Exit Management
Prepare for market and run a controlled, competitive process through to completion.
Exit Management is the work of preparing an exit-ready business for market and running its sale through to completion. For Australian and New Zealand founder-led companies, it means a controlled, competitive process, from launch preparation and buyer engagement through offers, diligence and negotiation, to completion. The aim is a higher exit value and greater certainty of outcome, while leadership stays focused on the business.
Exit Management is the second of our two offerings on the exit path, building directly on the foundations from Exit Preparation. Typical duration: 6–9 months.
A CONTROLLED PROCESS
Why run a controlled process rather than rely on a single inbound approach?
A single interested buyer can set the timing, the information flow and the negotiating dynamics, leaving a founder with few alternatives. A controlled, competitive process changes that.
The process is designed to engage multiple best-fit buyers on your timetable, against consistent materials and one source of truth, creating the conditions for options, competitive tension and negotiating leverage before terms are discussed.
OUR APPROACH TO BUYER ENGAGEMENT
What is the Deep Buyer Waves process?
The Deep Buyer Waves process is our approach to buyer engagement in a controlled sale process. We start with a broad buyer universe, then engage best-fit buyers in carefully sequenced waves designed to build competitive tension while protecting confidentiality, options and control. It is supported by hundreds of buyer relationships built across our team's careers. The detailed design and sequencing of the waves is part of our method and is discussed within an engagement.
A CONTROLLED PROCESS
What happens in an Exit Management process?
01Launch preparation
Confirm the materials, the narrative, the buyer strategy and the process design.
02Buyer engagement
Approach buyers in sequenced waves, manage confidentiality agreements and information flow, and run management presentations.
03Offers
Receive and assess indicative offers, compare value, structure, certainty and fit, and shortlist.
04Diligence and negotiation
Manage due diligence with disciplined materials and one source of truth, and negotiate definitive agreements.
05Completion
Complete the transaction and support the transition.
Our team manages the buyer relationships, assesses offers with you and negotiates terms, while your leadership team stays focused on running the business.
A CONFIDENTIAL CONVERSATION
What if a buyer has already approached you?
An unsolicited approach can be a genuine opportunity, but it can also leave a founder with fewer options and less negotiating leverage. We help founders assess the approach, understand the value and the alternatives, and, where the timing is right, we can help convert a single conversation into a controlled process.
A CONFIDENTIAL CONVERSATION
Ready to go to market, or weighing an approach?
We can discuss your objectives, the state of the market for businesses like yours, and what a controlled process would look like.