What does it mean to hire an investment bank? How will we help you sell your business? Will you give up control? How much work will you have to do? PEAK Co-founder David Stevenson breaks down the process and shares some stories about what to expect.

STEP 1: Build Your Story

The first thing we do is learn all about your company so that we can begin to craft a compelling pitch that will resonate with the market. We’ll develop marketing materials like an executive summary and management presentation deck.

• What we do: PEAK typically does the “heavy lifting” when it comes to preparing your company for a process. In addition to marketing materials, we’ll build out the list of prospective targets, build and manage a virtual data room, plus build and/or refine your operating model and business KPIs.

• What you’ll do: You’ll provide information and feedback, including company files and documents for the data room. You’ll also provide feedback on our marketing materials, operating model, and list of targets.

• Example: When it came time to sell Typhoon Data (TD), we wrote a compelling story that appealed to potential buyers, while ensuring an ideal outcome for the TD team. Read the rest of the story here.
  

STEP 2: Engage Buyers

With a strong story in hand, we’ll position you in the market and generate buzz with investors and buyers. Our custom pitches will emphasize the elements of your business that appeal to each buyer. Our goal is to create competitive tension and a sense of scarcity in the market.

• What we do: We’ll approach the agreed-upon buyers and investors with a compelling story specifically tailored to each individual party. We will then guide the vetted buyers and investors through the process, maintaining competitive tension throughout. Once we help buyers and investors complete their own due diligence, we’ll ask them to submit written term sheets that summarize the valuation and other terms of the deal.

• What you’ll do: You may need to provide additional information for due diligence, and we usually arrange meetings with pre-qualified buyers and investors so they can meet with you before submitting a formal term sheet.

• Example: Positioning Jetlore in the market meant thinking outside of the box and engaging with less-than-obvious buyers. Our approach included outreach to a broad set of prospective buyers, including financial sponsors (private equity and venture capital) and strategics acquirers. It required extra work and a strong thesis, but ultimately resulted in connecting Jetlore with the ideal buyer (PayPal) who believed in the company’s value and long-term growth potential. Read the full story here.

STEP 3: Choose a Path

Part of our job is to create options for you. Once you have multiple parties engaged and formal interest, we’ll work together to choose the path that best suits your goals.

• What we do: After PEAK solicits and collects term sheets, we’ll review the various options with you. Then we’ll negotiate on your behalf to optimize the valuation and key terms before you sign anything.

• What you’ll do: While reviewing term sheets together, you can ask us questions and share your thoughts and feedback. Once we’ve optimized the terms, we’ll help you choose a party (or parties, in some cases) to set ourselves on the path towards a closed deal.

• Example: Choosing the ideal buyer for Black Box Intelligence (BBI) was about more than just valuation. Factors like team, equity, and long-term survival of the company played a critical role in our decision-making process. In the end, we worked with BBI’s founder to identify the ideal buyer (Diversis Capital) who believed in BBI’s management team and their vision, and was excited to provide the capital the business needed to accelerate its growth and win in the marketplace. Read the rest of the story here.
  
  

STEP 4: Close Your Deal

With multiple stakeholders to manage, final negotiations underway, and piles of paperwork, tensions can build. We’re here to handle the process and run with you all the way across the finish line.

• What we’ll do: We are your advocate, and we will work closely with you and all other parties to drive the transaction to a successful close.

• What you’ll do: You’ll provide feedback on certain terms and provide additional information as needed. Then it’s time to celebrate.

• Example: Using the leverage from 12 different bids and a competitive process, we negotiated optimal terms and ultimately convinced Agiloft’s buyer, FTV, to change their majority offer to a minority structure, a deal term that was important to Agiloft’s founder. Read the rest of the Agiloft success story here.
  
  

Questions? Want to partner with us? Reach out to the PEAK team at contact@peaktechnologypartners.com.