Whether you’ve built your distribution company from the ground up or taken on a pre-existing business, there may come a day when you’re ready to sell it and move on. You could want to sell before retiring or because you want to do something different with your time.
As you get ready to sell a distribution business, you might have some questions about the process and what you can do to get the best price for the company. Depending on your time frame, you might hope to sell the company quickly without having to settle for a low price or a less-than-ideal buyer.
Synergy Business Brokers has plenty of experience selling distribution businesses. Learn more about the process of selling your company and what you can do to make it go smoothly and efficiently.
You don’t have to do things on your own if you’re ready to sell your distribution company. Partnering with an experienced distribution business broker lets you determine the best price for the business, helps you preserve your company’s reputation and connects you to qualified business buyers.
The selling experience can vary based on market conditions and demand for distribution companies. At Synergy Business Brokers, we’ve seen a variety of different situations. For example, we worked with a cleaning and janitorial supplies distributor in the Northeast. Before contacting us, the owner had worked with another business broker for more than a year and a half without any luck. After reaching out to us, we found a qualified buyer after 10 days. The owner accepted the buyer’s offer within 20 days, and the deal was closed within 10 weeks. After partnering with us, the original owner quickly transitioned into retirement.
In another example, we worked with the owner of a chemical import and distribution company who wanted us to help him sell part of the company. The seller was able to offer 10% of the price in seller financing, meaning the buyer needed to find bank financing. We connected the buyer to our bank contacts to help them get the funding needed. Since the owner sold the product line to another buyer, we also helped restructure the company’s financial information to allow the sale to go through. We also arranged for the seller to receive incentives to stay with the company after the sale and help the buyer through the transition.
Our experience brokering the sales of distribution companies means we can be flexible and adapt to changing situations. Check out our case studies to learn more about the other deals we’ve assisted with and take a closer look at the types of distribution businesses we’ve helped:
You need to know how much your company is worth before listing it for sale. Some of the factors in your company’s value are based on its income, assets, and liabilities. But there are other factors, such as your customers, employees, trends, etc. We’ll also look at the value of similarly sized distribution companies when deciding your own business’ worth.
If you’re not sure how to value your distribution business, we can help. A professional Business Broker can get a complete picture of your business’s value and provide you with a reliable estimate you can use as a negotiating tool with buyers. We’ll review your financial statements and look at competitors and your sector to help you choose the best price to attract qualified buyers.
If you have a successful distribution business, you know that the more buyers you have, the better. Multiple buyers indicate that your company has a higher value and puts you in a much stronger negotiating position than if you’re trying to sell your business to a single entity.
Working with a business broker who can connect you to many different buyers is one way to raise your company’s perceived value. You can also do what’s necessary to make your company sale-ready. That includes organizing your financial paperwork and paying down debts as much as possible.
Cleaning up your company’s accounting and financial paperwork is also part of the preparation process. Your company’s documents should be easy to read and clear to simplify the process for buyers.
It’s also worthwhile to do your research and learn as much about potential buyers as you can before the sale. We’ll help with this. When you know what buyers are looking for, you can better position your business to provide that. Show buyers that your company has what they need.
Remember that confidentiality is critical when you’re getting ready to sell. Using a professional business broker will protect your privacy during the sales process. They will market your business in general terms and will get prospective buyers to sign a non-disclosure agreement and qualify them before providing the details about your business.
While, in some cases, you might have a buyer who’s looking to start fresh with a distribution company, it’s becoming more common for existing companies to merge with or acquire other companies in the field. Synergy Business Brokers can help you navigate mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in the distribution industry, too.
M&A provides distribution companies with a unique opportunity to grow their businesses or increase their profitability quickly. Companies can acquire or merge with similar companies to expand horizontally. Alternatively, they can merge with or acquire companies that offer a related service for vertical growth.
We can help you identify the companies with the most opportunities for M&A and can work with you to ensure the deal goes well and that all parties benefit as much as possible.
Getting in touch with us online is easy. All you have to do is fill out our simple form to set up a confidential consultation or give us a call at 888-750-5950. We are the premier M&A firm for Distribution Companies.
To view our current wholesale distribution companies for sale, please visit Distribution Businesses for sale.