How would you structure this deal? Live Case Study

July 15, 2023

by a searcher in Europe

Opening this up to thoughts from the community as I've had conflicting views. Looking to answer:
a) Would you want to buy this business? Based on high-level financials
b) How would you structure the offer?

As with any valuation, this will be an incomplete picture, let me know if I've missed out any fundamental data points. Note: this is a self-funded deal with no SBA can be used due to non-US geography.

The business: Industrial equipment hire/sales/spare parts. 80% of the revenue comes from contractual hire with the majority out on 2-5 year contracts, highly diversified with no one customer >5%.

Turnover: 10,000,000 (Average growth over last 6 years 4% Y-o-Y)
Gross Profit: 2,500,###-###-#### % margin)
EBITDA: 1,500,###-###-#### % margin average over last 5 years)
Asset base: 3,500,000 with circa 1,000,000 of outstanding finance payments to be paid off (all back to back with outbound hire contracts)
CapEx (Historical): 700,###-###-#### ,000 early payback to pay down existing asset base finance + purchase new assets
Net Profit: 500,000 (current owner does not take a salary, pays out the majority in dividends each year)

Asking Price: 7,000,000 (sellers are open to circa 15% seller financing +15% rolled equity)

Notes:
-Assume 5 year payback for any lender debt, 13-15% interest rate and optional 30% bullet payment at the end of term

Appreciate any feedback.

Reply by an investor
in Boston, MA, USA

Thanks for sharing. Maybe I missed it in the report, but I wonder why the holding periods of exited companies have recently decreased significantly e.g. 2 years in###-###-#### vs. 4.3 and 5.7 years in###-###-#### and###-###-#### respectively while corresponding returns decreased to ~25% IRR/1.5 ROI when shorter holding periods ought to increase IRR. To me, 2 years doesn't seem like enough time for a Searcher to acclimate and build value to position a company for a favorable exit.

Reply by a professional
in Florida, USA

Purchasing this business solely based on its high-level financials would not be my preference for the following rationales:

1. The net profits of 5% are deemed insufficient.
2. Both the gross profit and EBITDA exhibit narrow margins.
3. The debt service ratio exceeds the threshold of 1.5.
4. The valuation multiple is exceptionally high.

+4 more replies.

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