Craig Mitchell interviews Nick Rajkovich on the sale of Farmington Fresh. They discuss building the market strategy, finding a buyer with synergies, the delicacies of selling to a competitor, and more.
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Building the Market Strategy: Nick talks about the market strategy for selling Farmington Fresh, such as weighing the benefits of a broad process versus negotiating while in exclusivity.
Term Sheets—the Devil Is In the Details: Craig and Nick discuss the importance of a detailed term sheet to prevent repercussions later on. It’s not just about price; a thorough term sheet will spell out escrow amounts, holdbacks, caps on future liabilities, and more.
A Complex, Detailed Process: A business sale is a complicated transaction, even when the buyer and seller already work in the same industry. Nick likens the process to “the worst group project ever.”
Project Management Is Critical to Closing a Deal: Going into the transaction, Nick had a strong sense of the ultimate buyer and price. But he had no sense of the project management needed to make those two things happen.
Finding a Buyer with Meaningful Synergies: Farmington Fresh had significant synergies with a potential buyer: sales, cost, customers, capacity, and transportation. Strategic synergies demand an ideal sale price.
Confidentiality When Selling to a Competitor: “If we didn’t get to a transaction completion, they were going to remain our competitor….”
The Deal Without DCA: Craig asks what the deal would have been like for Nick without DCA’s counsel.
Advice to Other Business Owners Considering a Sale: Nick says that a sale isn’t a fun process, but it’s worthwhile. He warns other business owners to be aware of potential issues that can arise post-close. Nick also credits advisors Chris Chediak, of Weintraub Tobin, and Ron Flaherty, of Flaherty Capital Markets.