Disposals, Capital raising

During disposals and when raising capital our primary goal is to maximize the company’s value determined by the sale price or the amount of capital raised as well as to optimize transaction terms for our clients. The process of selling a company or raising capital can be very complex. Using our transactional experience, we are ready to support our clients and reduce the complexities.

The key success factors of the company disposal:

  • Outstanding marketing based on the knowledge of the target company and the appropriate presentation of the most important value drivers
  • Access to investors to engage with the most relevant investor-candidates
  • Competition during the transaction, which requires a clearly planned and consistently managed process
  • Provision of credible information to investors to build and maintain trust between seller and buyer

Added value of our services :

  • We understand the processes and we are always one step ahead in thinking
  • Due to our experience and international network, we have an extensive network of corporate and financial investors on a global scale
  • Our seasoned consultants can provide effective support during the most intensive parts of the process
  • At key points during the negotiations, we can function as an alternative channel for implementing the best tactics.

Acquisitions

Thanks to our transaction experience, we are ready to support our clients not only in disposals but also in acquisition situations. During an acquisition process an experienced consultant can not only help manage the process, but more importantly optimize transaction conditions and increase the probability of success.

The key success factors of the acquisition:

  • Identify potential targets based on strategic considerations
  • Managing client expectations through early identification of potential risks and problems
  • Assessment of risks, primarily during the due diligence and incorporation of conclusions into the final transaction terms
  • Credible process through efficient work and predictable communication

Added value of our advisory:

  • We understand the processes and we are always one step ahead in thinking
  • We can utilize our knowledge of typical risks in Hungarian medium-sized companies and specific industries
  • We help to select the due diligence team and ensure that the due diligence is properly focused
  • Our seasoned consultants can provide effective support during the most intensive parts of the process
  • At key points during the negotiations, we can function as an alternative channel for implementing the best tactics.

Preparing for a Transaction

The value of a transaction can not only be influenced during the process itself, but also prior to it. Involving a consultant to assist with transaction preparation can significantly improve the operations of the target company and the outcome of the transaction, as value-creating changes can be implemented before the transaction process begins.  This can lead to a significant increase in shareholder value. In our experience, for a growing medium-sized company, the following tend to be of greatest importance when preparing for a transaction:

  • developing a strategy and a corresponding growth plan
  • strengthening support functions, including the development of financial and management reporting systems
  • separation of shareholder and management functions (if relevant based on shareholders’ intention)
  • establishment of transparency and credibility

During transaction preparation projects, we are primarily involved in determining key objectives and tasks and providing general project management. We undertake that the preparation will provide the highest possible added value for the planned transaction and that the tasks will be completed on time. For each sub-area of a preparation project, we provide help to identify the required resources and, if necessary, select an expert with the right background.

Business valuation

The value of a business unit or company is primarily based on its future earnings potential, but affected by other factors as well. Thus business value most often differs significantly from the value of the associated assets and its calculation requires a holistic approach. Our business valuation work is performed in accordance with the standards of international investment banks. We establish the value range of the business based on cash-flows, comparable market data and other methods (asset valuation, margin-based valuation, economic value added), while also considering factors specific to the situation and the industry.

The most frequent reasons for engaging our business valuation services are:

  • To support preparations for a contemplated transaction (disposal, raising capital, acquisition)
  • Preparation and support of shareholder decisions,
  • Continuous monitoring of the company’s value
  • Tax or accounting-related matters
  • Legal disputes.

Business planning

Drawing up a business plan is one of the first important steps when running a business or starting/acquiring one.

Establishing the goals of the business plan and the requirements of the end-users are critical to the efficiency of the process since these requirements, along with relevant industry-specific factors, form the backbone of the financial model. In the case of complex models, we provide a user manual to our clients to make application of the model easier following completion of the project. We provide financial modelling in connection with transactions or to support general business operations.

A well-prepared business plan and financial model is capable of the following:

  • setting out the shareholders’ overall expectations;
  • setting out the management’s market expectations;
  • presenting the expected earnings and cash-flows of the business;
  • enabling the measurement of the management (senior and middle managers);
  • enabling sensitivity analyses;
  • assisting negotiations with external financing partners (suppliers, banks);
  • preparing for a transaction process.

Financing

The primary aspect In financing  related projects is to provide our client with the most favourable financing conditions, which can be achieved with a competitive process between banks or other financing institutions. In the case of bank financing, it is specifically true that there are several other factors besides price (interest rate), that are important to pay attention to, when evaluating an offer. Through our transaction experience and banking network, we are able to provide effective support to our clients to get bank financing. Typically, our responsibilities include the followings: providing business planning required for the financing process, communicating with banks, collecting information needed for the bank’s decision and support during negotiations.

Financial due diligence

We are ideally placed to provide financial due diligence services to clients planning an acquisition, either as a standalone service or in conjunction with a transactional advisory mandate.  Our financial due diligence colleagues have extensive experience and are able to seamlessly work together with subcontractors to also provide tax and legal due diligence support as a comprehensive service to our clients.  We proactively share our preliminary findings with our clients on a regular basis throughout the transaction process.  Our due diligence reports are prepared in accordance with international standards and are suitable not only for internal decision-making, but also for external decision-makers (banks, financial investors).

Our financial due diligence team can also provide value-added services during a disposal process.  Prior to initiating the transaction process, we can perform a pre-sale due diligence review to assess the consistency of historical financial information or to help generate information specifically required for the transaction and to ensure that financial information can be provided to potential buyers in a consistent manner. Such a review may be very useful in situations where the nature or structure of the transaction is non-standard (e.g. carve-outs or the disposal of several companies at the same time).