Avoid common mistakes when selling your business

If you’re thinking of selling, start planning sooner rather than later.

Start by making a plan and follow these 5 tips

1

Surround yourself with a team of experts

2

Include audited financial statements

3

Update your estate plan

4

Avoid taking the first or highest bid

5

Prepare for your post-sale life

In short

A financial advisor provides you with a long-term relationship and orchestrates your entire team of experts to align with your financial goals.

Tap into the power of expertise

Never underestimate the power of a team standing alongside you in selling your business. Start with a financial advisor who can serve as the glue among the other experts on your team.

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How can a financial advisor help me?

Closing the "Wealth Gap"

A financial advisor can help you understand the number you need from the sale (after taxes) to succeed in achieving your long-term goals.

Building an expert team

Buyers know when they're facing a less competitive team. Your financial advisor is able to help gather the highest caliber of experts possible, including investment bankers and strategists with deal experience.

Lump sum investing

After the sale, you could be looking at a substantial windfall. A financial advisor can help you protect and grow that wealth over the course of your lifetime and beyond for the people and causes you care about.

Why use an investment banker?

Mergers and Acquisitions (M&As)

Get end-to-end guidance for M&As from upfront strategic advice, valuations and expanding buyer pools to negotiating the closing.

Raising capital

Investment bankers help companies with the complex, labor-intensive process of Initial Public Offerings (IPOs), secondary offerings, private placements and debt financing.

Market intelligence

Investment bankers are extremely well versed in the ins and outs of your industry dynamics, potential buyers and what's on the regulatory horizon.

Why do I need a tax attorney?

Tax and estate planning

A tax attorney can help lower your taxable impact during a sale by tapping into a deep understanding of tax laws and regulations. They can also help separate business from personal wealth to minimize estate taxes.

Compliance

Non-compliance can be costly. A tax attorney helps ensure you comply with laws and reduce the risk of penalties or fines.

Resolving disputes

If you are facing a conflict with the IRS, a tax attorney can defend your interests, negotiate with the authorities and file paperwork.

What can I expect from an estate attorney?

An estate attorney, also known as an estate planning attorney (or probate attorney), helps plan for the distribution of assets before and after death.

Here's how they help:

Estate planning: wealth transfer

An estate attorney looks after your ultimate wishes and goals to transfer your wealth to others, even while living, most efficiently. They help draft documents like wills, trusts, powers of attorney and advance healthcare directives in a way that minimizes inheritance taxes.

Trust administration

If you have a trust, an estate attorney can help ensure it's properly funded, manage distributions, handle tax reporting and give guidance on fulfilling the trustee's fiduciary duties.

Dispute resolution

Many times disputes arise among family members or beneficiaries around your estate. An estate attorney can help resolve these conflicts with legal guidance.

How can an accountant help me?

Financial analysis and reporting

Accountants interpret statements, identify trends and analyze profitability as well as create customized reports and financial models to support planning and budgeting.

Auditing and assurance services

Accountants assess internal controls and give an independent opinion on the fairness of financial statements, which is invaluable if you need to show transparency to buyers or stakeholders.

How can UBS help?

We can connect you with investment banking and advanced planning experts from both in and outside of UBS.

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Make your strongest case possible

For larger businesses, there is no better, more objective analysis of your business than an audited financial statement, vetted by a certified public accountant (CPA). It can:

Send a powerful message of credibility
Save your buyer research time
Move the process more quickly to getting an offer

How can UBS help?

We can connect you to reliable accounting firms that specialize in audited financial statements.

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In short

Estate plans are critical in helping you avoid unnecessary taxes on your personal wealth from a business sale.

Separate business from personal

Even if you already have an exit plan, you may not have addressed estate issues. It's important because the sale of a business can trigger a taxable event within your personal estate, unless, through proper planning, you've separated your business and personal income streams.

Well before a sale, and even far in advance of signing a Letter of Intent (LOI) with a potential buyer, is the time to act, with the help of your advisor and tax and estate professionals to be ready to generate significant tax savings, post-sale. Even if you already have an exit plan, you may not have addressed estate issues. It's important because the sale of a business can trigger a taxable event within your personal estate, unless, through proper planning, you've separated your business and personal income streams.

How can UBS help?

While UBS does not provide tax or legal advice, your UBS Financial Advisor has access to advanced planning resources that can work with outside tax and legal advisors and support trust and estate planning.

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Act, don't react

Without an exit plan in place, it's easy to jump at your first or highest bid, which can come with many pitfalls, including potentially unsavory conditions lying beneath the surface.

However, don't go it alone. Make sure you have the right team on your side, including a Financial Advisor, investment banker and lawyer with deal experience who can help you negotiate, troubleshoot and keep your eye on your goals when the deal heats up.

Why shouldn't I take the first bid?

In short

Accepting the highest bid may be tempting, but there's much more to your sale than a hard number, including continuity underlying terms and conditions.

Lack of competitive tension

You may be missing out on a higher offer by not marketing to other buyers and sparking a bidding war.

Unknown valuation

If you haven’t shared a comprehensive evaluation of your financials or looked at comparable sale prices with an investment banker, you don’t know what you don’t know.

Future growth not priced in

The first offer might reflect your business’s value now, but it may not price in its future growth, which could be significant.

What about the highest bid?

In short

A high offer may seem attractive. But is your buyer the right fit and can they ultimately follow through? Having an expert deal team can help you uncover any pitfalls, negotiate terms and help ensure your deal is set up for success.

Buyer's ability to follow through

Make sure the buyer has the necessary funds, experience and track record to finish the deal.

Hidden costs or risks

The highest bid sometimes comes with “baggage” like requests for extensive warranties or terms that expose you to future liabilities. Look deeper with your team.

Cultural fit and legacy

Sometimes the highest bid doesn’t come from someone who shares your culture or vision. Look beyond the raw number.

How can UBS help?

We'll help you understand the growth trajectory of your business and consider if it makes sense to exit or to stick with it.

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Plan your future

Even without an exit plan in place, you've probably already thought about the life you wanted to live after the sale. But have you considered what it would be like to no longer run your business, especially after you've devoted your whole life to it?

Spending a few hours planning now can reap big dividends later, save work and help you avoid anxiety down the road.

Make sure you can fund the lifestyle you want for the long term. Your financial advisor can help you protect and grow your wealth to achieve these goals.

For the best chances of success, it makes sense to start to get some clarity about these key questions and talk about them with your financial advisor:

Time - Now that you're not running your business, how will you want to spend it?
Social life - Who do you want to spend your time with (i.e., your spouse, significant other or friend) now that you won't be meeting regularly with colleagues and customers?
Purpose - What's going to bring you meaning when running a business is no longer a larger part of your self-identity?

How can UBS help?

We can assist you in developing a personalized financial plan that addresses your unique circumstances and provides ongoing guidance and support.

Get in touch

Please select an option

Make the right choices when selling your business

In short

Tap into the power of expertise

How can UBS help?

Make your strongest case possible

How can UBS help?

In short

Separate business from personal

How can UBS help?

Act, don't react

Why shouldn't I take the first bid?

Why shouldn't I take the first bid?

In short

Lack of competitive tension

Unknown valuation

Future growth not priced in

What about the highest bid?

What about the highest bid?

In short

Buyer's ability to follow through

Hidden costs or risks

Cultural fit and legacy

How can UBS help?

Plan your future

How can UBS help?

Avoid common mistakes

1 Avoid common mistakes

Time the sale

2 Time the sale

Know your buyer

3 Know your buyer

Manage your emotions

4 Manage your emotions

Thrive after the sale

5 Thrive after the sale

Tap into the power of expertise.

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