Benefits of an Intermediary

A business intermediary helps you to package your business for sale. Our Confidential Selling Memorandums (CSM's) highlight the value proposition for your business, something that is often overlooked or undervalued by a business owner. Owners try to sell on the financials alone, and as a result undervalue the business.

NorthCoast Partners looks at your business like a buyer and highlights those areas that are of the greatest value to future owners. Often times our CSM is used, word for word, when a buyer is applying for financing. Also, buyers tell us that the CSM serves as their business plan when they assume a business.

A good intermediary will locate potential buyers AND manage the confidentiality required in this process. Identifying, qualifying and managing buyers is a rigorous process, one that requires an expert. NorthCoast Partners is in contact with hundreds of buyers every year and knows how to focus in on those that are serious.

The place where an intermediary earns their money is in due diligence. There are a plethora of requirements thrown at a buyer and seller throughout the process: contracts, financial summaries, operational reviews, financing requirements and many more. Just as you are the expert in your business, NorthCoast Partners is an expert in managing the sale process. Many deals never make it to the closing table because of overlooked details or mismatched expectations. At NorthCoast Partners, we are the members of your team that makes sure the deal gets done.

Throughout the process we:

• Set reasonable expectations. Once a seller knows the approximate range of values, what to expect, and why this number makes sense, the transaction process can then progress.


• Maximize value. Since most business owners spend far more time operating their business than they do buying or selling one, they have far less expertise in establishing value ranges than we do. We create a competitive process that maximizes the value realized by a seller.


• Ensure Confidentiality. We always operate invisibly on behalf of our clients. We have been introduced as bankers, insurance agents, or realtors in order to protect confidentiality.


• Make sure everything is prepared. We know what types of information prospective buyers are looking for. We gather and package all information with a minimal amount of disruption to your business.


• Handle hot buttons. Every transaction has issues. Our job is to identify and negotiate win-win situations, as well as to diffuse any potentially damaging issues.


• Manage the Deal. We assist throughout the negotiation process. As intermediaries, we focus on all aspects of the deal in a dispassionate way. Our chief responsibility is to you and to the deal, so we stay focused from start to finish.


• Get the deal done. We've experienced every complexity imaginable. It almost always happens, and we always resolve unexpected glitches.


• Make it to payday. A win/win has been achieved! A deal that is fair to both sides has been signed, sealed and delivered.

Visit our Seller Frequently Asked Questions, to understand how to use an Intermediary.