So you're not taking the bet? :) If he was telling you that "a strong majority" of the seller-financed deals he did "ended with the sellers seeing less than promised for one reason or another," then that should have been a major red flag! That's not to say that he wasn't experienced-after 40 years of doing deals, he certainly was-just that he was clearly telling you that he wasn't very good at seller-financed deals. If you didn't want a seller-financed deal, then he was a great choice. If you wanted the option to consider a seller-financed deal, then he was telling you that he was the wrong man for the job.
Your point here "When it comes down to it, I don't care where the money comes from, as long as it isn't my pocket." is a good statement of the risk you're willing to take (sounds like very little). However, this statement does not mean "100% cash at closing!" As you point out, there's lots of ways to get money that don't involve cash from your pocket. To that I'd add, 100% cash at closing and bank loans are only two of many. Doug From: wireless-boun...@wispa.org [mailto:wireless-boun...@wispa.org] On Behalf Of Cameron Crum Sent: Wednesday, March 19, 2014 3:53 PM To: WISPA General List Subject: Re: [WISPA] Selling ISP Of course there are lots of ways to get money too, besides banks. When it comes down to it, I don't care where the money comes from, as long as it isn't my pocket. The guy we ended up using was an attorney and cpa and had done nothing but put together business sales of all kinds for the last 40 years. He had actually just retired but came back to do our deal as a favor to one of our partners. He said a strong majority of the seller financed deals ended with the sellers seeing less than promised for one reason or another. What he told us was that if you are going to finance it, don't expect to ever see anything past the down payment. Treat the financed portion like an unexpected bonus. I followed Steve Miller's advice, "Went ahead, took the money, and ran." On Wed, Mar 19, 2014 at 3:39 PM, Hass, Douglas A. <d...@franczek.com<mailto:d...@franczek.com>> wrote: Next time you talk to the business attorney or accountant, ask them "How many purchase agreements for ISPs, telecom companies, and Internet/web properties have you negotiated?" I'll bet you a beer at the next WISPA show that the answer is either "None" or "1" Doug From: wireless-boun...@wispa.org<mailto:wireless-boun...@wispa.org> [mailto:wireless-boun...@wispa.org<mailto:wireless-boun...@wispa.org>] On Behalf Of can...@believewireless.net<mailto:can...@believewireless.net> Sent: Wednesday, March 19, 2014 3:16 PM To: WISPA General List Subject: Re: [WISPA] Selling ISP Every business attorney and accountant has told me the same thing, cash only. On Wed, Mar 19, 2014 at 4:09 PM, Cameron Crum <cc...@wispmon.com<mailto:cc...@wispmon.com>> wrote: Doug, The problem I see with that is that you will most likely have to take the other party to court to enforce the terms of your agreement if one of the terms is breached. It could take months or even years to get a final judgement at which time there may be nothing left. This may be good advice for a non-wisp business, but in the fast paced world of broadband, customers will likely flee before a resolution is reached. If the buyer is left insolvent, you are left with nothing, and may be on the hook for all your own legal fees. I talked to three different business attorneys and they all told me to run from any seller financed deal regardless of who the buyer was. Again, if the buyer can't get financing on their own, are they a good buyer? On Wed, Mar 19, 2014 at 2:55 PM, Hass, Douglas A. <d...@franczek.com<mailto:d...@franczek.com>> wrote: Of course! You have to have a willing seller and buyer to start. My point is that setting preconditions before you get started (as a buyer or as a seller) unnecessarily limits what you ultimately would be able to do. Don't take options off the table until you have a specific deal to consider. Then is the time to say "I'm only taking cash" or "I'll finance, but only with X, Y, and Z terms that protect me." Doug From: wireless-boun...@wispa.org<mailto:wireless-boun...@wispa.org> [mailto:wireless-boun...@wispa.org<mailto:wireless-boun...@wispa.org>] On Behalf Of CBB - Jay Fuller Sent: Wednesday, March 19, 2014 2:53 PM To: WISPA General List Subject: Re: [WISPA] Selling ISP Depends on how bad you want to sell ...we don't always want to buy. Sent from my Verizon Wireless 4G LTE Smartphone ----- Reply message ----- From: "Hass, Douglas A." <d...@franczek.com<mailto:d...