You know that old adage, timing is everything? When it comes to selling your company to a strategic partner, that overplayed truism cannot be spoken enough. The bottom line is that your company is worth as much as a buyer is willing to pay for it. If the market is hot, that’s good. If your sector is even hotter, that’s even better. A buyer is more comfortable forgiving a lot of things, including being an early stage startup, if you are positioned well in a growing market. However, if you find yourself on the other side of the timing equation, you may find buyers digging deeper into your financials, and having slow and lackluster responses to your persistent inquiries.

 

Here’s another aspect of timing that’s often overlooked. Geopolitical changes may have a profound impact on M&A. Flight of capital, political turmoil and unfavorable transaction conditions may improve or deteriorate over time in local and international markets. Keep one eye on your company and another on where you do business and what that could mean to a potential acquirer. Since 60% of acquisitions that we broker are cross-border, this is an important consideration.

 

Keeping all of this in mind, what’s the best time to sell your company? It’s when things are going well. You feel it, there is validation in the market of your company and product, and partners are poking around to discuss “strategic options.” That’s the time to think about running a competitive process to maximize the value you’ve created.