Finding a buyer and agreeing a price are essential steps in selling your SME. The purpose of this seminar is to help you navigate that sales process.
In the first half of this seminar, Francis Mak, Grant Thornton, will take you through the key elements of getting the attention of potential buyers and justifying a value for your business. Francis will cover:
• What is the core underlying value of your business?
• Would it be your production facilities, IPs, special licenses or customer base that will appeal to a buyer?
• Will the potential buyer likely be a finance investor or a strategic industry/business player?
• How do you create demand?
• To what extent is your business value portable? Is your technology transferable? And market share/customer recognition sustainable?
• Planning ahead of time for a direction to enhance your corporate value.
Even after finding a buyer you are likely to be faced with numerous and lengthy legal documents and a bewildering amount of legal jargon before you can get the deal done. In the second half of this seminar, Richard Bates will consider the main legal documents encountered in a typical transaction and tell you in Plain English what they are for, what they typically say and what you should look out for before signing them.
• Confidentiality Agreements and NDAs
• Exclusivity and lock outs
• Heads of Terms: A roadmap or a distraction?
• Share Sale or Asset Sale: which is best for you?
• Sale Agreement & Post sale restrictions
• Warranties and indemnities explained
• Due Diligence & Disclosure
• Tax Indemnity: can you avoid giving one?
• Completion and Post Completion Matters
About the Speakers
Francis Mak is a Director of the Corporate Finance division of Grant Thornton Hong Kong. His practice focuses on M&A consulting and, in particular, the enhancement of Corporate Value for business owners through the structuring of strategic co-operations and financing.
Francis has a special interest in assisting junior Technology and Industrial companies and has completed over 20 M&A and listing projects for owners of middle market companies.
Francis is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants and the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants. He has worked for extensive periods in England, Canada and Mainland China on listing and consulting projects.
Richard Bates is the head of Kennedys’ Corporate and Commercial Group in Hong Kong. He has over 15 years’ experience in advising on a wide range of corporate and commercial matters in Hong Kong and the Asia Pacific Region including the buying and selling of companies, businesses and assets.
Richard also specialises in advising insurers (particularly life insurers) and others in the insurance industry on corporate and commercial matters including regulatory and compliance issues, M&A, policy wording and general commercial issues. He also advises extensively on employment law from engagement to the drafting and enforceability of post termination of employment restrictions.
Richard is the author of a number of publications including, most recently, the Hong Kong Chapter of Practical Law Company’s Cross-border Insurance and Reinsurance Handbook.
This event is organised by the SME Committee. A sandwich lunch will be provided. Please allow enough time to get past the security checks at the Consulate which can take a few minutes.
