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MBBP Partner Carl Barnes was recently quoted in a Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly article written by Patrick Murphy, entitled “Survivor of Merger Controls Attorney-Client Privilege.” The article discusses Novack v. Raytheon, a recent Massachusetts Superior Court decision holding that, under Delaware law and the terms of a merger agreement, control of the attorney-client privilege relating to pre-merger communications between BBN Technologies Holding…
It’s MBBP’s first issue of 2015 and we’re providing plenty of news to start the year off right! Open the PDF. This newsletter is packed with articles, such as: ◾TAX: Treasury Announces New Restrictions on Inversions – Robert Finkel ◾IP: Scrutinizing Biotechnology & Software Patent Eligibility in M&A Deal Valuations – David Fazzolare ◾TECHNOLOGY: Open Source Issues in…
EXIT Should you sell your business? How? And then what? By Patrick M. Foley, CFP®, QPFC Synopsis Should you sell your business? is a big question. It can be up there with Is she the one? or Should we have one more baby? Maybe it’s not that big, but it can certainly change the direction…
Dear Business Owner and Advisors to Business Owners: You should know that 2012 and 2013 were good years to sell one’s business and 2014 was even better due to the following: Valuations are trending up due to low inventories of good businesses for sale More $’s are sitting on the sidelines Interest rates are still…
Leadership & Culture Keynote: Tim Hebert, CEO, Atrion @AtrionRI #2015xpxsummit bit.ly/1yEpq7q pic.twitter.com/11iuDf80uw Originally posted by XPX Boston Summit on January 26, 2015 at 6:32pm
leverage the capabilities and core competencies of partners to achieve benefits greater than those f…
M&A Deal Tips #2: M&A attorney Shannon Zollo (http://www.mbbp.com/attorneys/zollo_shannon.html) describes the investment banking engagement letter as it pert…
If Google, a publicly-traded company with about $40 billion in annual revenue, can’t figure out if someone is an independent contractor or an employee, what does this mean for you? An article from Reuters last week, notes that Google is being sued by a former contractor, Jacob McPherson, alleging violation of federal labor standards, and that the…
The Monthly Book Report brought to you by Murphy Business Last month, the honey pot in this here space was stirred with commentary about Lean In, Sheryl Sandberg’s controversial book about women in the workplace. And this month, we stay in tech mogul land by discussing Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh, CEO of the billion-dollar grossing Zappos.com. The author has made…
You hung your sign, answered your phone, and even had some happy customers. Congratulations, you are in business! Now’s the time to take the initiative with your books, remember, simple bookkeeping mistakes can cost thousands of dollars, and hours of frustration later. Don’t let these things happen to you! Five Bookkeeping Blunders to Avoid Payment…
Given the attention being paid by the national news, a number of employers have asked for guidance on how to address employee concerns regarding the transmission of Ebola without running afoul of Title VII’s prohibitions on disability discrimination. The CDC and other agencies have all indicated that the risk of transmitting Ebola is low at…
Best Practices in Investment Advisory Partnerships Ensuring the Success of Mergers, Successions and Start-Ups By: Lisette Smith and Tanya Rapacz, CFP® The Partnership Resource Executive Summary Why Partnerships Matter to Investment Advisors In the independent investment advisory community you can’t open a publication without seeing an article or blog post focusing on mergers and acquisitions….
What we like most about team sports is the coherence great coaches create when preparing their players for each game. Successful coaches set clear game strategies that capitalize on the collective strengths of all the players. AFs a result, the coherence between coach and players provides a winning advantage over their competition. Continue Reading…… Original posted…
You could meet Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson at a dinner party and detest them both. “Man, these guys are know-it-alls,” you might declare. They have a “do this, not that” manner that won’t set well with those who prefer feedback served up as a warm bowlful of coddling. But guess what? Continue reading…. Originally…
Completing a merger to further your succession goals has many distinct advantages: long lead time in introducing your successor to clients, staff and vendors, giving the successor the benefit of your in-person knowledge for some period of time and possibly getting some financial reward while still maintaining an active and visible role in your company,…
Valuation Delusion Syndrome is on the rise. Here’s a recent case. Sam called me last week about selling his business. Sam is 65 years old and was referred to me by a former client of mine. He told me that he had been offered ten million dollars ($10M) for his business a couple of years…
Why re-invent the wheel? Click here to find out! Original posted by Posted by Martin H. Abo on September 25, 2014 at 12:59pm
If you ask any professional business or M&A advisor “What is the optimal time to maximize the value for my business before selling?” The most common answer is – 24 MONTHS. In reality, it turns out to be more like 24 WEEKS as the owner is tired, anxious, and ready to make the change. One of my investment…
Start building value today. Consider a benchmark assessment that will give you a baseline and leads you towards transformation initiatives. We call them EBITDA (earnings before tax, depreciation, and amortization) Transformations or Operational Profitability. In a relatively short time you can improve both top and bottom line for your business. Take care of your risks…
My measure for how interesting a client’s product or service offering is comes from my wife’s reaction to hearing about it. If after listening to my description Megan asks incredulously, “That’s a thing?” I know we’re talking about something truly niche and unusual. Think back to Mary Tyler Moore’s eponymous 1970’s television show when her…
Recently, a topic has been on several different blogs discussing whether, when your business is being sold, you should go to a small number of buyers, or a broad buyer list. Based on the title of this blog, you can probably figure out my point of view. Often when I’m talking to a business owner…
You maximize the collaborative potential of a team by maintaining an environment that supports creative energy. And you do that by optimizing the natural relationship between energy and ideas. Consider, for example, professional sports teams such as those in the National Football League. Players at that level all have amazing skill and experience levels and…
Cleaning Up Your Back-office for Sale Every business should be bigger than just one person. Unfortunately, too many business owners “do it all” in their small business. This doesn’t work when it’s time to exit, and makes it harder to sell at a fair price. Business owners know how to put on a dog-and-pony show….
If you came of age in the 1970’s, you likely learned the phrase caveat emptor – Latin for “buyer beware” – from one curly-topped architect named Mike Brady. You remember that “Brady Bunch” episode, right? Mr. Brady, never one to miss a thigh-high fastball teachable moment, cautions eldest son Greg to not hastily buy a…
During my presentation at the XPX Boston Breakfast Series meeting this past Tuesday (9/24/13), we focused primarily on the many financial and non-financial benefits that an ESOP transaction can provide to business owners seeking an alternative to a traditional third party sale of their company. Dan Guglielmo raised an interesting question regarding the impact of…