Blind teaser

Blind Teaser: the best ‘shop window’ for your company

When you walk along the street, what makes you go into a shop? Or rather, what does a shop window need to have for you to stop in front of it? These are two questions that interior designers ought to consider when creating their ‘giant windows’. M&A advisors go through a similar process in the buying and selling of companies.

A teaser is the ‘shop window’ of a company. It can be likened to a brief document in which the advisors ought to show the best of the company. To encourage people ‘to enter’ and ask for more information about the operation.

But why ‘blind’? These types of documents include no name of the company for sale, and thus no characteristics that make it discoverable. Hence its name: blind teaser.

This absence of any details responds to the fact that the majority of entrepreneurs like to maintain complete confidentiality about the sale of their company. However, you can’t sell a firm with all the documentation crammed in a drawer. It is important to make contact with potential buyers and explain to them the opportunity. It is invaluable to put the company on a good ‘street’ with the best ‘shop window’.

With this objective you must prepare, in approximately two pages, some general information about the company. Whoever reads it should not be able to find out which company it is referring to. The teaser contains a description of the main characteristics of the company, the purpose of the operation, key financial figures in terms of sales in recent years, benefits and debts, the projection of anticipated growth in the next three years and the advantages that the operation could have for the investor.

Experience has taught us that it is not advisable to indicate the price of the operation in the teaser. It could deter potential investors, in the same way that high prices in a shop window would dissuade consumers.

It is worth reiterating that although it is like an anonymous document, it does not need to be a synonym for empty. It is the opposite. It ought to have hidden information but still should have enough that the recipient can decide whether or not to dedicate time to investigating the possible acquisition of said company.

The development of the teaser is not just a question of the advisor, in as much as it confirms with the company that their information has actually been hidden, including the refinement of some figures so that they are less recognisable.

It is fundamental to maintain maximum confidentiality during this process in order to protect the value of the company and not provoke concern in the employees, providers or clients. We believe that it is important that potential investors enter our ‘shop’ and it is also vital that it does not abandon those who are already inside.

Blind teaser - ONEtoONE Corporate Finance

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *