Mergers and acquisitions: get the deal done. Four key points of buying or selling a business

Whether buyer or seller, your goal is to get the deal done. After you have found the right business to buy, or a buyer has decided that your business is what he or she wants, there are many things that you need to do to get the deal done. Since buying or selling any business that is not publicly-traded is, at its heart, a personal decision of the owners or stockholders, the considerations that are made during the transaction process are personal as well as being financial and strategic. The same process holds true whether you spend $30,000 or $30,000,000 for a business; the same hopes and fears operate. For this reason, the language in this paper is personal. People do the transactions, therefore misconceptions, misunderstands, and misadventure can derail planning, understanding, and performance