Evans and Associates

TRANSACTION ADVISORY SERVICES

For a business owner or executive, few events are of greater importance than the sale or purchase of a business. Buyers run the risk of purchasing the wrong business or paying too much. Sellers may sell under adverse conditions or accept too low a price due to lack of preparation or knowledge. Evans and Associates will work to ensure that you are prepared to set a sound bid or offer price and negotiate successfully to close the deal. Our strategic advice, comprehensive document preparation and negotiation services are critical to transaction success and maximum return on investment.

Our transaction advisory services provide a wide range of benefits, including:

Assessment of a company's position within its industry and market, including identification of its strategic strengths and weaknesses
Assessment of industry conditions, including merger and acquisition or consolidation trends and factors driving buyer and seller behavior
Assessment of the prices being paid by strategic and financial buyers, whether expressed as multiples of earnings, EBIT, or revenues
Research and identification of potential targets for an acquisition team, or potential buyers for a company that has decided to sell
Assessment of a company's value to its present owners as a stand-alone entity and its higher strategic value to selected buyers reflecting synergies and other available integrative benefits
Identification and assessment of key value drivers and risk drivers that are most likely to increase or decrease the company's stock price
Assessment and advice on timing and positioning of the company to achieve maximum benefit
Representation of either the buy side or the sell side in negotiations on price, terms, deal structure and non-financial issues to secure the best possible deal to achieve client goals.

The key to success in a transaction, whether you are on the buy or sell side, is thorough, disciplined planning, reliable information on values and market conditions, and a process that provides the best chance for success. Experienced, reputable transaction advisors are critical to your team. Choose Evans and Associates with confidence.

VALUE ENHANCEMENT

Most people have a clear objective when they invest in publicly traded securities: they want to earn a return, either in dividends or capital appreciation. This clarity of purpose, however, frequently disappears when investments are made in closely held companies. And this is why many such businesses are under performing. The following is a list of fundamental questions that every shareholder and executive in a closely held company should be able to answer, but seldom can:

What is my real cash return on my investment in my private company?
Is my "investment" the amount that was originally invested or what it is worth now?
What rate of return should my investment yield, given its risk?
How do I determine what the business and my investment in it are worth now?
How does minority ownership status affect the value and liquidity of an investment?
What are the most likely future prospects for the business and what factors most threaten it?
What is the best strategy to build value in the business?
How do I manage the goal of ownership succession--transferring stock--against management succession--running the company, if my preferred successors are not ready?
Do I maximize value and minimize risk by continuing to own the business or by selling out? When and how do I sell to get the best price, and how do I determine this?

It is sad how few shareholders and executives of privately held companies even ask these questions, much less know the answers to them. Even more frightening is the fact that their most trusted advisors--their CFO, attorney, CPA or banker--seldom have these answers or an understanding on how to get them.

Evans and Associates exists to provide these answers and solutions to maximize value and minimize risk in investments in closely held businesses. We have the tools to identify your needs and then provide the strategic and valuation analysis to give your company direction and clearly defined goals. We can assist you to position your company to maximize your returns, either as a stand-alone business or perhaps through a transfer of ownership, and we can help you to assess the advantages and disadvantages of growth through acquisition.

While these issues are complex, they are not unsolvable. Call us for a process to build, protect and harvest your private company wealth.