Selling your business is a big decision. Oxford Edge is here to help you navigate this momentous occasion.
Preparing your business for sale involves several activities that need to be completed to ensure a successful outcome. Getting these steps right is key to ensuring that your business can be marketed in the best way possible and your business’ value can be highlighted to a potential purchaser. So, what exactly are those steps?
If you’re selling to an existing shareholder, the process is slightly different and driven by the shareholders’ agreement. Generally, there are pre-emptive rights entitling the shareholder first right of refusal to acquire the shares. The price is usually driven via a roulette clause within the shareholders’ agreement. A roulette clause is essentially a price at which both the vendor and purchaser would agree to sell and buy at. If a price cannot be agreed, an independent valuation is generally obtained to determine the fair market value.
If the remaining shareholder doesn’t choose to exercise the pre-emptive rights, the outgoing shareholder can offer the shares to the open market. If this occurs, the process will generally follow the above 11 steps.
If this all sounds like a bit of you, contact Oxford Edge today to get the ball rolling on selling your business.