Acquisitions

What does a typical acquisition process look like?

1. Hold an initial, introductory conversation, which is often followed by an in-person meeting if there’s mutual interest in advancing discussions. We greatly value the in-person meetings, especially early on, as they give the parties an opportunity to get to know one another.

2. Execute a confidentiality agreement to protect both parties’ sensitive information.

3. Share information about the business to help form the basis for our evaluation of the transaction.

4. Align on expectations for a potential transaction.

5. Agree to a non-binding offer, often referred to as a letter of intent, for your business. These offers are subject to due diligence, which we conduct under what’s called exclusivity. Exclusivity just means that you won’t shop your business to other parties while due diligence is underway.

6. Work through due diligence, which typically takes 60–90 days; sometimes longer, sometimes shorter. During this period, DCC will request information on and ask questions about your financials, people, operations and customers, health and safety, tax and legal matters, IT, etc.

7. Draft a purchase agreement, which formalizes the sale once executed. The drafting typically happens alongside due diligence, as there are often learnings on both sides that help inform the document. We always advise owners to hire legal counsel to help them work through this part of the process.

8. Sign the purchase agreement and close the transaction. DCC has a team on-site the day the transaction closes to meet with employees to ensure the transition gets off to a smooth start. Several members of that team will stick around for longer than just the first day. We also make sure we communicate with your customers and vendors so there are no disruptions on either of those fronts.