What are the main impacts you expect from CV-19 on search processes?
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by a searcher
from The University of Chicago - Booth School of Business
in Denver, CO, USA
in Denver, CO, USA
6yrs ago
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by a searcher
6yrs ago
from Northwestern University in Overland Park, KS, USA
from Northwestern University in Overland Park, KS, USA
Short-term... I've seen decreased deal flow. Operators are heads-down trying to figure out payroll. Long-term, this should spark a wave of succession conversations and opportunities.
From the searchers perspective... this is tough. The private markets tend to lag the public markets when realizing the aftermath of a material event. The down-stream impacts (ex. livelihood of a company's suppliers) won't fully be known for months. No amount of diligence will provide the comfort that could have been found prior to the downturn.
Additionally, building a relationship with the seller seems a bit more difficult. Are you coming in as an opportunistic predator looking for reasons to push down the valuation, or are you the knight in shining armor saving the business from possible failure? In the only few real conversations I've had since the downturn, the seller seems to have the predisposed perspective that I'm price hunting.
What are others seeing?
From the searchers perspective... this is tough. The private markets tend to lag the public markets when realizing the aftermath of a material event. The down-stream impacts (ex. livelihood of a company's suppliers) won't fully be known for months. No amount of diligence will provide the comfort that could have been found prior to the downturn.
Additionally, building a relationship with the seller seems a bit more difficult. Are you coming in as an opportunistic predator looking for reasons to push down the valuation, or are you the knight in shining armor saving the business from possible failure? In the only few real conversations I've had since the downturn, the seller seems to have the predisposed perspective that I'm price hunting.
What are others seeing?
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by a searcher
6yrs ago
from Washington and Lee University in Cambridge, MA, USA
from Washington and Lee University in Cambridge, MA, USA
Depending on how the next few months play out, the overall search timeline could be extended past the traditional two years. Deals are still live, but with added hesitance and diligence at all levels, it could become harder to complete a search and acquisition within 24 months.
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