Exit Strategy & Transaction Counsel
We put the buyer's playbook in the seller's hands.
Independent, retainer-based counsel for founders and owners preparing to sell. No fee tied to the close.
TRACK RECORD
Buy-side Experience. Sell-side Counsel.
Over twenty years in mergers & acquisitions for publicly-traded and private equity-backed enterprises.
$5B+
aggregate enterprise value
25+
transactions advised on
< $100M
median transaction size
Aggregate enterprise value of transactions Magis advised on, including publicly announced and non-public transactions.
THE PROBLEM
Most founders sell only once, and often without an experienced advisor of their own.
Selling your business, or seeking outside investment in it, is likely the most consequential financial decision a founder makes. Most make it only once. The deal professionals who join a sale process are essential, and each has a lane. The banker runs the process. The attorney protects the legal position. The accountant handles the numbers. No one owns the whole picture for the founder: whether the business and documentation is ready, whether the founder is ready, and what life looks like after close.
“30 to 40 percent of lower middle market deals are re-traded. The typical cut is 5 to 12 percent of price.”
WHAT CHANGES
Four things are different when your advisor has been the buyer:
The gaps a buyer will see and price in are identified first, and closed.
The entire sale process holds fewer surprises.
No fee contingent on the close, so the advice stays independent.
You have a plan in advance.
The Exit Readiness Assessment
We evaluate your business the way a buyer will.
Experienced acquirors judge a target on the same fundamental questions, methodically. Our Exit Readiness Assessment applies that method to your business well ahead of a sale, early enough to act on what it finds. Six lenses, customized working sessions, and a roadmap focused on what moves the needle on outcomes the most.
Owner Readiness
Deal Readiness
TAKE THE FREE DIAGNOSTIC
Think your business is ready?
Take the free diagnostic and see how a buyer would score your business.
THREE STAGES. ONE ROLE.
Before, during, and after the sale.
Exit Readiness Assessment
ONE TO THREE YEARS BEFORE A SALE
A buyer's-eye assessment and a prioritized roadmap.
Transaction Readiness
SIX TO TWELVE MONTHS BEFORE GOING TO MARKET
Financials, the equity story, pre-sale risks, and advisor selection.
Deal Support and Counsel
DURING AN ACTIVE PROCESS AND AFTER CLOSE
Interpretation of the process, independent review of terms, and counsel through the transition.
At every stage, our role is the same: an advisor who understands the whole picture and whose only interest is your outcome.