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Transitioning Your Business Legacy

Years of work and worry are about to pay off — maybe.
Unfortunately, most business owners don’t “finish strong.”

Studies by various groups report that nearly two-thirds of owners of family businesses have no transition plan. Other studies show that many businesses fail to survive beyond the founding generation. The majority of business owners 50 and older struggle with the fundamental questions regarding a plan to transition ownership of their business.

Transition is certainly not an easy task. It may be the most difficult process you’ve undertaken with your business, however, a detailed succession plan can make all the difference.

The Vine Group specializes in exit strategies and complex company transitions. We walk alongside you through the entire process. From the initial valuation to managed due diligence, we streamline the transition of your business to help you finish strong.

Our focus is to give you peace of mind and ensure that your duties as a steward of your business and all of your other assets are fulfilled with excellence.

Five Questions To Consider When Contemplating the Transition of Your Company:

  1. What is your number? This number should be realistic. It should reflect supporting yourself, spouse, perhaps children or charities and other ways you spend. If you plan to start another business, it should also reflect this consideration.
  2. How prepared are you personally to end your commitment to your business? Are you retiring soon? If you retire, do you plan to be involved in any limited fashion?
  3. Is your business a legacy to you? It is often very challenging for the owner to “let go” of their company. If it is important that people associate your Company with you and your family, selling to an outsider needs careful contemplation. Various other options may be provided by The Vine Group.
  4. How prepared is your Company for transition? This is one of the most important aspects of any transition discussion. The Vine Group excels at “trimming” the sails of your company, streamlining financials, processes, employee plans, and other vital aspects of the framework you’ve spent years building. Maximizing your efforts and receiving the optimum value is the ultimate goal of The Vine Group for you, the client.
  5. How flexible do your goals need to be and how much control do you need to maintain? The answer to this and other questions helps The Vine Group structure the best plan for your exit and the future of your legacy.
Portrait of Father and Son Entrepreneur
Executive Summary

The marketing process for selling a company often begins with an executive summary that includes company highlights without specifically identifying the seller. It generally provides a basic explanation of the industry, location, size of the business as well as other high-level information. It is intended to be broadly distributed to capture the attention of prospective buyers and lead to requests for more information. Rest assured, we fully screen interested buyers to make sure they are qualified. We are protective of your information. Confidentiality is paramount. All qualified buyers submit to legal agreements. It’s nobody business but yours that your business is being offered.

Two people crafting memorandum on a computer
Offering Memorandum

An Offering Memorandum (“OM”) is sometimes referred to as “the Book”, and it is one of the most important documents used in the sale process. It provides potential buyers with the necessary comprehensive information required to make an initial bid and is received only after a non-disclosure agreement has been signed. The OM typically includes detailed information about the company and its operations, the management team structure, a description of the industry and opportunities within the market, financial information of historical performance and future projections and a summary of the sales process. We also give specific instructions on submitting a letter of intent (LOI) and how it is to be received.

Exit Plan & Event Preparation

All exit strategies (including selling the business) require due diligence that involves an in-depth financial review and valuation report on the health and current state of a business. Investing in professional due diligence and strategic valuation analysis eliminates many of the burdens often experienced with exiting or selling a business.

The professionalism and experience of The Vine Group demonstrates to clients that well crafted evaluative measures and due diligence is the difference between a successful exit — and a long, potentially contentious, lower than expected and negotiated transactional process. The Vine Group will supplement your current resources with targeted support to complete a successful exit, at full valuation, and in line with the results you want.

How Can We Support You?
Be the exception to the rule — FINISH STRONG.
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  • Analyze the most important metrics and valuation drivers to identify gaps and fix (not just temporarily repair) them before we present to the market – don’t risk putting yourself in a weak negotiating position.
  • Substantially reduce the need for buyers to do their own due diligence work – guide them to see that they can both trust and leverage your own work and The Vine Group’s reports.
  • Manage and serve all advisors on both sides to ensure nothing is left out or that any value is left on the table. And, drive the process so it continuously advances at a healthy pace.
  • Ensure the accuracy of information to be included in any presented materials (Confidential Information Memorandum, Sales Prospectus, etc.), providing credibility to buyers with a transparent, objective view of the business. Any inconsistencies, errors, or perceived integrity issues can do huge damage to your valuation and potentially even destroy trust.
  • Show supportable, realistic assumptions that lead to a healthy future cash flow of the business; Explain and support how and why the business is lower risk than the industry norm. These two factors are at least 90% of your valuation.