Selling a business that you have either built from the ground up or spent considerable time growing to what it is today is challenging and overwhelming.
First of all, you’re handing someone else the keys to something that you are deeply connected to. And most likely, it will be a total stranger. That can create quite a bit of anxiety!
On top of that, there are a lot of hoops to jump through. Selling a business isn’t as easy as listing a lawnmower on Facebook Marketplace. There are valuations to be done, financial reports to be compiled, buyers to vet, and more.
Now that we are well into the 1st quarter of 2022–and the numbers from 2021 are in–we can take an objective look back at last year’s M&A activity.
A report from GF Data released just this month gives us a good overview of what happened in 2021 and what we might be able to expect from M&A deals this year. GF Data is a reliable source that we frequently go to for information on middle-market transactions in the $10-250 million range. Their insights help us serve you better, so let’s take a look!
Bank Merger & Acquisition (M&A) activity skyrocketed in 2021! After a long 2020 where the world experienced a very disruptive financial crisis, many buyers and sellers were apparently eager to finalize deals they had either put on hold or hadn’t previously considered at all until now.
The COVID pandemic has altered more than our health habits. According to survey results from S&P Global Market Intelligence, it has dramatically changed the way we bank as well.
As we mentioned in our last blog post, 2 Big Reasons Banks Will Be Holding Excess Cash in 2022, banks are seeing more customers interact with their services digitally instead of physically. When the entire country was in lockdown for much of 2020, and later when many people simply weren’t comfortable spending much time in public places, a lot of customers began doing most (if not all) of their banking online.
Southard Financial facilitated the sale of Flint Hydraulics to Hydraquip, Inc.
Southard Financial facilitated the sale of Memphis' own Cooper Glass Company
David A. Harris and Mark A. Orndorff spoke at the 2019 Annual Fall Conference of the New South Chapter of The ESOP Association
David A. Harris and Mark A. Orndorff spoke at the 2019 Annual Fall Conference of the New South Chapter of The ESOP Association held in Orlando, Florida on October 16-17. They gave a presentation titled “Can Employees Really Impact Company Value?”
Southard Financial facilitated the sale of Memphis' own TOPS Bar-B-Q chain
David A. Harris and Matthew L. Jakes spoke at the 2019 Spring Workshop of the New South Chapter of The ESOP Association
David A. Harris and Matthew L. Jakes spoke at the 2019 Spring Workshop of the New South Chapter of The ESOP Association held in Atlanta, Georgia in February, 2019 on the topic of “Valuation Appraisal Checklist – 10 Things Your ESOP Appraiser Should be Doing”
David A. Harris spoke at The Fall ESOP Forum of the NCEO
David A. Harris spoke at The Fall ESOP Forum of the NCEO (National Center for Employee Ownership) held in Albuquerque, New Mexico in October, 2018 on the topic, “Communicating Valuation: Tools, Tips, and Examples”.
Southard Financial negotiated the sale of and was the exclusive financial advisor to Southern Systems, Inc.
David A. Harris spoke at the 2018 Annual Fall Conference of the New South Chapter of The ESOP Association
David A. Harris spoke at the 2018 Annual Fall Conference of the New South Chapter of The ESOP Association held in Birmingham, Alabama in September, 2018. He led a workshop called “The People’s Roundtable Interactive Workshop – A series of ‘Build to Last’ activities that focus on developing successful communication and team building programs for employee owners of all generations.” Speakers included Dolores Lawrence, Blue Ridge ESOP Associates; Lindsay Baublitz, SCandH Capital; David Harris, Southard Financial LLC
Mark A. Orndorff spoke at the ESOP Nuts & Bolts Seminar of the NCEO
Mark A. Orndorff spoke at the ESOP Nuts and Bolts Seminar of the NCEO (National Center for Employee Ownership) held in Indianapolis, Indiana in August, 2018 on the topic of “What’s Your Company Worth? – ESOP Valuation.”
Southard Financial helps Transnetyx expand with growth capital
Mark A. Orndorff spoke at the American Booksellers Association Winter Institute
Mark A. Orndorff spoke at the American Booksellers Association Winter Institute 2018 held in Memphis, TN in January, 2018 on the topic of Succession Planning titled “What is Your ‘End Goal’?”
