As you may or may not know, I have been an advisor to owners of provider agencies supporting individuals affected by an intellectual and/or developmental disability (I/DD) for more than 30 years. I am fortunate in that I love this work. It is enormously gratifying to earn a living by helping others reach their goals. I am able to help business owners reach their financial goals and buyers achieve their growth and value-creation goals while improving the lives of employees and clients alike through the right transaction.

I was recently speaking with one of the sellers I represented about the sale of his provider agency. I asked him what he thought was my most significant value during his long selling process. Without skipping a beat, he said, "'The emotional support you provided to me." He explained that it was helpful to talk with me when things got stressful or even a bit scary since I had been through the process of selling my own company.

The only constant for home healthcare agencies is change. For many owners of agencies, change is both demanding and fatiguing. At some point, owners start thinking about exiting their company. Some owners elect to pass ownership down to their adult children. Some stop taking on new clients/patients and simply close their doors. Others seek to sell their company in the marketplace. This column is written for those owners considering selling in the marketplace.

The above is a map put together by our team at VERTESS. This map identifies some of the larger intellectual and developmental disability (IDD) competitors in the country, the states in which they do business, and their owner or ownership structure. Every healthcare industry uses this tool. These maps provide valuable insight into the competitive landscape of the respective industries. They are also a way of demonstrating why a healthcare business owner would be wise to partner with a merger and acquisition (M&A) advisor when the owner decides it is time to begin pursuing a sale of the company. Along with business size and service lines, buyers are often categorized by the geographic markets in which they're seeking acquisitions. Advisors should be aware of who is looking for acquisitions where.

I often receive calls from owners of human services companies who say something along the lines of, "I don't know what I don't know" concerning selling their company. What's important to understand is that it's okay not to know everything about selling a company. It's a complex process, which is why most successful sales involve a team working together toward a common goal.

The concept of a "fundless sponsor" started in the 80's. Recognizing that this name might carry a negative connotation, it was changed to "independent sponsor" — a more palatable moniker. In a similar vein to independent sponsors is a "search fund," but for the purposes of this article, we will lump them together.

Volume 7 Issue 20, October 13, 2020 by Jeffrey S. Baird, Esq., Brown & Fortunato, P.C. Two common questions I am often asked by owners of healthcare businesses considering whether to sell their companies are: 1) If I sell my business, can I still get audited? 2) If I do get audited after selling my […]

While I would never claim to have a crystal ball, I can tell you that there are a few issues that will likely have significant effects on respiratory-focused durable medical equipment (DME) companies going into and during 2021. Here are three that stand out.

At VERTESS, we are often asked what value we can bring to sellers as they decide to sell their business. We often talk about our large contact list of buyers and our experience as a business operator/owner and seller or as a merger and acquisition (M&A) advisor.

Pre-COVID-19, a merger and acquisition (M&A) deal that followed an 80/10/10 structure was fairly common. In such in a transaction, up to 80% of a company's purchase price would be afforded to the seller as an upfront, cash proceed, at least 10% of the company's purchase price would be in the form of rollover equity, and at least 10% of the company's purchase price would be in the form of deferred proceeds (e.g., an earn-out or seller note).

For anyone running a business, it is always important to develop a succession plan. Who will take over leadership if someone moves on? How will you keep the cogs turning when you have a change in control? Yet many small- to mid-sized business owners are so mired in the details of the day-to-day operations that they don't consider such changes since they take on staff responsibilities until someone else rises to the occasion. But if you run an organization, you need to be asking yourself: Who will step in when you're ready to step away?

"Have you signed an LOI yet?" This may be one of the most important questions at the outset of a healthcare transaction. Many times, the parties believe a handshake agreement can be magically transformed into a comprehensive and binding contract without change or disagreement. Inevitably, however, the terms of the handshake agreements shift—and continue to shift—until one party surrenders. That is, unless a letter of intent, or LOI, is entered into by the parties.