Our proven Sale process minimizes risk and maximizes reward.
When it comes to process, we have it figured out.
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the experience, process and integrity to
sell your business for maximum value

EXPERIENCED

Over a decade of deals done. Over 100 valuations, 18 engagements, 15 businesses sold in the trailing 36 months.

LICENSED & INSURED

Fully licensed and accredited Business Brokerage authorized to trade in the sale of businesses in Ontario.

PROVEN SALE PROCESS

Our comprehensive 10 stage, 250 process addresses every aspect of the sale process to sell your business for maximum value within the shortest time.

TAXATION STRATEGIES

The selling price is not what you take home. Taxation plays a major role and we have the strategies to ensure you take home the most from your sale.

CERTIFIED PROFESSIONALS

Accredited Certified Business Intermediary™
Accredited Certified Mergers & Acquisitions Professional™

ETHICAL & PROFESSIONAL

We are governed by not only one but two code of ethics to ensure we act ethically and professionally at all times.

SALE READY PROGRAM

Step by step program to prepare the seller and their business for the eventual sale and achieve maximum value. A Sale Ready business is easier to sell and achieves higher valuations.

COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE BROKERAGE

Crossbridge Business Brokers is a licensed Commercial Real Estate Brokerage fully qualified to intermediate the lease or sale of the property related to the sale of the business.

WE HAVE ALL THE SERVICES YOU NEED TO PREPARE AND SELL YOUR BUSINESS

Preparing and selling a business for maximum value is a complex process that requires understanding of corporate governance, government regulations, taxation, operations, finance, marketing, business law, valuations, contract negotiation and more. Don’t trust your business to just anyone.
  • Valuation Analysis
  • Saleability Assessment
  • Sale Ready Preparation
  • Marketing & Advertising
  • Engaging & Screening Buyers
  • Offers & LOI Negotiation
  • Due Diligence Administration
  • Purchase Agreement Support
  • Closing Process Management
  • Transition Support
  • Tax & Estate Planning
  • Capital & DeBt Financing

10 stAGE
PROVEN process TO SELL YOUR BUSINESS

Our SALE PROCESS  takes the uncertainty out of the sale, minimizes risk and maximizes reward.

Preparing and selling a business for maximum value is a complex process that requires an understanding of corporate governance, government regulations, taxation, operations, finance, marketing, business law, valuations, contract negotiation and more.

Our proven 10 stage, 250 step process manages each step of the sale taking out the uncertainty and reduce the risks to ensure a successful sale. 250 steps may seem like a lot but that’s how detailed we are in managing the sale process. From your initial idea of selling to the last day of your transition, we work with you at every step to manage the entire sale process including collaboration with advisors, accountants, lawyers, lenders and landlords to ensure you get the best result possible.

"Without a process the result will always be uncertain"

10 STAGE
250 STEP PROCESS

01

PRE-SALE ASSESSMENT

Establish value and saleability expectations

The Pre-Sale Assessment is a no-obligation and confidential assessment of your business to determine value and saleability. It is our first look at your business and becomes our initial point of reference. The objective of the Pre-Sale Assessment is to understand your exit strategy, determined the value and saleability of your business, establish the most probable selling price, and identify how long the sale will take.

The process consists of a series of meetings where we learn about your business to understand growth potential, what drives value, threats and risks, and opportunities to increase value before we go to market. It is an opportunity for you, to see exactly how we work and validate our capability. During this period, clients often learn things about their business that they may not have previously known.

Once the assessment is complete, we will present our assessment of value and saleability, along with our recommendations of how to maximize the value of your business. With these facts, you can decide if it makes sense to proceed. If you decide to proceed, an Engagement Agreement will be formalized and signed to progress to the next step.

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WE VALUE AND PROTECT YOUR COMPANY’S CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION

Selling your business will require you to disclose confidential information about your business. Financial statements, price lists, employee details, marketing methods, customer lists, etc., are all confidential information that makes up your "secret sauce" which makes you successful. This is in most part the value of your business so be very careful who you give it to. In the wrong hands, this confidential information could help a competitor and have negative impacts on your customers, employees and the business overall. Considering you may engage multiple buyers in the sale process, how your confidential information is managed, stored and disseminated to buyers should be a top priority to prevent it from getting into the wrong hands.

