Sale / Generational Transition

Crown Princess / Crown Prince:

Do you have a relevant successor for your post, if you one day decide to sell your company or if your medical condition worsens? What will happen to your customers, your employees and your suppliers?
Are there any of your key employees who got the age and the drive to take over? Or is it a good idea to start searching for the right replacement elsewhere?
The value of your company is not only dependent on the turnover, profit and customers. More and more buyers are very interested in that the company has a successor who can possess the head post after the acquisition.
Thus, the crown Princess/Crown Prince pose an equally important role as yourself, when it comes to the value of your life’s work.
Therefore remember to encourage the successor and let the person know that he/she is designated to become the head of the company. Thereby, you avoid that the right person suddenly resigns and maybe even ends up working for a competitor.
We can help you focus on this important aspect.

Sharpen your company:

A majority of companies run a reasonable business which continue to make a good profit for the owner. Though, even when your company has a positive growth it is a good idea to stay focused on:
• Products – New markets/products
• Optimizing the existing business
• The employees and the customers

When business is good and the bottom line is positive, a lot of business owners forget to keep the focus on especially optimizing the existing business

However, when deciding to sell these companies often realise that it would have been advantageous if they had kept this focus ongoing. It is the investments you have made and which have resulted in an increasing turnover that the buyer will pay for, not the future implementation plans.
So a piece of advice is – “sharpen your company” all the time!

International Network

Besides Finn Laursen’s own network which is based on his many years within the transport and logistics business, Laursen Partners is connected to several international networks of M&A specialists in Europe as well as the rest of the world.

What is important to you?

– That your company continues after the acquisition?

When you have decided to sell your company, have you then considered what is important to you and the company after the acquisition?

In 2004 Peter Stubkjær Sørensen sold his company, Bonus Energy, to Siemens Wind Power. As a part of the sales agreement Peter wished that the stone in front of the company’s entry which carried the inscription “Bonus Energy” should remain at the entry even after the acquisition. For Peter it was important that everyone in the future could see which company had been the basis of the current one. Peter still likes to show the stone to visiting friends and still proudly tell people ”Look, I was a part of creating this”.
Do you feel like Peter? – We believe that most people who has fought for a company for many years and then decides to sell “the baby” wants to see the company continue developing, even if the name on the door has changed.
In addition, of course, is the desire for a proper price and reasonable terms of sale.

The sales procedure takes place as follows:

1

You are offered an informal meeting at your office or ours.

2

You present your requests in connection with the sale (It is not only about the money but also about being able to follow your lifework for many years ahead although the name has been changed. Furthermore, it is essential that your loyal employees are able to see a future in the new set-up/company).

3

If there is an interest you are offered to make a sales agreement. If we believe that we have a potential buyer, we will make a Sales Agreement in which we agree on the period as well as the general sales terms.

4

You will sign an NDA (Non-disclosure Agreement) upon which we will inform you of the possible buyer.

5

Until this point, everything is free of charge.

6

If you want to continue with the procedure, you are offered to make a listing agreement with us and based on relevant information about accounts, budgets and your agreements with key account customers we will estimate a valuation of your company. The more accurate the information is the better estimate we get.

7

Based upon the evaluation, we will make an anonymous pre-approved teaser for the buyer.

8

As soon as the buyer wants to proceed with the procedure and has signed the NDA, we will complete a due diligence investigation. This procedure is important to make sure that there are not any “black spots” which might mean a devaluation of your company. By doing this, we can avoid a discussion with the buyer.

9

During the negotiations we are acting as middlemen in order for you to avoid distraction from interfering emotions and thereby create a better foundation for you to work with the buyer in the future process.

10

Buyer will make an indicative offer.

11

Your lawyer/accountant will take over the process and in most cases a lawyer/accountant from both parties will be present. The aim is to close the full due diligence investigation process which ends up with the buyer placing a binding offer.

12

Upon this, the contract negotiations and the signing of the conditional transaction agreement will take place.

13

Closing of the agreement between the parties.