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Services
Cole Associates' team has many years of experience
in advising a wide variety of clients, across many different sectors,
in the UK and overseas. Our services include:
 Management
buy-outs (MBOs)
Management
buy-ins (MBIs)
Acquisitions
Disposals
Raising
Development Capital
Business
Plans and Financial Projections
Valuation
Strategic
Business Advice
Rebanking
Restructure
and Rescue
Due
Diligence
Acquisitions
The key to a successful acquisition is putting significant resource
into both planning the acquisition and integrating the new business
once it is acquired. Otherwise it faces the risk of being one of
the 50% of all acquisitions that either fail or do not provide the
benefits the acquirer had planned. Cole Associates approach is to
invest time with the client in the planning stage, in the execution
of the transaction and, if requested to do so, in the integration
stage.
Our role is as follows.
If the
target company has not yet been identified:
Helping the
client to define the acquisition criteria and to establish strategic
and operational objectives.
Extensive research,
working with the client to utilise their knowledge of their industry,
to identify a list of potential targets that fit the acquisition
criteria and obtaining information on each of them.
Approaching
the owners of the target companies on behalf of the client, to
determine the owners' appetite for disclosing information and
entering into discussions.
Evaluating
information provided by the owners and assessing the relative
merits of different target companies.
When a
'preferred target' has been identified, Cole Associates' role comprises:
Valuation
and feasibility review: To determine whether the vendor's price
expectations are sensible, and if there is a realistic prospect
for funding the acquisition if the client does not already have
access to funds.
If the
client does not already have access to funds:
Raising
finance:
Guiding the
client in the preparation of their Business Plan and financial
projections, setting out their acquisition objectives and strategy
for the combined business, post-acquisition.
Advice on the
most appropriate funding structure (i.e. the mix of debt, venture
capital, finance leases, grants etc).
Introducing
the funding opportunity to a selection of appropriate funders
Assisting the client in presenting their proposals to the funders.
Negotiating
with the funders, to obtain the funds on the most advantageous
terms possible for the client.
Liaising with
the preferred funders throughout the remaining stages of the investment/lending
process, including due diligence and legal agreements, through
to credit approval.
Negotiating
with the vendor:
Advice on
pricing and tactics.
Preparing indicative
offer letters.
Negotiating
on behalf of the client, to acquire the business on the best possible
terms.
Liaising with
the lawyers to agree the legal documentation.
Project managing
the transaction: Coordinating the activities of all the parties
and closely managing the critical path, to facilitate a prompt
completion.
Post-acquisition
integration:
Working with
the client, to provide ongoing advice on the integration of the
acquired business within the client's existing business, to ensure
the planned benefits accrue.
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