Anatomy of an M&A deal: Selling a business is harder than you think
CEO Richard Sweat, the longtime owner of .decimal in Sanford, FL, and maker of custom patient-specific and treatment planning software used in radiation oncology, recently sold a sister company called ProKnow.
At the time he told his merger and acquisition (M&A) attorney the sale of his business, Proknow, was going to be one of the easiest ever.
After all, Sweat had been in this industry for more than three decades and he knew which companies would be most interested in ProKnow and its transformative technology as a treatment planner for advanced radiation therapy. It was merely a matter of approaching the two largest competitors in the industry , encouraging them to bid against each other, agree on a price, sign the documents and celebrate.
Today, Sweat knows better. Yes, he successfully sold his business last year. But, the process was not easy. Elekta AB, the world’s second-largest radiation oncology company, purchased ProKnow in August 2019. The multinational company did its due diligence and looked at every possible angle to make sure the price was right.
Sweat, ProKnow co-founder and sole investor, told business leaders at a recent CEO Forum that this sale changed his life and gave .decimal beneficial cash reserves. He had no regrets about the exit. Sweat is still the owner of .decimal.
Our congratulations to Richard Sweat for making it through the process. He can chuckle about the pain now, but he said the exit process was longer than he expected. He described the sale as working two jobs. One for the exit and then his normal job running the company.
Sweat’s attorney, Doug Starcher, Managing Partner of Nelson Mullins and Broad and Cassel’s Orlando office, walked the audience through five common myths he has observed CEOs often hold when they enter the merger process.
This M&A success story was the first CEO forum event in the Galloway Room of Kathleen W. Rollins Hall at Rollins College.
– Steve Quello
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Click here (Members-only) to view the PowerPoint for details on the myths, and the backstory on ProKnow.