Arizona Advisory Services

Buying a business should not be taken lightly. Working with professional advisors is the key to successfully finding and purchasing the right business. Friends and well-meaning relatives are not usually qualified to provide the broad range of advice needed for a business acquisition.

​Once you have made the decision to acquire a business, be prepared to execute a non-disclosure agreement. Be prepared to discuss your background, work experience and financial capabilities. Keep in mind that sellers, lenders and landlords will be very interested in your credit and personal financial statement at some point in the process. Purchase of Business

​If you have identified a specific target, the broker should share a detailed overview of the business that may be titled “Executive Summary” or “Profile”. It frequently contains a multi-period summary of financial performance along with many other details such as brief employee information, leasehold or real property summary, a SWOT analysis, financing options, a brief history and terms of the sale. Do NOT expect to receive tax returns or financials at this time.

​Remember to keep all information provided confidential. Discuss only with your professional advisors and significant other and remind them that the information is confidential and is not to be disclosed to other parties. In most cases, the employees, customers, suppliers, landlords and lenders are not aware that these businesses are for sale. Premature disclosure could have a negative impact on the business being sold which could harm you and the seller.

​After reviewing the information on the business profile, the broker will answer any questions you may have or will obtain the answers from persons deemed reliable. Assuming your satisfaction with the answers and review, the broker will schedule appointments with the business owners to view the facilities, operations and spend some time together. Arizona Advisory Services

​Due diligence can be very time consuming, and costs will be incurred on both sides of the transaction. The owner does not want to go through a detailed due diligence process without knowing the buyer is serious and willing to make an acceptable offer to purchase the business. Conversely, you the buyer don’t want to enter due diligence without an accepted offer. Therefore, before copies of tax returns and other business documents can be provided a written offer is made. This can be a Letter of Intent or Purchase Agreement. The broker will draft the document based on your terms and conditions and present it to you for your review. After your approval and signature, the broker will present it to the seller. When the agreement is signed by both parties, due diligence will commence.

During the due diligence period, the broker will coordinate your request for documents and assist in arranging meetings with related parties to the transaction including the owner’s team of advisors, your professional advisors, the landlord, lenders, and others as needed.