A sale process run around the shareholder, not around the adviser.
Most businesses are sold once. The process discipline required to achieve the right result — right price, right buyer, right terms — is not intuitive. K3 Capital Advisory prepares the business, identifies the right buyers and runs the process with commercial discipline from first approach to close.
Four sale mandate types.
The right process structure and buyer approach depends on which type of sale is being run. We adapt the process to the mandate, not the mandate to the process.
Shareholder-driven sale
One or more shareholders want to exit, partially or fully. The process is structured around their objectives — price, timing, structure and what happens to the business and its people after close.
Trade sale
A strategic buyer — often a competitor, a customer or a business in an adjacent sector — acquires the business. We run the process to identify the right buyers, not just the obvious ones.
Financial sponsor acquisition
A private equity house acquires the business — typically with management rolling equity and remaining. The process requires an adviser who understands how PE buyers assess, price and structure deals.
Partial exit
A shareholder exits a portion of their stake while the business continues with new or existing capital behind it. Structuring this correctly at outset avoids complications later.
Five situations that bring shareholders to a sale process.
A founder or family owner wants to exit
The business has been built over many years. The shareholder wants a process that achieves full value without being rushed or poorly positioned to buyers.
A corporate parent is divesting a division
A parent company wants to sell a subsidiary or business unit. The sale process needs to be run independently of the parent's interests and to the timetable the parent requires.
An unsolicited approach has been received
A buyer has made an approach. Before any response, the shareholder needs an independent assessment of value and a view on whether a process should be run to test the market.
PE hold period is coming to an end
A financial sponsor is approaching the end of its hold period and needs a sale process run. The business needs to be positioned correctly for the buyer market at exit.
The business needs a sale to resolve a shareholder disagreement
Shareholders have diverging objectives that cannot be resolved through refinancing or internal restructuring. A sale is the resolution.
Preparation disciplines the process. Process disciplines the outcome.
A sale process run without adequate preparation gives buyers the advantage — they find the issues, set the narrative and price the uncertainty. Prepared sellers do not let that happen.
Preparation
We assess the business's value drivers, identify what buyers will focus on in due diligence, and structure the sale materials — information memorandum, financial model, management presentation — before any buyer approach is made.
Buyer identification
We compile a longlist of credible buyers — trade and financial — and agree a shortlist with shareholders. The longlist should be broader than the obvious candidates. The shortlist should be disciplined.
Controlled process
We run a structured process — teaser, NDA, information memorandum, management presentations, indicative offers — with a defined timeline. The structure creates competitive tension without losing control.
Preferred party and exclusivity
We assess bids on a consistent basis — price, structure, conditionality, management arrangements — and advise shareholders on preferred party selection and exclusivity terms.
Due diligence and completion
We manage the buyer's due diligence process, coordinate management's responses, advise on any issues that arise in the data room, and maintain completion momentum through to signing and close.
The outputs that drive an achievable outcome.
- 01
Sale readiness assessment — value drivers, likely buyer objections and preparation actions
- 02
Information memorandum and management presentation prepared to buyer-facing standard
- 03
Buyer longlist and shortlist with rationale — trade and financial sponsors
- 04
Process management from teaser distribution to indicative offers and preferred party selection
- 05
Bid assessment and negotiation advice on price, structure, conditionality and management arrangements
- 06
Due diligence management and completion support through to signing and close
Sale transactions from our completed deals archive.
Considering a sale?
Start with a confidential conversation about your objectives and the current market.