CGK Business Sales

Many business owners are confused when it comes time for planning and selling their businesses.  They will often Google how to sell a business in Austin and come up with many varied answers.  Some of this advice is simply not good advice.  Business brokers are often not a regulated profession.  It can lead to much confusion and heartache when it comes time for an owner to put their business on the market.  Often, they are promised ridiculous prices by their business broker in an attempt to get them listed and hope that they later come to their senses and lower the price.  While this is often disingenuous on the business broker's part, it will often put the business owner in a precarious position, especially if the owner is dependent on the income from the business for retirement. If you contact CGK Business Sales, we will walk you through the steps and answer your questions about how to sell a business in Austin.  We have helped many sellers figure out exactly what to expect in this process.  First, we will gather your financials and give you an idea of a valuation range.  While we cannot predict whether your business will sell on the high or low side of this range, it will give you an idea of what to expect.  We will then work with you to figure out who the best buyer for your business may be.  It could be wealthy individuals, venture capital firms, private equity firm, or strategic corporations that want to add onto their platforms and gain more market share.  We will help … Read More

After many years of being in business, it becomes time to eventually sell.  Business owners are usually reluctant to sell something they have spent many years building.  They want their business to wind up in the hands of the most qualified buyers.  So, when a business seller says to themselves, how do I sell my business, they should look to a qualified business broker in Austin, TX.  Business brokers know how to put together a good business valuation, whether it be through historical earnings, discounted cash flow, or some other valuation method.  Next, they will put together a list of potential buyers in the area or around the country.  A business broker will contact those buyers and keep the business sale under strict confidentiality.  From there, they will run an auction process to determine what the best offer may be. While this process is not always easy, as their are a limited numbers of buyers for any closely held business.  While many sellers think there are many different buyers for their business, this is only true in the most rare of cases, and usually only in certain types of industries.  As a seller, the tact is to just be completely honest about your position in the marketplace.  Once you decide, "I should sell my business", then it comes time to put that plan into action.  A good business broker around Austin Texas can help you put that plan into formal action.  This will include gathering tax returns, P&L's, balance sheets, bank statements and other … Read More

Do you want to buy a business in Austin TX?  Many people dream of owning their own business.  After a lifetime of working for others, they'd like a chance to call the shots.  So, some decide rather than building a business, to buy their own.  If you want to buy a business there are countless businesses available for you to choose from in the marketplace.  So, how does one go about this process?  Buying a business can be a stressful event, but doesn't have to be.  If you get the right insight from a local business broker who knows the business scene, it can be extremely helpful.  From finding a good business to purchase, to eventually building and selling that business, using a business broker in the Austin TX can be a worthwhile investment. We can walk you through the process.  We have worked for and closely with professional buyers: private equity, venture capital, and professional family offices and other sophisticated buyers.  We have also worked closely with serial entrepreneurs and those who build and grow businesses before selling them.  We can show you what to look for and the pitfalls to avoid.  We can also help structure a good deal for you and keep the seller engaged in the process following closing.  In general, we help limit the risk as a potential buyer, working to get you a fair price and showing you tips and things we have learned over the years as Austin business brokers.  So, if you want to buy a business in Austin TX, let us help you find a good business … Read More

Please contact us for our list of businesses for sale in Austin TX.  These businesses will either be listed or will be held by us a "pocket listing".  A pocket listing is a business where the owners have told us they will consider selling the business but do not want it listed.  Among the businesses for sale in Austin TX, there are a few things to look for as a potential business buyer.  The first is how much cash flow the owner makes from the business.  A popular term at the lower end of the market is seller's discretionary earnings or SDE.  In the middle market and beyond, the applicable term is EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest Taxes Depreciation Amortization).  An easy way to think of EBITDA is to look at the business's net income from their income statement and "add-back" the interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization.  Since all businesses have varying levels of debt and non-cash charges, this metric helps level the playing field and get a better "apples-to-apples" comparison between businesses.  The difference between the SDE and EBITDA is the seller's salary is added-back to EBITDA to form seller's discretionary earnings (SDE) for small businesses.  At the small business level, the seller is expected to be an owner-operator, so SDE is the more applicable term.  Middle market businesses tend to have second-level managers, so the business is not quite as dependent on the owner to run and survive.  EBITDA is the more applicable metric in the middle market.  A … Read More

As Austin business brokers, we look for good businesses in the Austin area to help sell.  We have many qualified buyers that we been in touch with over the years who are just looking for good businesses to buy.  As mentioned, some of these buyers are from different backgrounds and are looking for different things when they buy a business.  When you are selling your business in Austin TX, it is important to have one of the Austin business brokers that knows the local buyers, plus has buyers from outside the area.  We have buyers from all over the world.  We know what these various buyers want, when they go to buy a business.  We can help position your business to get the highest possible valuation.  Or, in the case of a business that may be tough to sell, we can dramatically increase the chances of finding that specific buyer. This does not have to be a scary process.  We will lead and explain the process from start to finish, as one of the leading Austin business brokers.  This should help clear up some of the confusion that often goes into selling a business.  If you are looking for someone to sell your business or company, then using one of the Austin business brokers is a good place to start.  We here at CGK Business Sales are looking for a few qualified business sellers to represent in the Central Texas area.  We also represent companies in the San Antonio area and some of the local counties, such as Travis, Williamson, and Hays county.  We will get a sense of what your … Read More

