Family Succession

According to a 2014 survey by The Alternative Board, nearly 70% of family businesses last a single generation, and less than a third of owners have a succession plan for their family businesses. With statistics like these, it’s easy to see that it takes thorough planning—and not just wishful thinking or luck—in order to successfully pass along the family business you’ve worked so hard to create.

So how do you make certain your family business and the legacy you’ve built are ready to survive the transition? By choosing the right partner to help you make it happen.

Secure Your Legacy

The team at Viking Mergers & Acquisitions is ready to help with your business’s family succession planning needs by facilitating conversations about goal alignment, business leadership and vision, and by working through many of the mixed emotions and strong feelings often inherent in family business situations.

We'll Help You Navigate Issues Like:

Financing

Financing is a crucial aspect of the family succession planning process, as it ensures that you have the necessary funds to support your lifestyle during retirement while also allowing the new owners to take over the business smoothly. With Viking's assistance, you can develop a financing plan that meets your specific needs and goals and provides you with the financial security you need to enjoy your retirement without worrying about the future of your business.

Business & Tax Structuring

The process of family succession planning involves complex legal and tax considerations. It's important to ensure that your business and tax structures are optimized to minimize tax liabilities and your wealth. This may involve setting up a trust, transferring ownership through gifting or other means, or structuring the business in a way that provides the most favorable tax treatment. Viking helps navigate these complexities.

Management and Ownership Concerns

Thoughtful management and ownership planning is key, including alignment of stakeholders' goals and interest and multigenerational involvement. New owners' skills and experiences are vital for successful business operation, while outgoing owners can maintain involvement if desired. Viking assists in creating a management and ownership plan to address these concerns, ensuring a smooth and successful ownership transition.

Heir Distribution

One of the key goals of family succession planning is to ensure that the transfer of ownership is fair and equitable among all heirs, and that the business's value is distributed in a way that reflects each individual's contribution to the company. This may involve allocating shares of the company to each heir based on their level of involvement or creating a buy-sell agreement that provides a mechanism for resolving disputes and ensuring that the transfer of ownership is executed smoothly.

Alternative Sales Options

In some cases, family members may not be interested in taking over the business or may prefer a limited role in its operations. In these situations, Viking can help you identify alternative sales options, such as finding a third-party buyer, selling to employees or management, or transitioning to an employee stock ownership plan, to ensure that the business's value is preserved and that the outgoing owners receive a fair price for their shares.

Testimonials.

I cannot thank you enough for your professionalism and phenomenal follow-up. Since a deal fell by the wayside due to covid last spring, it’s been a long journey searching and I have not before nor since had any kind of experience with a broker like I have had with Dan Wilson.

Prospective Buyer

Keenan Moran did outstanding work throughout the process. He was always there when I needed him. He kept me posted throughout the sale process and he was always very responsive. Our daughter, the attorney, was so pleased with the job he and Viking did, she’s referred other clients of hers to Keenan. My health is the best it’s been in years. Zero stress and I’ve lost 80 pounds since we sold. We bought a place at the beach and I love spending time down there with the kids and our granddaughter. All in all, life is really good!

Builders Fireplace & Supply

Our representative, Kevin Carlisle of Viking Mergers was very professional, helpful and great to work with throughout the process of selling our business. We first met Kevin back in March of 2018, my husband John and I were skeptical that he could find a qualified buyer that would be interested, within days he had appointments and interviews scheduled for us. Throughout the process we wanted to make sure we had the best buyer to fit our needs and those of our employees. Kevin was always enthusiastic to embrace change and very dedicated in finalizing the deal. We finally closed in August 2020, we had a few setbacks with Covid-19 delaying our close date, but I can honestly say we owe this sale to Kevin for being highly organized and dedicated. He was always there to help with paperwork and answer questions and spent many nights and weekends working on the final closing documents. Most importantly, I could tell he took our best interest to heart, and that he really cared, as he knew it meant so much to us.

Abatemaster

Contact Us!

Regardless of whether you’re thinking about selling or you already have a buyer lined up, get in touch with us today. We’re one of the Southeast’s most successful business brokers, and we look forward to discussing the specifics of your situation and learning more about how we can help.