@franczek.com>> To: "WISPA General List" <wireless@wispa.org<mailto:wireless@wispa.org>> Subject: [WISPA] Selling ISP Date: Wed, Mar 19, 2014 2:08 PM Cameron- There's lots of ways to structure the deal so that you're protected, even if the buyer is a complete imbecile and even if the buyer doesn't have cash up front. If you want to sell or if you want to buy, don't let the all-cash restriction prevent you from making a deal. If you end up in court chasing payments from the buyer, then you likely didn't draft your agreement carefully enough given your tolerance for risk (of course, your due diligence should be telling you whether the buyer is an imbecile, and that information should inform what kind of deal you're willing to accept). To categorically reject buyers who don't have 100% cash to hand you at closing might mean leaving money on the table or more flexible terms from someone who can put together a more attractive end package. In that sense, it works like selling real estate. The all-cash offer isn't always your best one. To Randy's point--Jab has undergone a major shakeup at the top. Many of the senior executive staff have departed in the last few months. That might account for some of the quietness. I don't have any inside information, just what I learned trying to round up potential panelists and speakers for WISPAmerica. Doug From: wireless-boun...@wispa.org<mailto:wireless-boun...@wispa.org> [mailto:wireless-boun...@wispa.org] On Behalf Of Cameron Crum Sent: Wednesday, March 19, 2014 1:45 PM To: WISPA General List Subject: Re: [WISPA] Selling ISP The seller is not a bank. Why should they take on all the risk? What happens if the buyer is a complete imbecile and runs the network into the ground and defaults on payments? Now you are in court suing for money you will most likely never see, and even if you retake possession of the network, it may be in shambles or most of your customers have left. We walked away from a couple of buyers who would not pony up the cash. I'd say as one who sold a wisp, if the buyer can't afford it, or can't arrange their own financing, you don't want to sell. On Wed, Mar 19, 2014 at 1:39 PM, Mike Hammett <wispawirel...@ics-il.net<mailto:wispawirel...@ics-il.net>> wrote: There's many more buyers out there. ----- Mike Hammett Intelligent Computing Solutions http://www.ics-il.com ________________________________ From: "Randy Cosby" <dco...@infowest.com<mailto:dco...@infowest.com>> To: "WISPA General List" <wireless@wispa.org<mailto:wireless@wispa.org>> Sent: Wednesday, March 19, 2014 11:00:34 AM Subject: Re: [WISPA] Selling ISP Is anyone actually buying right now? I haven't heard much about the big buyer (Jab) lately. On 3/19/2014 9:49 AM, CBB - Jay Fuller wrote: The going rate, we've seen (and has been discussed here many times), is about 1.5x annual revenue Douglas A. Hass Associate 312.786.6502<tel:312.786.6502> d...@franczek.com<mailto:d...@franczek.com> Franczek Radelet P.C. Celebrating 20 Years | 1994-2014<http://www.franczek.com/20thAnniversary/> 300 South Wacker Drive Suite 3400 Chicago, IL 60606 312.986.0300<tel:312.986.0300> - Main 312.986.9192<tel:312.986.9192> - Fax www.franczek.com<http://www.franczek.com/> Franczek Radelet is committed to sustainability - please consider the environment before printing this email ________________________________ Circular 230 Disclosure: Under requirements imposed by the Internal Revenue Service, we inform you that, unless specifically stated otherwise, any federal tax advice contained in this communication (including any attachments) is not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, for the purposes of (i) avoiding penalties under the Internal Revenue Code or (ii) promoting, marketing or recommending to another party any transaction or tax-related matter herein. ________________________________ For more information about Franczek Radelet P.C., please visit franczek.com<http://franczek.com>. The information contained in this e-mail message or any attachment may be confidential and/or privileged, and is intended only for the use of the named recipient. If you are not the named recipient of this message, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution, or copying of this message or any attachment thereto, is strictly prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please contact the sender and delete all copies. ________________________________ ----- Original Message ----- From: Eagle One Wireless<mailto:e...@e1w.com> To: 'WISPA General List'<mailto:wireless@wispa.org> Sent: Wednesday, March 19, 2014 10:33 AM Subject: Re: [WISPA] Selling ISP We priced ours at 2.5x gross revenue. We had about 10 companies contact us. I would say 5 were serious but they wanted us to finance it so we decided not to sell. Thanks, Kevin Melson Eagle One Wireless 1505 Hwy 72 E Corinth, MS 38834 662-287-1722<tel:662-287-1722> e...@e1w.com<mailto:e...@e1w.com> www.e1w.com<http://www.e1w.com> -----Original Message----- From: wireless-boun...@wispa.org<mailto:wireless-boun...@wispa.org> [mailto:wireless-boun...@wispa.org] On Behalf Of Ryan Morgan Sent: Wednesday, March 19, 2014 10:30 AM To: wireless@wispa.org<mailto:wireless@wispa.org> Subject: [WISPA] Selling ISP What is the current rate for selling your ISP! I would like to sell, for health reasons. Thanks for your help! Jean _______________________________________________ Wireless mailing list Wireless@wispa.org<mailto:Wireless@wispa.org> http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless ----- No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com<http://www.avg.com> Version: 2014.0.4336 / Virus Database: 3722/7216 - Release Date: 03/19/14 ----- No virus found in this message. 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