Alderman & Company’s 21 years of experience selling middle market aerospace and defense companies has proven that the success of sale process is substantially impacted by the quality of the professionals retained by the seller.
After a seller and buyer have entered into a letter of intent, almost all buyers will build a comprehensive deal team to manage their due diligence. If they are a larger strategic buyer, they will typically use a combination of internal executives and external professionals. If they are a financial buyer, they will rely heavily on retained professionals, with expertise in regulatory compliance, accounting, law, the competitive landscape, product/service quality, and other relevant fields.
When we started this firm, we would follow the lead of our clients, who often wanted to limit expenses early in the sale process by not retaining external professionals to supplement their internal resources. It did not take us long to realize that we were watching our client’s harm themselves – because they were not prepared for buyer due diligence. Too often, unprepared sellers found themselves trying to address buyers’ concerns regarding legitimate problems with the business. Had our clients hired the right professionals and identified problems in advance, they could have fixed almost all of them before buyer due diligence.
As an owner preparing to sell a business enterprise, it is wise to consider all of the functional areas that will need expert review in advance and retain professionals to assist with those reviews . Most sellers realize they need to hire accountants long before they sell, but many do not see the need to hire other professionals in advance (including but not limited to: attorneys with expertise in M&A, environmental consultants, market research consultants, benefits / HR compliance professionals).
Our clients have retained many talented professionals over the past two decades and we have firsthand knowledge of their value and their strengths. One of the most important services that we provide to our clients is helping them build winning Deal Teams, comprised of both internal executives with functional expertise and external professionals to supplement those talents.
Have a great day everyone!
Bruce Andrews
Managing Director, Aerospace
