Selling a Business, Stage by Stage
Selling a business runs through a series of stages that most sellers only see once. Below is what happens in each, which calls are yours to make and what your broker handles, so the road to closing is clear before any acquirer is contacted. The same steps apply when you sell services businesses, contractors or manufacturers anywhere in Oklahoma, and a broker keeps buying interest moving through each one.
What Your Broker Handles at Each Stage
Early on, the work is preparation, and none of it is visible outside the business. Your broker restates the financials so they show the cash flow an acquirer would actually receive, flag the questions diligence is likely to raise, and settle on a value range you can defend.
Then the business goes to market. A blind profile reaches a targeted list first, and only parties who sign a nondisclosure agreement and show the means to close receive the full offering memorandum.
When offers come in, they are compared on structure as much as price: cash at closing, earnouts, seller notes, working capital and how long you are asked to stay on.
Through diligence and closing, your broker keeps both sides’ attorneys and accountants on schedule and work through the information requests that tend to slow deals down near the finish. Meanwhile you keep running the business, which is the surest way to hold its value until the purchase agreement is signed.
Why Use Representation to Sell a Company?
Companies here attract more acquirer interest than many sellers expect. Energy service firms, aerospace suppliers and private equity groups from Dallas, Houston and further afield all look at Oklahoma businesses, and each values a business in its own way. Putting several of them in front of the same opportunity at the same time is usually what produces the strongest price.
A business broker organizes that competition, keeps the selling process private and negotiates on your behalf in a situation most sellers face only once.
Representation also keeps your attention on the business you are selling. Selling a business makes heavy demands on time, and value tends to slip when the person running the business spends the year managing buyers instead.
If you are comparing firms, our guide on how to find a business broker covers what to ask before you commit to anyone.
The Steps in Selling a Company
There is a recognizable order to selling a Tulsa business, and knowing it ahead of time makes the year far less uncertain. The business valuation comes first. Your broker reviews several years of statements and returns, add back your own compensation and one-time items, and settle the earnings figure that acquirers will price. Our business valuation calculator gives a quick first estimate if you want one before that conversation.
Preparation follows. The offering memorandum is written, the data room is filled with the financial and operating information buyers will want, and any problems are addressed now rather than discovered later.
Confidential marketing comes third. No party learns the company’s name before signing a nondisclosure agreement, and outreach goes only to groups with a real reason to want what the business does.
In the fourth stage, indications of interest and management meetings shorten the list to the strongest combinations of price, terms and fit. The fifth stage is a letter of intent covering the price, the structure and an exclusivity period.
Diligence is the sixth stage, when the acquirer verifies financials, contracts, employees and operations, and good preparation keeps the deal on track. Closing follows with the purchase agreement and the transition period you negotiated. Our guide on how to sell a business explains each stage in more depth.
Industries Our Business Brokerage Represents
The Tulsa economy reaches well beyond oil and gas, and acquirers value each sector differently. These are the industries where Tulsa sellers most often come to us. For more on a single sector, see our pages on manufacturing business brokers and construction business brokers. Buyers looking to buy a business in Oklahoma often start with these sectors.
Energy and Industrial Services
Oilfield service, midstream support and industrial services companies are valued on contract quality, equipment, safety records and how exposed earnings are to commodity prices. We present the business so acquirers can see earnings through the cycle, not just in the last strong year.
Aerospace and Manufacturing
Aerospace maintenance and parts suppliers, machine shops and fabricators across Oklahoma draw both strategic acquirers and private equity. Buyers weigh quality systems, equipment condition, customer concentration and margins, and we prepare answers before the questions are asked.
Construction and Skilled Trades
Contractors, mechanical and electrical trades, and home services firms are priced on backlog, crew retention, bonding capacity and how much of the work rests on the founder’s relationships. We show buyers both the pipeline and the people who deliver it.
Healthcare and Professional Services
Medical and dental practices, therapy services, and accounting, engineering and staffing firms are bought for their client relationships and the professionals who serve them. We structure the deal to show those relationships will remain after you step back.