We are looking for a limited number of quality businesses in Austin to sell.  Selling a small to medium-sized business in Austin can be hard.  Statistics show that only 20% of listed businesses sell.  There is a limited market for privately held companies.  We have an exceptional network of strategic buyers, high-net worth individuals, family offices, venture capital, and private equity firms that may have interest in your company.  We know what it takes and can guide you to position your company to maximize it's worth.  You've spent considerable time and energy to building your business.  Are you going to trust this to just anyone?  If you are selling an Austin business, you owe it to yourself to have a free, no obligation discussion with us to see how we are different.  Our experience in mergers and acquisitions and track record will help you maximize your selling price.  We have sold businesses in numerous industries, including manufacturing, distribution, medical, franchises, wholesale, and service businesses.  Chances are, we have sold your type of business!  We are experts in this process and will help you as a business seller every step of the way.  If you have thought, "Should I sell my business?", and it is a business located anywhere in Central Texas (Travis, Hays, Williamson, Bell, Comal, Caldwell, Bexar, or Burnett counties, Temple, Belton, Killeen, San Marcos, New Braunfels, or San Antonio, TX), we will be glad to meet with you.  We are experts in small to middle … Read More

What should a business seller look for when looking through the litany of business brokers?  This page will help tell you what to look for and what to avoid, even if that does not mean picking us.  First, you want one of the Austin business brokers that is experienced.  You want one who has sold local businesses and knows the business environment here in Austin TX.  The business environment in Texas and especially in Austin is unique, one which many outside of the area may not understand.  Next, you want a business broker that has a background in mergers and acquisitions and higher finance, hopefully with a solid educational background behind them.  Why is this important?  Many business brokers in the area are former business owners, which is great, but don't have an understanding of the nuances in mergers and acquisitions.  Any mistakes can cost you a great deal of money.  Plus, we have owned and run businesses and know what the experience is like.  Also, having a solid education and financial experience on par with private equity, venture capital, and family offices helps tremendously when it comes to making deals with those kind of buyers.  If they believe you are on par with them, then there is less of a chance any financial shenanigans will take place.  Our background includes Deutsche Bank, Wachovia, T. Rowe Price, and a major hedge fund.  Also, having worked closely with private equity, venture, and family offices, we know what those types of buyers are looking for … Read More

To do a proper business valuation for your business, three things are needed.  We will need your last three years of profit and loss statements (also known as income statements), your business tax returns, and balance sheets from that time period.  For lower-middle market businesses, we also like to see a statement of cash flows.  Why do we need this?  We need to see the revenue trend, the run rate for the business this year, and how much cash flow the business is generating.  This can be through an EBITDA calculation or from a version of owner's cash flow or seller's discretionary earnings (SDE). Once we have a good sense of what the business is doing, we can get a good business valuation for an Austin Texas or San Antonio company.  This information will be kept confidential from buyers until the due diligence process begins.  Due diligence usually begins with a letter of intent or an indication of interest in an auction process.  How do you improve that valuation?  In a quick sense, the revenue trend must be up, the industry must be a growth industry, and earnings must also be headed in the right direction. Buyers want repeatable cash flows.  Assignable contracts, works in progress, or any other way that ensures a buyer that the business will not collapse following closing is helpful.  This could simply be a solid sales and marketing plan.  Any of these characteristics will help enormously in the business valuation and due diligence process.  Other reinforcing signals for … Read More

For all of your mergers and acquisitions needs in Austin Texas and San Antonio Texas, please call CGK Business Sales.  We help both buyers and sellers of businesses.  Our specialty is business sales and divestitures.  We are always looking for good businesses to sell.  As a company, we stand for top-notch execution and fair dealing in mergers and acquisition services.  There are few people with the specialized experience that it takes to sell a small or medium-sized business.  For businesses and companies that actually need their business sold, try our top-notch mergers and acquisitions services, rather than just listing a business with a business broker and hoping.  We get it done.  We have sold numerous businesses in all different types of industries. For larger businesses, we also offer lower-middle market mergers and acquisitions services.  Lower-middle market M&A deals are more complex and trade on multiples of EBITDA, rather than seller's discretionary cash flow (SDE).  SDE is more common for smaller businesses.  These businesses are typically sole proprietor, small corporations, or LLC's.  Our lower middle-market clients can trust us that we have relationships with the industry buyers and financial sponsors that are interested in your business. We have sold businesses in every industry. We can help prepare your business for sale.  We know what business buyers look for and will position your business for the maximum possible sales price.  What is the best way to … Read More