Chartered Accountants
Business Sale to International Company
Our client is a specialist architectural company which had been operating in the sector for a number of years. Several years previously, EQ had assisted the client in securing a management buyout, which had allowed the client to develop its expertise in their sector and to trade profitably for many years. However, the major shareholder was ageing and there was no clear internal successor despite the quality of the staff. Therefore, a buyer was sought for the company.
How we helped our client
Our Corporate Finance team held several meetings with the client and it became clear that, globally, there were only a handful of potential purchasers. We assessed each of those candidates and agreed that only two were feasible. These companies were approached, initially on a no names basis, to determine whether they might be interested in making a strategic acquisition. This narrowed down our options to one purchaser and we entered a period of negotiation.
The purchaser was a large international group which lacked our client’s niche expertise. As a large corporate, they had their own way of doing things and felt that they could railroad our client into a deal not suitable. EQ’s experienced Corporate Finance experts defended our client’s position and stood our ground in what were intense discussions.
The sale was eventually structured in a way that gave our client a very attractive, incentive-based share disposal. More importantly, it retained the skills and expertise of the workforce in Tayside, keeping the local presence which was important to the business. The selling company has retained its identity and the purchaser has secured a valuable addition to their skills set.
For more information or to discuss how we can help you, please contact our EQ Transaction Taxperts.
For further assistance with any corporate finance queries, please contact our Corporate Finance team.
