Services09 of 09
What comes next · Succession & M&A
A legacy needs a plan, not just a hope.
Not every exit is a sale to a stranger. A child, a key employee, a partner, a merger — or buying a competitor yourself. Each needs a plan, and a date.
Succession & Acquisitions
Most owners assume the company will pass to a son or daughter, to the foreman who’s been there twenty years, or to a partner — and most have never written down how, when, or for what. Succession is a transaction like any other: it has a value, a structure, a financing question, a transition period and a departure date. And more and more contractors are on the other side of the table too, buying a competitor to grow or merging to build something neither company could build alone. We help you decide which of these is right, prepare the company for it, and carry it through.
Who this is for
- You have a successor in mind — family or a key employee — who isn’t ready, can’t finance it, or has never been asked.
- A partner wants out, or wants in, and there is no agreement that says what that means.
- A competitor has approached you about merging, or you’ve thought about buying one.
- You want the company to outlast you — with your name still on the trucks.
What we do
The work, in order.
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01
Choosing the path
Family succession, a management buyout, a partner transition, a merger, a sale to a strategic buyer or a private-equity group — each pays differently, transitions differently and asks something different of you. We start with what you want for yourself, your family and your people, then compare the realistic options on value, risk, timing and what your life looks like afterwards.
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02
Preparing the successor
The person taking over needs to be able to run the business, not just the work — and the company needs to prove it can run without you first. We build the development plan for the successor, the management layer around them, and the owner’s own departure plan, so the handover has a beginning, a middle and an end.
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03
Structure, financing and fairness
How a family member or key employee actually buys a company they can’t write a check for: seller financing, staged purchases, retained ownership, earn-in arrangements — and what each one means for your retirement and your risk. We work alongside your attorney and CPA so the structure protects everyone, including you.
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04
Mergers and acquisitions as a growth strategy
Buying a competitor or merging can add customers, people, territory and recurring revenue faster than organic growth — or it can import someone else’s problems. We help you assess the target, look past the revenue to the operation, plan the integration of people, systems and customers, and protect the culture that made your company worth buying in the first place.
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05
Preparing to be acquired
For owners who expect a strategic buyer or a consolidator: the operational assessment, the financial presentation, the management bench and the documentation an acquirer’s diligence will test — done before they arrive, not during exclusivity.
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06
A date
Succession plans fail most often on “we’ll see how it goes”. There should be a date for the handover of responsibility, a date for the handover of authority, and a date you walk out for the last time. Your successor needs it, your employees need it, and you need it.
The principle
Every business should be built to sell — even if the buyer is your own family, your own people, or the company down the road.
What you get
What you walk away with.
- A comparison of your realistic succession and exit options — value, timing, risk
- A successor development plan and a management structure around them
- A structure and financing outline to take to your attorney and CPA
- For acquisitions: target assessment and an integration plan for people, systems and customers
- For being acquired: a diligence-readiness review
- A written transition timeline — with the dates
Insights
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