Exit Planning Tips
Selling a Helicopter Pilots and Transportation Business
You've learned a lot during your tenure as a helicopter pilots and transportation business owner. Before you walk away, you have one more challenge to overcome: A successful and profitable business sale.
According to the experts, there is currently a large volume of shadow inventory in the helicopter pilots and transportation business market -- businesses that are waiting to be listed until the economy recovers.
In our opinion, that kind of thinking doesn't make sense. In fact, this might be the perfect time to sell a helicopter pilots and transportation business. We'll tell you what you need to know to achieve a successful sale outcome
Negotiation Exit Strategy
Negotiations have a way of dragging on forever. There are countless details that need to be hammered out before a Letter of Intent can be prepared and the process can move on to the due diligence stage. As the seller, you'll be on the front lines of negotiation and will need to know when it's time to bring negotiations to an end. In a helicopter pilots and transportation business sale, a stalled negotiation can be an indication that the deal is dead. Since it can be difficult to tell whether the buyer is serious or playing games, it's important to know the lower boundaries of your negotiation strategy and be willing to walk away from the negotiation table, if necessary.
Pre-Sale Checklist
There is a lot of work that needs to be done before you're ready to sell your helicopter pilots and transportation business. Perhaps the most important pre-sale consideration is to right-size your expectations to the realities of the market. After you have consulted with a business broker to right size your expectations, you'll need to add several items to your checklist, including financial statement preparation, pre-sale appraisals, financial planning, market positioning and other tasks designed to communicate value to prospective buyers.
Working with Accountants
Accountants come into play at several stages of the sale process. Most helicopter pilots and transportation business have significant tax consequences requiring the input of a qualified accountant. A professional audit can ease buyer concerns and amp up the value of your financial presentation. With seller financing becoming common, professional accountants are playing a more central role in negotiations and buyer qualification.
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