Leaving your business will be among the most important transactions in your life – both emotionally and financially. As experienced exit planning consultants, we guide you toward practical solutions that work best for you. We insist that you have competent, independent advice so you fully understand the financial consequences of your exit. In addition, we pay close attention to your non-financial objectives because we understand how important they can be.
The KBT team will help you evaluate exit alternatives including, but not limited to:
This evaluation gives you the tools necessary to make a realistic decision about your business’s future. If we also perform a business valuation, this gives us a great opportunity to understand your business in depth to give better exit planning advice. We work with you to make sure your financial future and business legacy are secure.
Keystone Business Transitions (KBT) is one of the most experienced Exit Planning firms in the country. Both of our principals – Donald Feldman and Izabela Szymanska are Certified Exit Planners (CExP) and have combined over thirty years of experience providing Exit Planning Services. At KBT, Exit Planning is not merely an add on to our main professional service (legal, accounting, financial, etc.), but our primary focus.
At KBT, the goal of every Exit Plan is to allow business owners to exit while achieving their personal and financial goals. We follow a proven process:
Marlin Horst – Premier Custom-Built, Inc.
We use sophisticated and well-tested strategies such as valuation discounts combined with deferred compensation to owners for internal transfers to minimize tax and maximize cash proceeds to owners. We also have experience with Exit Strategies such as Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs) and have helped develop employee incentive stock ownership programs for privately-held companies as part of the Exit Planning process.
We encourage the inclusion of the business owners’ other professional advisors – lawyer, accountant, financial advisor – in the development of an Exit Plan to maximize the chances for a successful exit. Other advisors are critical – lawyers are needed to document new shareholder & purchase and sale agreements; accountants for advice on tax planning; and financial advisors to do post-exit planning.
A key aspect of every Exit Plan is to assess the strength of the management team and ensure that they are motivated to remain with the Company throughout the exit process. The departure of a key employee during an exit process can result in a significant setback.
We work with a very wide range of companies in many different industries. The size of our clients ranges from $2MM – $100MM in revenue. We have worked with companies in agriculture, food processing, software development, construction (including many different specialty sub-contractors), professional services (including actuarial, architecture, accounting, legal, financial planning & asset management, medical & dental), distribution, manufacturing, and others.
If a sale to a third party is the desired route, we work with a well-vetted group of Transaction Intermediaries (TIs) ranging from local business brokers to lower middle market TIs ($5MM-$50MM in value) to investment bankers (>$50MM in value). Referring our Exit Planning clients to appropriate TIs who we have experience with and have confidence in can be one of the most valuable services we provide. A good TI can make an enormous difference in the success of a business sale.
The national statistics on business transitions are disheartening. Over 50% of companies worth at least $50MM fail to find a buyer and are withdrawn from the market. The success rate for Insider Transfers is higher, but these transfers still face significant obstacles. Our goal at KBT is to make sure that every client achieves a successful Exit through proper planning. Contact us today to get started.
Our complimentary 5-minute Business Assessment can help business owners identify areas of strength as well as opportunities to improve business value, continuity, and transition readiness.
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