Having been in your shoes, we value your confidential information as if it were our own and protecting your confidentiality is our most important priority. We follow a process with strict rules in how we manage your information securely and it consists of mainly two parts.

1. How we hold your information:
We have a privacy policy and adhere to The Personal Information and Electronics Act (PIPEDA). All information shared with us is stored on highly encrypted enterprise-grade servers that reside in Canada. We use data rooms to exchange information rather than unsecured email or instant messaging. After the transaction is completed, we provide both parties with an encrypted USB drive containing the information shared during due diligence. We then delete non-regulatory required information from our servers and clean the data footprint.
2. How we release your information:
Our number one rule is that we do not release any confidential information unless you have provided your consent. Our second rule is that no information is released to a buyer without a confidentiality agreement in force. Our third rule is that we only engage buyers that we have screened and that you have qualified to receive the information. Our multi-layer buyer engagement process helps ensure we engage only quality buyers.

Rest assured that we take every precaution to ensure your “secret sauce” is kept confidential and only released in a controlled manner that you agree to.

how we attract the right buyers for your business

Our process of attracting qualified buyers consists of two phases: a marketing plan to target the right buyers, and a quality screening process to qualify those buyers. We’ve learned that attracting just any buyer is a recipe for attracting the wrong buyers who will waste your time, steal your information, drain your motivation, and prevent you from focusing on quality buyers. This is the premise for why we’ve put so much effort into developing a comprehensive marketing plan and quality screening process.

Our Marketing Plan begins with developing a Marketing Strategy that outlines how we will market your business, including the degree of aggressiveness and confidentiality you wish to use. Various strategies will need to be considered. Some examples are whether or not to disclose price, whether to hold a broad auction vs a private auction, when to engage competitors or not, etc.  

Once we have a firm understanding of the marketing strategies, we can focus on the buyer analysis. To develop strategies to attract ideal buyers, it is important to understand who they are. The process of evaluating an acquisition candidate will include evaluating their annual revenue, financial stability, acquisition synergies, employee count, production capacity, ability to manage the business after the acquisition has closed, etc. In this way, we can easily filter out tire kickers and determine quality buyers.  

The final step of our Marketing Plan involves the advertising strategy. In this step, we establish exactly how we will advertise your business locally or internationally. Advertising strategies vary based on the business, but can include contacting CEOs directly, contacting competitors, mailing or emailing teaser sheets, marketing to our existing buyer pools, our M&A partners, Private Equity, and global groups of buyers. We use multiple tactics and multiple advertising sources simultaneously to make sure the highest impact is achieved.

The key to attract quality buyers involves screening each buyer. It is important for us to emphasize up front that even though we screen potential buyers, it is always your final decision as to whether or not to work with them on the sale of your business. Our aim is to provide as much information as possible about every buyer to help you determine whether they are someone you wish to share confidential information with.

The first step in the screening process involves the buyer signing a Non Disclosure Agreement (NDA). If they are not prepared to sign an NDA, they are not contractually prepared to protect your confidential information leaving you exposed. Our opinion is that without an NDA, we simply cannot proceed.

Once the NDA is signed, the second step is an interview with the buyer. While we will bring all buyers to your attention, each buyer is interviewed personally before they are referred to you. In the interview process, we inquire about their motivations, synergies, qualifications, experience, and of course their financing capabilities, just to name a few.

Having interviewed a buyer, we complete or have the buyer complete a Buyer Disclosure Form (BDF), which is provided to you as a summary of the discussion and qualification of the buyer. The BDF form, in combination with our recommendations, will give you a good perspective about the buyer to decide whether or not to engage them.

Attracting and engaging buyers can be a time-consuming process requiring you to answer endless questions and share your confidential information. Eliminating unqualified buyers early will save all parties time and disappointment. Our Marketing Plan combined with our screening process is the winning formula to attract high quality buyers to ensure your successful sale.