Organizing the disposal or acquisition process

Organizing

The process

A well-thought-out sale or acquisition process optimizes your negotiation position and sometimes has a decisive incidence on the success of the transaction.

Which questions to ask first if you are selling?

  • Were there few or many transactions in the economic sector of your company in the last few years?
  • How many potential buyers do you expect may be interested in your company?
  • Do you have a preference for certain potential buyers rather than others? In consideration of which constraints?
  • Did you already receive indications of interest from certain potential buyers?
  • Is the confidentiality of the transaction of paramount importance?
  • Have all of the potential buyers a foothold in France?
  • Are financial investors likely to be interested in your company?
  • Is it possible that not all of the different potential buyers react in the same delay?
  • Could certain potential buyers encounter difficulties at financing the transaction?

Which questions to ask first if you are buying?

  • How many targets are you likely to be interested in?
  • Do you have a strong preference for some of them?
  • Is the stock ownership of these targets concentrated or dispersed?
  • Are you already in contact with the stockholders and business leaders of these targets?
  • How would these stockholders and business leaders perceive a merger with your company?
  • Could a transaction lead to strong reactions of certain clients or suppliers?
  • How many transactions do you wish to carry out and can you manage at the same time, and/or in which sequences and with which priorities?
  • Are other potential buyers likely to submit competitive offers? What are their strengths and weaknesses?

The answers to these questions may lead you to:

  • Either enter a one-to-one negotiation or organize a limited auction (if you are selling).
  • Decide when to request a negotiation exclusivity and under which conditions precedent (if you are buying).