15 May Around the Web: A Week in Summary
A recent article from Axial entitled “Don’t Be a Basic Buyer” explains seven principals to follow in order to stand out to investment bankers as a buyer in the current M&A market.
Investment bankers receive copious amounts of communication from interested buyers on a daily basis. Without taking the steps to differentiate yourself before reaching out, it could be very easy to get lost in the crowd and never achieve your objectives. Use these 7 strategies when reaching out to investment bankers to stand out and grab their attention:
- Be specific: Don’t be afraid of scaring an investor off by being too specific. The more specific you are the more they can feel confident that you are well-equipped to make educated choices in the given industry and the more they can narrow down their own search.
- Focus on one mandate at a time: Don’t send an email with a long bulleted list that they will never have time to work through.
- Respond quickly and thoughtfully: Again, being specific is key here. Whether your response is good or bad, respond within a timely manner and provide helpful feedback such as why you’re not interested or what makes it a great fit.
- Make a competitive offer: Not doing this will put you at the bottom of future buyer lists.
- Don’t be a dead end: Providing new prospects for a deal you may not be interested in will build beneficial relationships with investors and the bank.
- Have an online presence: Make it easy to find your specific criteria and information about your portfolio company online to avoid losing potential opportunities and contacts.
- Be a nice person: Rather than rushing through conversations to have as many as possible, make yourself stand out by being amicable and friendly. Take your time during conversations and always follow up.
Click here to read the full article.
A recent article from Inc.com entitled “Kickstart Your Business Dreams With SBA Lending” discusses the benefits and requirements for obtaining lending through the Small Business Administration.
The SBA is a government agency that, among other things, is helping to increase the pool of entrepreneurs who are able to secure funding through their loan program. The program makes it easier for entrepreneurs to get approval for a loan by working with local lenders and backing the loans. Applicants need to meet SBA qualifications and come prepared with a lending source, financial documents and a qualified business. A qualified business is one that is for-profit, does business in the US, has invested equity in the business and is unable to obtain funds from any other source.
While the Small Business Administration is able to make the loan process more simplified, and make it easier for owners with poor credit or instable financial histories to get loans, there is always the risk of a government shutdown. Do you research and weight your options to determine if working with an SBA loan is the right choice for achieving your entrepreneurial dreams.
Click here to read the full article.
A recent article from Axial entitled “A Differentiated Lending Approach in the Lower Middle Market” reveals the insight of Doug Cruikshank, head of fund financing for Hark Capital in regards to the market conditions, leverage lending environment and concerns for the future.
The credit markets are crowded, the economy is waiting for the impending downturn after an extended bull market and there is a relatively unfilled gap in financing for private equity portfolio companies. Doug discusses the ways in which Hark Capital is filling the gap as well as his expectations for the downturn, and how he believes the leverage lending market continues to be extremely accommodating to borrowers.
