Many middle-aged business owners did not pull the trigger on selling their companies at the peak of the market, when their firms held the maximum value in early 2008. They missed their chance to maximize their investments and cash in their chips.
Then the Great Recession hit, causing multiples to nosedive and diminishing the value of their companies. They’ve been kicking themselves ever since.
Fast forward a couple of years. As the economy rebounds, another window of opportunity is opening up for business owners seeking to grow through a strategic acquisition or to plot an exit strategy to sell their companies. Many experts believe that next window of opportunity will not stay open very long.
Those business owners are invited to attend BizTimes Media’s “M&A Forum: Buy? Sell? Hold?” on Tuesday, March 30, from 7:30 to 11:30 a.m. at The Pfister Hotel, 424 E. Wisconsin Ave., Milwaukee. The event is designed to help business owners identify ways to build their business through acquisition or to help them prepare for an eventual sale.
The keynote speaker will be Mark Herndon, president of Dallas-based Parkwood Advisors LLC, a financial services firm specializing in mergers and acquisitions, investment banking and private equity financing. Herndon is co-author of “The Complete Guide to Mergers and Acquisitions: Process Tools to Support M&A Integration at Every Level.”
Herndon was greatly regarded by attendees when he spoke at a similar BizTimes event two years ago. This time around, he will help business owners prepare for their next move in the current economic climate.
Several breakout sessions will follow Herndon’s keynote presentation. The breakout sessions will be designed to help business owners and their advisors develop plans and strategies for an acquisition, prepare a company for an eventual sale or craft strategies to invest a windfall realized once a business sale is complete.
The cost to attend the event is $75 per person and $600 for a table of eight. For information or to reserve a spot, visit www.biztimes.com/maforum.
