Is 2020 the right time to sell my company?

We were recently asked by a client if current market conditions are right for the sale of his company. There are two parts to the question: “current market conditions” and “for his company.”  The primary driver of the decision should be an analysis of his particular, unique business.  Current market conditions are an external driver of his company's performance and also impact the price a buyer will pay for his company, but they are only one factor of many factors that impact business valuation and timing for a sale.

Consolidation in Oklahoma Community and Regional Banks?

Posted by Matthew Bristow in Uncategorized
April 11, 2011. We are going to consider the reasons behind the likely reduction in number of banks in Oklahoma and some of the implications. Is there anything that can be done to preserve more small, regional banks or is this change inevitable?

Winter storm hit your deal?

What happens when an unexpected winter storm hits your deal and what can be done to prevent this happening? If you can’t prevent it, how do you reduce the negative impact? In the same way as with this historic winter storm that hit our region, you may not be able to prevent it, but at least with the storm we had meteorologists predicting significant snowfall before it happened. We may have thought they were exaggerating the extent of the storm a few days out, but by the day before, most people had acknowledged that it was going to be severe and took the necessary precautions. Can you imagine the impact if we hadn’t had any forecast and preparation time in advance?

Reuters: M&A has busiest January in 11 years

Posted by Matthew Bristow in Mergers & Acquisitions
January 28, 2011. Dealmaking is back on the agenda as CEOs step up the hunt for ways to put a multitrillion-dollar cash pile to work, triggering the busiest January for M&A in 11 years.

Oklahoma Economic incentives – What Value?

Whether each state offers incentives to attract businesses to relocate or remain in their state is largely a by-product of the incentives offered by competing states. If other states offer incentives, the logic is that Oklahoma has to in order to compete. And I’m not going to argue against that. Much has already been written on this topic, but today we are going to focus on a different angle: the accountability for those companies and investors that receive funds or assistance from our state. Perhaps there would be universal approval for state funded incentives by Oklahoma if the public could have greater confidence in the economic benefit to our state of the use of those funds. Here are some thoughts on ways to increase the effectiveness of the incentives and improve public perception and support.

The Positives of an Extended Recession

You may wonder how an extended recession can be positive for your business. What can be good about weak industry performance, more competition for less orders and a tougher environment to secure debt or equity investment? Well, every cloud has a silver lining. So here’s an alternative point of view.