Approached by a Buyer? 5 Things to Consider First
Has your education business recently been approached by someone interested in buying or growing your brand? Have you heard that now is a solid time to gain value for your school? The aggression in today’s selling environment — while a good sign for exit opportunities — has been surprising for many in the early education industry still working to recover their cashflow and retain their staff. Even the HINGE team has been pleasantly surprised to be in constant contact with buyers who believe the industry is ripe for innovation and investment.
If you are considering selling your early education business and/or real estate in the near future, please keep the following in mind before signing any dotted lines:
A competitive process will always get you the highest value. In fact, HINGE found that our clients receive, on average, a 21% higher value running our competitive process than when they sell directly with a buyer — often exceeding their initial pricing objectives.
Due to the pandemic, today’s transaction process is even more demanding and complicated. Before beginning your transaction, make sure you have a team of experienced and industry-seasoned consultants including a CPA, an attorney and a transaction management team.
If confidentiality is a concern, be sure your advisor has processes in place to protect you with legal agreements, to provide guidance on staff and parent announcements, and experience in navigating a secure process.
Partner with advisors who have deep relationships with industry buyers and who will include you in the buyer selection process. An experienced transaction advisor will be able to coach you on the idiosyncrasies of each buyer including their growth objectives, their culture, and their process.
And finally, work with people you trust. Selling your business can be an emotional journey and it helps to have a team of people behind you that you can count on and that you know truly care about the outcome at the end. HINGE provides seller-friendly contracts with no up-front fees or long-term tails on commissions. We don’t get paid until you do.
Learn more about the benefits of partnering with HINGE for the sale of your education business in the graphic below.
The team at HINGE has more than 300 years of combined experience in the early education industry and strong relationships with 500+ active buyers. We are happy to provide you with an industry and market-specific valuation of both your business and real estate as well as discuss unique exit opportunities that will leave you and your business in strong financial positions. If you’re interested in learning more about our proven process and how we can help you gain maximum value for your education business, please contact us at info@hingeadvisors.com.