Buying a Business

Acquiring a Company or Buying a Business

If you are interested in Acquiring a company, please visit our website for companies available for Sale. You can sort based on Geography, Price, Industry, etc.  If you need financing, we have relationships with banks we can introduce you to. 

Buying a business can be a complicated procedure, from finding the right one to negotiating terms and working out all the details required for a smooth transfer of ownership. 

Smarter Mergers has helped Business Buyers and Sellers navigate the business sale process for 20 years. We have different types of Businesses for sale across price ranges, industries, and locations.  Below is some information that may be helpful as you consider which business might be right for you.

Identifying your strengths and interests

The first step is to identify your strengths, interests, and financial capabilities to buy a business. This will help you in determining which businesses for sale might be of interest. Next, you can view our Businesses for Sale. You can view them based on industry, price, location, keyword search, and more. 

Viewing businesses for sale based on industry

To see companies for sale based on industry, please click on the industry of interest.

View companies for sale based on state

To view based on location, please click on the state of interest (Within each state and industry, you can sort based on price, keyword, and more) 

View companies for sale based on price range

Select price range of business you want to buy 

Fill out an NDA for buying a business online

When you have found a business, you would like to get more information on; please click on the Non-Disclosure Agreement on the listing of interest. Once you’ve filled out the NDA and Buyer Registration Information, a Broker will follow up with you. Please keep in mind that confidentiality is essential to all of the sellers we represent. They want to limit providing information to people who are financially qualified to buy their business. 

Narrowing your search to a specific business

You can consider the business’s strengths, weaknesses, and how your skills and interest would improve and grow a particular company. If it seems like a good fit, then the next step would be to speak with the broker that has the listing of interest and discuss the business and your background further to see if it’s worthwhile to set up a meeting or phone conversation with the owner of the company. 

Financing to buy a business

We can put you in touch with several banks to make sure that you can qualify for a loan to buy a business of interest. In many cases, we supply the information to the bank on the company, and you just need to fill out an application to determine what you can qualify for. Some business owners may be willing to provide some seller financing for part of the purchase price. 

Making an offer on a business for sale

After you understand your financing options and speak with the business owner to get your questions answered, it’s time to think about whether you want to make an offer for the company.  A business broker can help you to draft a letter of intent that outlines the price and terms that you are proposing to purchase a business. 

Once you sign the letter of intent, the business owner will review it and see if it is acceptable or if they will make a counteroffer. If the offer is not in the ballpark, sometimes the owner will decline the offer without making a counteroffer. If you are serious about the business, it’s best to make an offer that is reasonable for it to be considered. 

Due diligence

If the terms of an offer letter are agreeable, both parties will sign it, and the next phase is to move to due diligence. You will verify some more information about the business, including financial statements, tax returns, balance sheets, intellectual property, customer base, and contracts. to determine whether to move to the next step: to have an attorney negotiate a purchase and sale agreement. 

Closing to buy a business

When the attorneys finish negotiating, it’s time to set a closing date and start the next chapter in ownership of your new business. Not to worry, the seller typically helps the buyer to learn the business, including their customers, employees, products, and services, etc. 

More information on buying a business

You may be considering whether to buy an existing business vs starting a new business. Buying an ongoing profitable business offers the advantage of instant cash flow, customers, and employees. In most cases, a business acquisition will give you a favorable return on investment.  For more information, you can read: HOW DO I FIND THE RIGHT BUSINESS TO BUY? and visit Buyer FAQ

How do i find the right business to buy?

When people are trying to find the right business to buy, we are often asked, what business for sale would you recommend? The answer, of course, differs depending on the specifics of each buyer. 

Narrowing down what might be of interest

Every buyer has specific talents, interests, geography, and financial assets. The first thing for each buyer to do should be a self-assessment of each of these attributes to narrow down what types of businesses would suit their characteristics. 

Once you do this, then you will have a better idea of what types of businesses to look for, and we recommend that you view our Businesses for Sale. You can sort based on geography, asking price, and industry. This will give you an idea of which business might be right for you to buy. 

If you already own a business, there are other considerations to consider, such as what type of business would combine well with your current business. Both in terms of being able to cross-sell each other customers and the employees, skills, and assets of each company. 

Viewing our businesses for sale might give you some ideas on how you can expand your business by acquiring another company. It could be a geographical expansion or an expansion of products or services offered. Factoring all of these factors will give you a better idea of what business to buy. 

Confidentiality

The next step would be to fill out our Electronic Non-Disclosure Agreement. You can write in which businesses you are interested in and which Broker has a particular listing that is of interest. Alternatively, you can click on the individual NDA that is on the page of each listing and it will pre-fill the NDA with this information. 

Once this is done, the Broker that handles the listing will send you some more details on the business for sale, and you can determine whether it is something you want to pursue or not. Then if you wish to pursue a business further and you have the financial resources available, we can answer questions about the company for you and see if it makes sense to set up a meeting or phone conversation with the owner of the business. 

In a meeting between buyer and seller, it is best if the buyer and seller get along well so that there is an easy exchange of information. This also helps when negotiating the details of a potential deal. 

What types of businesses for sale do we have?

You can

  • view based on industry – Within each sector and state, you can sort based on price, keyword, etc. 
  • View based on State   
  • View based on price range 
  • If you don’t find a business for sale that you are interested in, you can revisit the website, or you can get on our email list by filling out our Buyer Registration Form or Contact Us Form. If you would like to have us represent you to find the right business you can read more about hiring a buyer broker. 

