or at least to answer in a way that minimizes the damage to them personally, professionally,…

Several years ago I worked with a client who was buying a franchised business in the home improvement sector.  The business was marketed as including franchise rights within a multi-state territory.  After a great deal of time and effort by the parties to negotiate terms of agreement, source financing and evaluate financials, we discovered during…

Many years ago I represented the owners of a business that was to be sold to a private equity firm.  As should be expected with an experienced buyer, the terms of the transaction were carefully documented in a letter of intent, to be followed by the actual Asset Purchase Agreement and a multitude of various…

We all know the drudgery of cleaning something significant to get it ready to sell, whether a business, a house or even a car.  You want whatever you are selling to look its best for possible buyers and, ironically, better than you ever cared to have it looking for yourself.  In many ways, a business…