Keeping the Business Deal Alive
Recently, a wealth management professional approached us about a client of his. This client owned a large industrial distribution business and was being courted over a long period of time by a private equity-backed competitor. She was interested in selling but wanted to make sure it was the right deal for the right price. She also did not want to overspend on fees and transaction expenses so she decided to rely only on her attorney to handle all aspects of the transaction.
For over a year, the attorney managed the process of gathering due diligence items, negotiating terms, and preparing transaction paperwork. This attorney is an excellent and highly-skilled professional, but over time, the process got bogged down as “opposing counsel” scrutinized every item submitted or requested.
The client’s wealth manager had seen this happen before. When the two parties in a transaction are communicating exclusively through attorneys, it is often impossible to have the necessary open, and off-the-record dialogue to bring a deal to close.
Enter The Vant Group
The wealth manager knew The Vant Group (TVG) and our expertise in avoiding deal killers to bring transactions to a quick and successful closure, and so he introduced us to his client. Over the course of multiple meetings, we listened to the client and really got to know her and her situation. We also got to know the buyer to learn their strategy and long-term vision. Because we have a deep understanding due to extensive experience representing both buyers and sellers, we were able to speak freely with both sides to get past any roadblocks to ensure that our seller got the best deal possible.
From there, we worked with the seller, her financial planner, the buyer, the buyer’s audit firm, and the attorneys from both sides. Incidentally, the seller’s original attorney was involved throughout the transaction. Since TVG was quarterbacking the deal, we were able to focus on the multitude of deal details, while the attorneys were able to focus on papering the transaction in the manner that best protected their clients. The transaction closed, and all parties were happy with the outcome.
After closing, the wealth manager thanked us and told us that the deal “would have never happened” without The Vant Group’s leadership.