BUYER FAQ

Pros of buying or merging a business

One of the biggest advantages of merging two companies, especially if the merger is a horizontal or vertical one, is reducing competition. When two companies that operate in the same industry or offer the same product or service join together, they no longer work against each other but instead work together. The merged companies, acting as a single, larger entity, can then claim a more substantial portion of the market they operate in than they would if they continued to operate as separate businesses. 

Although at first glance, it might seem that a reduction in competition would only benefit the two merging companies and not the customers they serve, that isn’t always the case. For example, if two competing cell phone network companies merge, customers can take advantage of a larger network that offers more coverage compared to the two network companies on their own. 

In some cases, reduced competition means streamlined services. If two transportation companies merge, there might be fewer buses on the road at any one time. But that can also mean there is less congestion and less confusion for passengers, allowing them to get where they need to go with greater ease. 

Mergers can mean a reduction in costs, saving businesses money in the end. When two companies merge, they often no longer need to rent two separate office spaces, for example. They can combine marketing efforts to save money on advertising and other forms of promotion. Depending on how the companies are restructured after the merger, it can mean a reduction in the cost of staffing as redundant positions are combined or otherwise eliminated. Reduced costs can allow companies to reduce their prices which benefits customers and allows the company to expand further with increased competitive pricing. 

Merging two companies can diminish redundancies and improve efficiency all around. For example, when two or more companies merge together, there is no longer the need for each to have its own marketing department, its own research and development department, and so on. The departments can join together to work toward a common goal. 

Company A might have reached customers in one age bracket or demographic while Company B connected with customers in a completely different age bracket or demographic. When the companies come together, Company A gains access to Company B’s customers and vice versa. The merger can allow a company to tap into a new customer demographic without having to do the legwork usually required, such as research and marketing. 

Let’s say Company A serves customers in one part of the U.S. while Company B has worked with customers in another part of the U.S. Usually, setting up in a new market means a company has to undertake a considerable amount of research beforehand, including: 

  • Looking for employees 
  • Finding a location for an office or headquarters 
  • Putting out marketing feelers to determine if that market is ready for the service or product offered by the company 

But when two companies that serve different areas merge, there’s no need for extensive research, as Company B already has a track record of reaching customers in the area not served by Company A. 

When two companies merge, each one can take advantage of the experience and intelligence of the staff at the other. For example, Company B has developed an effective way to retain customers or to follow up with customers after an initial sale, increasing the chance of a repeat sale. Instead of having to do its own investigation, Company A can use the method developed by Company B after the merger. 

Additionally, a merger can introduce the two companies to new ways of approaching or thinking about problems. Issues that might have confounded Company A might resolve after a merger with a recommendation from a person from Company B.

Cons of merge or acquire a business

One of the biggest concerns business owners have when merging two companies is how the cultures of those companies will mesh together — or not mesh together. Culture clash can be common after a merger, especially if the two businesses have very different ways of managing employees or different expectations when it comes to employee behavior. 

While culture clash can interfere with a merger or make things particularly challenging after companies combine, it is not inevitable. Businesses concerned that there might be some difficulty managing or combining expectations can take steps before the merger is final and afterward to help their teams get used to new rules and expectations. Being prepared for downsides in an acquisition is an important factor to plan for. 

Even before an announcement that companies are merging, employees can get skittish and nervous about their jobs. In some cases, their apprehension is justified, as a merger can eliminate positions when employees at both companies end up being laid off. But in most cases, the combined companies want to keep their employees. 

In the interim, fears of a merger and the effect it might have on employment can interfere with employees’ ability to do their jobs. A business might see a drop in employee productivity as people fear for the future or feel less motivated to work for the company. In some cases, employees might decide to move on and find work elsewhere, meaning a company ends up losing most of its core team in advance of a merger. 

Depending on the number of debts owed by the companies coming together, a merger can mean an increase in overall liability, which can interfere with the newly created company’s ability to get more or new credit. The increased liability might cause initial difficulties to overcome but the increased time and efficiency will ensure the effective growth of both of your businesses. 

Weighing the pros vs. The cons of a merger or acquisition

Any time you make a decision in business, there are going to be benefits and drawbacks. The critical thing to do is to examine the pros and cons of your choice carefully and determine whether the pros outweigh the cons or the cons outweigh the pros. 

In the case of merging businesses, the benefits often outweigh the disadvantages. Most of the cons of a business merger can be overcome or managed with careful advanced planning. For example, you can take steps before the merger to help your company’s cultures come together rather than clash. If either of the businesses is in debt, they can work on reducing the amounts they owe before a merger so that each one is on a sturdier financial footing. 

The benefits of mergers often emerge in places you don’t expect. Innovation flourishes when two companies come together. A business merger can lead to the development of new products or services. 

For example, before merging, Company A might offer one product and Company B another. After a merger, the new company might realize it can blend two separate products into one to better meet the needs of customers. Or it might be able to take components from each of their products and combine them to produce something entirely new. These pros make a strong case to consider business mergers. 

Get M&A help from Smarter Mergers

If you are looking to grow through mergers and acquisitions, please view our businesses for sale. If there is a business of interest fill out our electronic NDA for more information. We’ll help you through the process and guide you along the way. Get the merger process off to an excellent start and reach a deal that benefits you. If are interested in having your company be acquired, Contact us today!