Shareholder & Transaction Advisory
When the question becomes: what comes next?
For many entrepreneurs, their company represents years — sometimes decades — of work. A change of ownership is therefore much more than a financial transaction. It affects the company, its management, its employees and its shareholders — and often the entrepreneur personally.
We start with the shareholder and the objectives behind the transaction.
We do not approach these situations as traditional M&A advisors. We accompany entrepreneurs and shareholders we know and understand, helping them navigate an important transition in the life of their company.
Because we understand the business, its management, its challenges and often its history, we can support shareholders well before a transaction starts, exploring the options, preparing the company and determining the most appropriate path forward.
When a transaction is the right next step, we stay alongside our clients through preparation, negotiation and execution, coordinating with the appropriate legal, tax and financial specialists where required.
01
Shareholder Strategy
Before discussing buyers or valuations, we help shareholders clarify what they actually want.
- Sell now?
- Prepare for a sale in two or three years?
- Transfer the company to management?
- Bring in a new shareholder?
- Remain involved after a transaction?
- Step away completely?
There is no single right solution. Understanding the shareholder's objectives is the starting point for defining the appropriate path.
02
Preparing the Company
The best time to prepare an exit is before the company is for sale. We help shareholders look at their business through the eyes of a future owner. This can include reviewing:
- Management dependency
- Financial performance and reporting
- Customer concentration
- Recurring revenues
- Sales pipeline
- Organisation and key people
- Supplier dependencies
- Intellectual property
- Strategic positioning
- Growth opportunities
Where weaknesses exist, our management consulting background allows us to do more than identify them. We can work with management to address them before the transaction begins.
03
MBO & MBI
Management Buy-Outs can provide an attractive succession solution for shareholders while preserving continuity for the company. They also create specific challenges around valuation, financing, governance and the relationship between management and existing shareholders.
We help assess feasibility, structure the project and accompany shareholders and management throughout the process.
04
Succession & Ownership Transition
Not every entrepreneur wants to sell to an external buyer.
We help shareholders explore alternative ownership structures and succession scenarios, including internal succession, management ownership and the introduction of new shareholders.
Our role is to help identify a solution that works both for the shareholders and for the future of the company.
05
Trade Sale & Strategic Buyers
For specialised B2B and technology companies, identifying the right buyer requires understanding the business behind the numbers. We look at technology, products, customers, markets, capabilities and competitive positioning to identify organisations for which an acquisition could create genuine strategic value.
The key question is not simply: "Who could buy this company?"
But: "Why would this company matter to that particular buyer?"
06
Company Exit
When shareholders decide to sell, we help structure and manage the process. Depending on the mandate, this can include:
- Exit strategy
- Company preparation
- Positioning and equity story
- Buyer identification
- Approach strategy
- Management of discussions
- Offer comparison
- Negotiation support
- Due diligence coordination
- Coordination with legal, tax and financial advisors
- Support through signing and closing
07
More than transaction support
BST is not a traditional transaction house. Our roots are in management and entrepreneurship. We understand what happens inside a company before looking at how ownership should change.
Sometimes our conclusion is that the company is ready for a transaction. Sometimes another 12 or 24 months of operational work can put the company and its shareholders in a substantially stronger position.
Our objective is not to create a transaction. It is to help shareholders make the right transition at the right time.