As a business owner, you have to evaluate the role you want in a transition as part of your overall evaluation of the suitors interested in your business.

Hopefully, you’ll have four or five offers to choose from, and if you do, what you’ll find is that those companies or private equity groups will have different goals for your business.

Some of those buyers might be looking at you as a platform business. Under that scenario, they probably want you to stay on for a longer period of time as they provide capital to help you take the company to the next level.

In other situations, you might be more of a tuck in acquisition they are going to integrate with a much larger operation. And in those situations, they’re probably going to want you for a shorter period (maybe three months to a year) to help with the transition. But after that time, they’ll have their own management team that’s going to take over your business.

Ideally, you’ll have gone into the transition with a good idea of what you want out of the deal. That way your deal team has the greatest opportunity to deliver options that best fit your goals.

Robert Jones

Partner | M&A Advisor