A few gray hairs ago, I worked in the Capital Markets Group at Raymond James. For almost 10 years, I helped numerous companies raise capital through initial public offerings and follow-on financings involving both debt and equity.

I changed gears in the mid-90s when I became the CFO of a micro-brewery chain headquartered in Chattanooga. Although moving into the restaurant sphere was a shift for me, my experience in the financial industry served me well as I navigated the ins and outs of growing what became a $90 million company. In spite of my capital markets experience – or perhaps, because of it – I always hired an advisor when the company was positioned to make an acquisition.

Welcome to Phase III of the selling process: the closing – a.k.a., the fun part. You’ve done your research, identified your targets and just maybe met your match. You’re almost ready to say, “I do.” But first, let’s backtrack. (We know, the suspense is killing you.)

After you’ve (1) narrowed down your potential buyers; (2) received preliminary “indications of interest,” or IOIs; and (3) conducted company visits, you’ll ask for term sheets from the buyers who are still in the running.

So, you’ve been introduced to the development phase of selling your company. We now bring you Part II of our mini-series: the marketing phase. At this point in the process, you should know your company like the back of your hand, and your Confidential Information Memorandum should be complete. It’s time to go to market and meet your future match. Let the games begin!

Not to say this is a game – we’re referring to the back-and-forth that occurs as you search for and ultimately select your buyer. To fall back on our tried-and-true analogy – it’s like dating. Remember those notes you used to pass to the cute kid in class? Something along the lines of: “Do you like me? Check yes or no.” Well, things haven’t changed much since elementary school.

So, you’re ready to sell your company – and if you did your homework, you don’t have any prior engagements holding you back. Where do you start?

Back in May, we introduced you to the three phases of selling your company: development, marketing and closing. Given that it was the height of wedding season, a marriage analogy seemed appropriate. We’ve decided to take that comparison and run with it: Our next few posts will devote an in-depth discussion to each phase. For purposes of this mini-series, feel free to think of us as your FourBridges Relationship Advisors. (If this goes well, we’ll consider adding “Bridge to Marriage” to our list of services.)

In Shakespeare’s Henry VI trilogy, Dick the Butcher proclaimed "The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers" (depicted above seizing the Clerk of Chatham),

….but the professionals at FourBridges disagree with Dick, particularly when it comes to eliminating experienced M&A attorneys (at least the ones who agree with our clients).

If you’ve seen, heard, or read anything about the economy recently, chances are you’ve heard the alliterative expression that strikes fear in the heart of businesses…“double dip.”

We cornered former FourBridges client Jeff Johnson to see if he had anything good to say about working with us...

Recently, FourBridges co-hosted a panel discussion with private equity fund River Associates and law firm Miller & Martin discussing options for business owners to partner with private equity.