Business Brokerage Services

Interested in Buying or Selling a Business in the Greater Nashville, TN Area

Crye-Leike Business Brokers specialize in assisting business owners in the marketing and selling of their business, mergers & acquisitions, and buyers in the purchase of a business. With years of experience in buying and selling a variety of businesses, our professional staff assures that each step in your transaction is carefully planned and executed. We help value a business, develop and execute marketing plans, locate financing for buyers and oversee aspects of due diligence required to close the deal.

• Sell a Business
• Buy a Business
• Industries Served
• FAQ

Sell a Business in Middle Tennessee

Effectively selling a company is a complex process. Determining price is important. If the price is too high, the business will not sell and if too low, money will be left on the table. The market ultimately determines the selling price, so it's important to value the business correctly and list it in the appropriate price range.

When it comes time to sell your business, the two best decisions you can make are:

1. Focus all your energies on managing your business efficiently and profitably, and,
2. Retain the services a of a professional team to handle the many complexities of valuing, marketing and negotiating the deal to a close.

This is where we come in. Crye-Leike Business Brokers adheres to a detailed and proven process to prepare your business for sale in order to obtain the maximum value at closing.

Crye-Leike’s Steps for Sellers

• Meet to survey the business and get seller's expectations
• Assist in arriving at a listing price
• Determine appropriate level of confidentiality
• Enter exclusive listing arrangement
• Market business through numerous channels
• Evaluate offers and assist with negotiations
• Review contract and assist with close

How long does it take to sell a business?

The average Main Street business (annual sales of up to $2 million) sells within one year. Of course there are cases where a business sells in three months. Mid market companies (sales up to $50 million) take longer, an average of 18 months. We have stream-lined our process to reduce unnecessary, time-consuming steps.

Important Considerations

Confidentiality - Confidentiality is an absolute requirement for a successful sale. When confidentiality is broken, your business can be adversely affected by: key employees feeling unsure of job security and looking for another job, customers wondering if you will be there for their future needs and competitors 'advertising' the sale of your business so as to pull your customers away. Crye-Leike Business Brokers maintains multiple safeguards to insure that the sale of your business is kept confidential. No potential buyers will learn any particulars of your business without signing multiple documents, which hold them responsible if they break the confidentiality agreement. Our system protects the identity of you and your organization by marketing your company only to those buyers that you have pre-approved. Once there is a non-disclosure agreement, we provide potential buyers with a Confidential Information Memorandum - a complete report giving them the details necessary to move forward, without revealing your identity. You are informed of any progress made with any and all buyers.

Business Continuity - Throughout this process, we manage every aspect of marketing and getting your business sold - all while keeping you informed. This affords you the ability to maintain focus on running your business, so its value is not diminished

Valuation - Putting a value on a business is complex because every business is different, with hundreds of variables that impact its worth. We possess the knowledge and tools necessary to develop an appropriate value range for your business. It is necessary to have this information so you will know that the offer, you are receiving, is an acceptable one.

Marketing - Your company is strategically placed in the market to all investors, both financial and strategic, which may be in acquisition mode. We present the key values that buyers look for, and can assist in identifying changes that maximize value. It is important to reach a large number of potential buyers because this will provide a more competitive environment. We research multiple data banks to create the largest possible list of legitimate buyers. Again, you will approve this list before we proceed with the marketing effort.

Due Diligence - Once a purchase agreement is signed we will assist you in planning the sequence of events for customer, employee and vendor notification. We also assist our clients through any due diligence to ensure time-lines are kept en route to a close. Also, we can provide recommendations for legal and financial representation.

Buy a Business

Whether you are an individual wanting to buy his own business or an existing company looking to acquire market share Crye-Leike Business Brokers can help you achieve your goal. This is accomplished through a comprehensive search on a local or nationwide basis to determine the available business which best fit your needs and goals. Below is a summary of steps taken to help our investors find the business they're looking for and complete the acquisition.

Crye-Leike’s Steps for Buyers

• Meet to determine buyer's interests
• Assessment of buyer financial capabilities
• Access various sources to locate suitable businesses and consider a targeted search
• Review business purchase opportunities
• Negotiate terms of purchase and review Buy-Sell Agreement
• Introduce Buyer to lending sources and act as a conduit for exchanging necessary information
• Be available to advise and manage all aspects of the transaction as needed to complete a successful purchase

Industries Served

While each industry is unique unto itself, as is each business within an industry, the process used to take a business to market is similar across industries. The key elements are: maintaining confidentiality, being thorough in the information gathering phase, developing a strong marketing package, overseeing due diligence so the process doesn't stall and keeping the parties focused en route to a close. This is what we've done for businesses in each of the following industries.

frequently Asked Questions

Q - What is the difference between a Main Street and a Mid Market Business?
Main Street is referred to as Small Business with annual sells up to $2,000,000.00. Mid Market companies are considered as having annual sells up to $50,000,000.00.

Q - My business is being marketed by Crye-Leike Business Brokers, now what?
Selling your business is a team effort. As the business owner, you do what you do best - Manage your business to be the best it can be, and we will devote our energy, effort and resources toward selling your business for the best price in the shortest time possible.

Q - I need for the sale of my business to be kept confidential. How can we maintain confidentiality?
First of all, if you have talked to anyone (an employee, an industry peer, family members, etc) of plans to sell your company, Confidentiality has been lost. You can never be too careful when it comes to trusting those around you. At Crye-Leike Business Brokers, we protect our client's confidentiality throughout the marketing process. Once someone has decided to place their business on the market with us, we design a Confidential Information Memorandum), a profile of your business. This document provides general information on the business without disclosing its identity. The CIM generally describes topics such as the business location, products & services offered, key financials and growth opportunities. Basically, the CIM paints a picture that allows the prospective buyer to see a positive, realistic representation of the business. The CIM is used to market your company nationally to prospective buyers by means of several outlets - including direct mail and online campaigns. All interested buyers must sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) and provide a financial statement before any company-specific information can be obtained. At that point we provide enough information for the buyer to make a decision to move forward.

Q - How long will it take to sell my business?
The average Main Street business sells within one year. Of course there are cases where a business sells in three months. Mid market transactions take longer, an average of 1 8 months. We have stream-lined our process to reduce unnecessary, time-consuming steps.

Q - Should I have a Valuation performed on my business, and will that ensure getting the best price?
At Crye-Leike Business Brokers, we can run an analysis to determine a valid range that should be expected for your business. The only way to ensure you are getting the best price for your business is to obtain multiple offers. We market your business to a large bank of buyers to create a competitive bidding situation.

Q - What am I required to do during this process?
Initially, your involvement will be heavy, since we will need to gather information from you or other knowledgeable person, such as a CFO. You will need to provide information that will go into the CIM, including general company history and financials. Afterwards, the most important thing for you, the owner, is to continue growing the business as if you plan to own it for the next decade. The worst thing that can happen after your business is placed on the market is for the financials to falter, so it is very important that everyone within the business remain focused on meeting the company's objectives.

Q - How long will I be expected to stay on after the deal is closed?
Every scenario is different. If the buyer has a team that can step in and run the business in very short order, your time may be minimal. If a single buyer is the one stepping in and must learn the business, more time will be needed. This is something that is negotiated in the sale.

Q - How important is it that my financials are in good order?
Very. Your financial records is the main ingredient that will be examined by the buyer. While it's not necessary, fewer questions will arise if you have your financial statements audited, reducing perceived risk. This, in turn, can translate to a higher value to the buyer. In many cases, smaller companies (revenues less than $10 Million) do not have audited statements.