Kayla Tausche CNBC

y andrea lehner
Maximizing Family-owned Business
Value and Wealth
Making big business deals
– sales, mergers and
acquisitions – is often
thought to be reserved for high
profile, publicly traded companies.
But times have changed, and
according to Mark O’Brien, CEO
and President of Chicago M&A
Advisors, Inc., family-owned businesses
can now profit from this
lucrative growth and transition
strategy.
Starting his career as a third generation
stakeholder in a successful
80-year-old family-owned business,
O’Brien learned firsthand
the rewards and challenges of not
only making the decision to sell a
business for the long-term good of
both the family and the business,
but also how to maximize the value
of that business so that all parties
involved benefited from the
transition.
The process was so intriguing
and rewarding, that O’Brien decided
to use his MBA and real-world
knowledge to help bring similar
opportunities to other owners of
family businesses – those who
may or may not be aware that strategic
acquisitions are now a viable
exit strategy for businesses in the
$5 million to $100 million bracket.
There is tremendous interest
in manufacturing and distribution
from financial investors. Overall
we are seeing more interest in
businesses that manufacturer in
the US.
“Growing a family business using
a strategic M&A plan executed
by a professional management
team who use capital markets efficiently
is not only a compeititve
advantage but also a huge opportunity
to generate wealth and
business value for the owners.
This is especially important
to the owner
that’s been running
their business essentially
by themselves
for a long time using
their own capital,”
O’Brien insisted.
Chicago M&A Advisors
specializes in
creating long-term
M&A & exit plans
for business owners,
primarily those involved
in manufacturing
and distribution,
with an exit strategy that can
bring top dollar. O’Brien said that
this often includes first accelerating
growth and/or recapitalization
so that the valuation will hit the
target when the time is right for a
buyout, merger or transition plan.
“What this means for most people,”
O’Brien detailed, “is an opportunity
to grow at a much faster
pace while often the owner will
continue to lead the business with
equity allowing a second bite at
the apple down the road. There’s
more opportunity in today’s market
than there has been in the past
for the lower-middle market segment
to take advantage of this opportunity.”
Solid planning requires more
than fast growth to create high
exit values. “Values are measured
from a buyer’s perspective,” he
said, and sustainable growth is
essential for achieving optimal results.
“It’s not what you take away
from a deal. It’s what sustaining
value you bring to the deal that
generates the highest deal value
for everyone,” O’Brien emphasized.
A slow growth economy presents
some challenges – but those
aren’t insurmountable for owners
wanting to retire within the next
few years. He noted, “You need
to be a little more creative, a little
more professional, in how you attack
growth.”
As O’Brien pointed out, “One
of today’s more advantageous
growth strategies is to grow
through acquisitions. And, the
time for using a merger and acquisition
transition strategy is ripe,
since private equity investors and
family offices are looking at the
lower mid-sized market more so
now than ever before.
THE SUIT MAGAZINE p.47