Tips to Find a Distribution Business for Sale

Tip One: Find a distribution business M&A broker

Tip Two:  What traits to look for in a Certified M&A Advisor

Tip Three: Questions to ask an M&A broker 

Tip Four: How a certified business M&A broker can help 

Tip Five: Benefits of having an M&A Advisor on your side

The first step is to find a qualified M&A business broker to add to your deal team. Here are 3 ways to search and find a certified broker in California.

Referral Sources 

Utilize a trusted network of business professionals made up of legal, finance, and consultants that can get you ahead in your search. Having a referral source working with you, it is a great way to get started fining a qualified business advisor that you can work with on the M&A buy-side deals. 

Reach Out to Business Brokers Associations

There are many business brokers associations that you can reach out to and conduct a search based on geographic criteria and expertise. For example, the IBBA, International Business Brokers Association, is a non-profit organization that has over 1000 certified and qualified business brokers in its database. 

You can also find a business broker focused on associations based on a region or a state. If you want to find a certified business broker in California, you can go directly to CABB, California Association Business Brokers, and get started. 

For bigger deals starting from lower middle market to mid-market businesses, you can get started by finding a certified mergers and acquisitions broker, also known as, M&A Advisor to help you with business acquisitions and sales. The difference between a business broker and an M&A Advisor is the deal size. 

The bigger the deal size, the bigger the deal complexity to manage. For distribution business for sale in the mid-market business category, get started with the M&A Source, a non-profit association that works specifically with certified M&A advisors in the low middle-market segment. 

Business Listing Marketplaces

The are many business listing marketplaces that you can reach out to and search for a qualified broker in the area and business category that you are interested in. However, there are many average brokers out there and a lot of them are advertised on those sites. 

We recommend the below list for best results in finding a qualified business broker in California. 

• BizNexus 
• Axial 
• BizBuySell

Now you have found a list of qualified brokers, but how to Choose the right M&A Advisor is critical to successfully find and acquire the right distribution business for sale in California. 

Here are some traits to look for when qualified an advisor to hire managing the buyer due diligence in an M&A Deal. 

Reputation

It is important to investigate the reputation and integrity of the M&A Advisor. Find out how are they being rated on the web, do they have a solid digital footprint, are there any negative reviews, and any indication that can signal a problem that you don’t want on your deal. 

Network 

Find out the strength of the Merger and Acquisition's broker network. Does the advisor has a deal team made up of qualified professionals in legal, finance, taxation, and industry experts? 

Expertise

Has the Merger and Acquisition advisor, sold a Wholesale Distribution business before? It is very important that the broker is knowledgeable about business acquisitions and sales in the wholesale distribution industry and mainly in the state of California. 

Track Record

Ask for the contact number of a Wholesale Distribution business owner with a business in California, that the M&A Advisor has previously sold their business. Also, Ask for the contact number of the buyer who acquired and bought a distribution business for sale.

If the M&A broker is unable to provide a contact number, due to confidentiality reasons, a safe way is to ask for a real case study made on the sale or transaction. Most certified M&A Advisors do have case studies on file ready to reveal when needed. 

To further minimize your selection in choosing an advisor to help buy a distribution business or work on exit planning to help navigate through this challenging buy and sell-side M&A process is a big process. These questions should help out in short-listing the best candidate for the job. 

• What is your experience in selling a distribution business in California? 

• How do you market the distribution business for sale?

• How do you work with business acquisition buyers and investors? 

• How do you find potential buyers to the distribution business for sale listing? 

• How do you value a wholesale business that is for sale?

• How do you price a business for sale?

• How do you conduct buy-side due diligence? 

• How do you conduct sell-side due diligence? 

• What do you know about the current distribution industry in California? 

• How many hats do you wear in the world of business acquisitions and sales? 

Four: How a Business Intermediary Can Help

A strong acquisition team means having professionals interested in helping you make the best buying decision. If you are looking to buy a low to middle-market distribution business, having an M&A Advisor to lead your team is the best option.

An M&A Advisor should wear many hats to help buyers successfully find and acquire a California Distribution business with great potential for growth.

A qualified M&A Advisor acts as a matchmaker between a wholesale distribution business owner who is looking to sell and interested strategic buyers or private equity investors.

A good M&A Advisor, handles every aspect of the deal, from prospecting for potential buyers to the final negotiation. However, buying a distribution business in the lower middle market business category with a deal size valuation between $5 to $50 million comes with much more complexity than buying a small business that is valued at $500k to $2m. 

Various issues can occur with buyers who use the growth through acquisition strategy, and it's the broker’s job to ensure they don't arise. Some of the most common problems with acquiring a new wholesale distribution company include:

• Lack of due diligence

• Incorrect business alignments

• Rocky transitions

• Issues with employees and management

Employees, vendors, and suppliers are among the most valuable assets when purchases a distribution business. However, these business resources and other factors are often cautious of new management and the concept of growth through acquisitions. 

For this reason, it's helpful to work with a Certified M&A Advisor so they can help smooth this transition and finalize the acquisition.

Final Take

Deciding on acquiring a distribution business for sale on your own is a big risk, but it is possible if you arm yourself with the right deal team. Needless to say, the above provides helpful tips to find the right distribution business for sale and can lead to a successful merger and acquisition in the Wholesale Distribution industry sector.

RBS Advisors works closely with wholesale distribution business owners who wish to sell and exit their business mostly for retirement are the best acquisition types.

If you are interested to navigate through the process of buying a wholesale distribution business for sale in California, get started here. 

More Tips to Help Acquire a Lower Middle Market Distribution Company