Bill Snow - Mergers and Acquisitions For Dummies

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Mergers & Acquisitions For Dummies

by Bill Snow

Mergers & Acquisitions For Dummies

Published by
Wiley Publishing, Inc.
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Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774
www.wiley.com

Copyright 2011 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana

Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana

Published simultaneously in Canada

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Library of Congress Control Number: 2011926316

ISBN: 978-0-470-38556-2

Manufactured in the United States of America

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About the Author

Bill Snow is an experienced M&A professional. He advises business owners in the sale of their companies or the acquisition of other companies. Hes the one who contacts the buyers and sellers, negotiates and structures deals, oversees the due diligence, works with the attorneys to draft the purchase agreement, and ultimately gets the deal across the finish line.

Companies that Bill has advised include (but arent limited to) businesses in marketing services, food processing equipment, drink dispensing equipment, guarding, cleaning, staffing, distribution, data marketing, wastewater services, telecommunications, and systems integrators.

Bill has written articles for numerous online sources and self-published a book about venture capital called Venture Capital 101. He has been involved with World Business Chicago, the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, the Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center, the Technology Executives Club, the Midwest Entrepreneurs Forum, and DePaul Universitys PEN Symposium. He also hosts occasional networking events.

He has an MBA and a BS in finance, both from DePaul University, and hes a registered limited representative (FINRA series 63 and 79). You can find out more about Bill at his Web site, www.billsnow.com.

Dedication

To business owners and executives who are thinking about buying or selling a company.

Authors Acknowledgments

The genesis of this book goes back to my humble little attempt at some creative writing. Little did the subjects of those silly newsletters know that I had ulterior motives for documenting (and, uh, embellishing) those crazy years in our 20s. Sure, our little newsletter contained some funny bits, but truth to tell, I was writing it to hone my technical writing skills and to foster my creative abilities. Seriously. And you thought it was all about you!

So a big thank you to a cast of characters that include Ebbitt and that fine woman Clare, Little Lisa, Big Steve, Stevie V, Johnny V, Mariola, Jason S, Jason T, Joe, Carrie, Rogie, Rainbow, Jen, Tony, the Dold Boys and everyone at the Dold Family Compound, the brood of ungrateful Kemps (Tim, Kelly, Kerry, Karla, and Loren), and the unknowing and unwitting, creative-juice-generating granddaddy of em all... our Romanian pal Mark. I am grateful for your youthful antics, and more important, I am grateful for your continued friendship. Well, those of you who still speak to me.

A huge thanks to my mother and father, Carol and Bill Snow. I will never be able to repay you both for all that you have done for me over the years. When I find a T-shirt that reads, We gave our kids everything and all we got was a lousy mention in a book, Ill send one to each of you. And to my sister, Laura, the first in the family to get a PhD. You made it so much easier for me to pursue this book venture: Now I can be the first in the family with a published book. You also said I was a perfect choice to write a For Dummies book, cause theyre snarky. Though Ill have you know, Ms. PhD smarty-pants, that For Dummies books are actually irreverent.

Id like to thank Bob Kinsella, Bob Stutz, Louis Krzys, and Chuck Weikel from Kinsella Group, Inc., for their extremely valuable input about deal-making. I also owe a debt of gratitude to Justin Kaplan of BNY-Melon; Mark Powers of Mark Powers, PC; Keith Berk of Horwood Marcus & Berk; and Brian Krob of Ungaretti & Harris for their insights about M&A transactions.

I am greatly appreciative to Wiley Publishing for backing me in this attempt at being a wise old sage for others. I am thankful that my little treatise on venture capital somehow found its way to Michael Lewiss desk at Wiley in New Jersey. Thank you for getting the green light, and thank you, Internet; without you I never would have gotten the chance to write this book. And to my project editor, Alissa Schwipps, thank you for your sage advice and assistance. I was listening!