A Holistic Approach to Buying a Business

The Involved Activist Attorney

When entrepreneurs are in the planning stage of a new venture, that is the time when I want to take a holistic approach and be apprised of key parts of the business plan to evaluate and assess the prospects for a smooth start up and long-term business success. If allowed, I get beyond the broad vision and into the gritty details.

Situation

An acquaintance introduced me to the proposed new owner of a business in the competitive staffing industry. The plan was for the owner to purchase an existing staffing company from a colleague with whom he had been employed for many years.

In analyzing a signed letter of intent, one that I had not seen previously, it looked like a very positive situation.

  1. The financials indicated the business was established, well run and quite profitable
  2. The new owner had lots of hands-on experience in the industry
  3. There was high demand for employees in all categories with prospects looking good for the future
  4. At first blush, the price and an involved plan to finance the acquisition looked compelling.
Holistic Approach to Buying a Business

As we were working out the details and I got into drafting a comprehensive purchase and sale agreement, I took a second and much more detailed look at the equity and different secured and unsecured loan portions of the complex financing plan. I then realized a key component had inadvertently been overlooked. 

I advised my client that the deal, as contemplated, did not work from a financial perspective. This was accepted by all parties and a potential disaster was avoided.

When you are considering buying a business, make sure your attorney is an involved activist – one that takes a vested interest in many aspects of the transaction.

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