Murphy Business provides expert M&A advisory services for San Francisco and Bay Area private businesses valued at $1M+. Our experienced middle market business brokers help business owners successfully navigate business sales, acquisitions, and ownership transitions with professionalism, discretion, and strategic guidance.
We work closely with privately held companies, entrepreneurs, and investors throughout San Francisco, the Bay Area, and Northern California to support complex lower middle market transactions. Our client-focused approach is built on integrity, personalized service, honest assessments, and a commitment to achieving successful outcomes.
If your business is likely to attract interest from another company, strategic buyer, or private equity group, Murphy Business’ Mergers & Acquisitions Division provides experienced representation throughout the transaction process. Our team helps level the playing field by supporting valuation, negotiations, buyer qualification, due diligence, and transaction strategy from initial planning through closing.
If the buyer of your business is likely to be another company or a private equity group, then our Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) Division can be of most help to you. Most of these buyers have people with significant experience acquiring privately-held companies such as yours. Having our team on your side helps steady the negotiating table and levels the playing field.
Our Lower Middle Market (LMM) and Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) Division is focused upon companies with enterprise value from $5 Million and up. Our team maintains contact with many Private Equity Groups who have raised many millions of dollars from pension funds and institutional investors for the sole purpose of investing in privately-held businesses such as yours. In addition to looking for Platform Companies that fit their published investment strategies, they are also looking for add-on acquisitions for the companies already in their portfolio. While many of the Private Equity Groups may have raised several hundred millions in capital, some have raised billions and eclipse some “Fortune 500” companies in size.
Although many Private Equity Groups are primarily interested in purchasing 100% of companies, some also make recapitalization investments where the present owner sells only a portion of their stock and remains as top management of the company with a planned future retirement. This allows you to take some cash out of your business now and sell the balance of your ownership when you retire.
In addition to the many corporate buyers who maintain contact with our Lower Middle Market and Mergers & Acquisitions advisors, we bring you the training and experience to know how to identify other corporate buyers who may be interested in acquiring your business. We know how to make confidential inquiries to corporate buyers without disclosing your company’s identity.
Our experience leads us to believe an auction process does not maintain the confidentiality most sellers like yourself desire. It can reduce the implicit value of your company if so many buyers look at your business that it becomes over-shopped. We prefer to help even the most jaded corporate buyer discover the untouched diamond in your business. Only experienced business mergers and acquisitions experts can accomplish this in an effective manner.
Although most corporate buyers are interested only in purchasing 100% of businesses such as yours, some are interested in forming strategic alliances that may also involve an equity investment with a formula agreed to in advance which allows them to purchase 100% at a later time. Our team of advisors can help you make contact and negotiate a strategic alliance.
Many wealthy individuals band loosely together with others to form what appears similar to the organized private equity groups. Many wealthy individuals bring significant management skills as well as access to capital beyond their own financial capacity. Most are interested in making investments in privately-held businesses such as yours and being involved at the board level to help the company with financing, strategy and marketing issues. They frequently have significant experience acquiring businesses. Having our Lower Middle Market and Mergers & Acquisitions advisors involved helps you level the playing field.
Our team is here to provide comprehensive guidance throughout the entire process.
We proudly serve business buyers and sellers throughout San Francisco, Marin County, Sonoma County, and Mendocino County. Our coverage includes San Francisco neighborhoods such as SoMa, the Mission District, Chinatown, and the Financial District; Marin communities including San Rafael, Novato, Sausalito, Mill Valley, and Tiburon; Sonoma County cities including Santa Rosa, Petaluma, Healdsburg, Sonoma, and Windsor; and Mendocino County communities including Ukiah, Fort Bragg, Boonville, Philo, and Point Arena.
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