Skip to content

Buy-Side Representation

We Research & Find the Right Business for You

You have decided to live your dream of owning your own business. Or you already own a business and have decided to grow by making a synergistic acquisition. Now you have enthusiastically embarked on finding just the right business to accomplish your goals. You go to all the “Business for Sale” websites, you study multiples of cash flow being asked, you make lists of likely candidates, you visit with brokers, sign Confidentiality Agreements, meet with some owners.

But with each business there is always something that is just not right for you, something that keeps you from pulling the trigger. Before long the search becomes tedious and time-consuming. You are frustrated and feel that there must be another way to achieve your goal. Sound familiar? Well, there is another path. Consider engaging CBB to perform a buyer search for a business that fits your criteria.

Contractual Advisory Buy-side Representation Services Include:

  • Gathering, analyzing and assessing your acquisition criteria
  • Developing potential target lists
  • Contacting & screening potential acquisition candidates
  • Facilitating the exchange of information between parties
  • Advising and assisting you in meetings and negotiations as necessary
  • Valuing target companies
  • Negotiating the deal
  • Coordinating due diligence and closing process as required
  • Locating applicable financing

When you engage us to perform a buyer’s search, we do not focus on businesses that are actively listed for sale. Many owners would like to sell to a qualified buyer but do not want to list their business because they are concerned that customers, employees and suppliers would find out and the business would suffer. These companies are often referred to as the “hidden market.”

It is estimated that there are four times the number of businesses on the hidden market as there are businesses listed for sale. We search for these hidden market companies to develop a potential target list. With a buyer search, the chances of finding a business that meets your specific requirements improve significantly. There are several critical pieces of information that you need to provide in order to begin the buyer search process.

What Our Business Brokers Need to Search the Hidden Market for Businesses for Sale

  1. Clear and specific requirements for an acceptable acquisition – we need to know the industry, size, location, minimum cash flow, and total equity capital you have available to invest
  2. Your resume which shows your qualifications for managing a business in your target industry
  3. Indication of financial capability – such as a letter from your banker or an account statement showing your access to liquid capital.

Armed with this information, we can make a compelling case that you are a serious, capable, qualified buyer when we contact the companies on the target list.

OK, you say, sounds interesting — but using this process means the buyer pays the broker fee instead of the seller. That is true, but ultimately is it going to cost you more money to make the acquisition? Probably not. In a transaction where the seller pays the broker fee, the source of the funds for that fee payment is the purchase price paid by the buyer. The seller makes the decision to accept a certain purchase price based on the net proceeds received after paying fees. So whether the buyer or seller is responsible for the fee, the purchase price and seller net should be the same.

If you want to save your search time, access the hidden market, and relieve some frustration, consider using our buyer search services. Take a different path — start by registering as a prospective business buyer or arrange a meeting with our business brokers to discuss how we tailor the process to meet your goals.