I think one common thread amongst startup transactions (or non- financially valued transactions) is that the acquiree company is bought and not sold. That is, a larger company decides to buy the startup for whatever strategic rationale versus a startup deciding it will like to sell at time X and then going out and looking for offers. The latter is certainly possible although you are likely to get a very low amount if you have not had prior interactions.
So I think the first thing is purely establishing a relationship with potential buyers and then trying to strike a partnership. A lot of the interviews of startups that have been acquired by larger firms said they started with a partnership discussion (walk before you run/date before you have sex). The two are very intertwined. So in terms of not seeming desperate I would start pitching a partnership and your ideas of how you can improve their business (and only then talk about your business and how it can help). Once you have a bonifide offer that is when is most useful to appoint an investment banker to make sure the process runs to a set time line and also to create demand (but it's a lot easier if you have one extremely motivated buyer to anchor negotiations). Here are some more thoughts on that by Fabrice Grinda (founder of OLX): http://www.fabricegrinda.com/?p=28 On Nov 9, 11:25 pm, rantalot <rantu...@gmail.com> wrote: > Nick, > As with any significant financial transaction, you'd be well advised > seeking professional guidance on this. > Every deal has its own potential pitfalls and upside, and having > someone represent you on this could easily deliver a much better > outcome for you. > And, as it turns out, I am doing some work now with a boutique > corporate advisory firm that does just that! > I'll contact you offline to discuss > Rob > > On Nov 8, 10:48 pm, Nick HaC <nick...@gmail.com> wrote: > > > > > Hi > > > It seems there are plenty of books on how to start a startup, how to > > bag the elephant, how to succeed at sales etc etc > > > I have never seen any information on best processes for courting > > potential acquiring companies and or the techniques best used to lure > > in and close an acquisition on each the different profiles of > > potential buyers. > > > - What types of buyer profiles are there? > > - What tactics are best used for each? > > - What strategies should be used for creating your company as > > desirable vs not seeming unavailable? > > - When you really want a sale, how do you express this without coming > > across easy/desperate? > > - Do you start by offering a distribution deal with options for > > performance incentives? > > - Do you go in direct with a term sheet and high ball? > > > Is there any books, blogs, information out there that you can advise me to > > read? > > > We have a company we are in 2/3rd round discussions in with regarding > > acquisition and my next meeting is with their Board/MD/CEO... and i > > really am unsure how to play this? > > > Any tips? > > > Nick --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Silicon Beach Australia mailing list. Guidelines on discussion: http://tr.im/ujKF No lurkers! It is expected that you introduce yourself: http://tr.im/ujMm To post to this group, send email to silicon-beach-australia@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to silicon-beach-australia+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/silicon-beach-australia?hl=en?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
