For practice leaders considering a sale, merger or acquisition, the first question should not necessarily be: ‘Who would be interested in doing a deal?’. Instead, it should be: ‘What does a good deal look like for me, and how can I achieve it?’
A transaction can be an important part of the answer, but for firms there is often much more to consider than finding an interested party and completing a deal.
At Foulger Underwood, we provide specialist M&A advice and transaction support to professional services businesses on both the buy-side and sell-side. We start by understanding the client’s objectives, circumstances and wider strategy before considering what the right transaction might look like.
Evaluating your own direction of travel
For a practice owner considering a sale, that means understanding your direction of travel, assessing the market, identifying appropriate potential buyers and considering the implications of the different opportunities. A transaction may be the right answer, but it should be the result of a properly considered process.
For an acquirer, the starting point is different. We look at what they are trying to achieve through acquisition – whether that is geographic expansion, entering a new market, adding capabilities or building scale – and help identify opportunities that fit those objectives.
This is where specialist professional services M&A experience matters.
Foulger Underwood has decades of experience advising professional services businesses, including accountancy and CPA firms, trust and corporate services businesses and wealth management firms. This sector knowledge brings an understanding of the commercial, strategic and personal considerations that can sit behind an M&A decision.
Navigating negotiations
Good transaction support should start well before a deal is signed. It should be about helping practitioners understand their options, assess potential interested parties, navigate negotiations and make decisions that support their wider objectives.
Sometimes that means completing a transaction. Sometimes it means waiting, changing direction or pursuing another route.
For Foulger Underwood, M&A advice and transaction support are about understanding the business first, representing the client’s interests and helping determine what comes next.
We’d love to support you and your practice on the next steps in the journey. Please contact Julia Whistler for a no-commitment chat.
