tail leading to the closing of the deal. Starting with the industry survey, it lists the start date, the finish date, and the cost of each of these processes. Following the survey is the target search, then on to the due diligence investigations. The importance of this plan revolves around the organization of a solid purchase. With this, you are able to enact the purchase at the right moment for you, this time being a buyer's market. If you need to wait out the bear market, you can do it much easier with everything laid out in front of you. Hence, the Acquisition Plan does the job. All of the above steps and considerations are a waste if you are unable to find a business for sale. The difficulty of finding the type of business that you will purchase is put to ease through an M & A consultant, accountant, or simply browsing the Wall Street Journal. A smaller gas station or party store-type business can usually be found in the local paper. On the other hand, if you are looking for a larger company, an M & A consultant may be pricey (2-15,000 dollars for a retainer), but this is probably the best way to go. Be sure to ask the consultant many questions regarding his or her creditability. For instance, get a list of references and ask about the number of deals he closed in the past 12 months. Negotiating a purchase price involves a thorough valuation of the projected purchase. Evaluation of a business is essential because you need to know what you are paying for and how much you should pay. " If you are a buyer, your valuation will also be helpful to you when you meet with lenders, so that you can help justify the mount you are asking to borrow. For this purpose alone, however, a valuation is not generally worth the effort." (Horn, 20) There are many different methods that you can use to properly determine the value of the entity. The most common methods are as follows: the Ability-To-Pay Method, this method is used in almost all buy/sell ca...
