ONEtoONE applies a proven methodology to sell your company and maximize value
Identifying the optimal global buyers and maximizing your transaction value.
Selling your business is a once-in-a-lifetime event and a highly complex challenge that merits a rigorous approach.
ONEtoONE offers a specialized service, built on a proven methodology applied to hundreds of companies, that helps you assess how prepared your business is for sale and how much value you may be leaving on the table. It also guides you in taking the right steps to enhance your company’s attractiveness and maximize its valuation before going to market.
The key to maximizing value lies in identifying those buyers with the greatest financial capacity and strategic synergies with your company worldwide — and creating a competitive process among them that drives an upward price spiral.
In this regard, ONEtoONE holds a unique global position, combining experience in over 2,000 transactions, the most comprehensive buyer databases with advanced artificial intelligence and metasearch tools, highly specialized and experienced research teams, and on-the-ground professionals in over 80 cities worldwide — ensuring personalized outreach in each buyer’s local language.
A global footprint of offices
Connecting you with buyers worldwide.
Tailored to you
Ensuring the right buyers, the best fit, and maximum value.
Experienced advisory team
Global M&A expertise from thousands of assignments, delivering remarkable value-maximizing results.
Phases in the sale of a business
Selling a company is a complex process that demands a team of advisors specialized in your industry. It is structured into six stages: documentation, search, marketing, offers, negotiation, and closing. Discover what each step involves and the value ONEtoONE creates throughout the process.
Documentation & Research
- Mandate signature.
- Company valuation and Information Memorandum
- Identification and initial contact with potential buyers worldwide.
- Synergy analysis.
- Execution of confidentiality agreements and investor presentations.
Marketing & Offers
- Management presentations.
- Regular follow-up reports.
- Set up and management of the Virtual Data Room.
- Receipt and assessment of non-binding offers.
- Offer negotiations.
- Detailed reporting on meetings and buyer interactions.
Negotiations & Closing
- Submission of binding offers.
- Entering into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the preferred bidder.
- Coordination of due diligence.
- Drafting and negotiation of the Sale and Purchase Agreement (SPA).
- Support throughout due diligence negotiations.
- Closing of the transaction.
Most recent sell-side transactions
Key Questions About the Sell-Side Process
HOW COMPANIES ARE SOLD?
In the sale of a company, timing, process, valuation, market conditions, and negotiation are critical factors. Above all, success depends on identifying the buyers willing and able to pay the highest price—and compelling them to compete.
Once you decide to sell, your advisor will guide you through each stage: preparation of documentation and company valuation; buyer research and profiling; initial contact and presentation of the opportunity, including potential synergies; qualification and filtering of interested parties; negotiation and structuring of offers; signing of non-binding agreements (NBAs/LOIs); coordination and support throughout due diligence; and, finally, negotiation the Sale and Purchase Agreement (SPA).
THE ROLE OF AN ADVISOR IN MAXIMIZING YOUR COMPANY SALE?
A well-executed company sale demands significant resources and can quickly become overwhelming. It is also a critical period in which the seller must remain fully focused on business performance, as the company must present itself at its best to those assessing its value.
For first-time sellers, the process is particularly complex. An experienced advisor provides detailed guidance and support, ensuring you are fully prepared and aware of every step required. This expertise allows you to confidently explore all available options and secure the maximum value for your company.
At ONEtoONE, we apply a comprehensive and proven methodology to help you achieve the best possible outcome when selling your life’s work. This methodology draws on vast experience, ample resources, rigorous preparation, global reach, and specialized expertise.
Should I initiate negotiations when approached by a potential buyer?
When selling your company, it is important to avoid accepting the first offer that comes your way and, instead, to identify strong alternatives. The first buyer often aims to acquire at the lowest price, so creating competition among multiple qualified buyers is essential to maximize value.
ONEtoONE can help you answer the three key questions to identify the best buyer:
- Who can pay the most? Strategic vs. financial buyers, synergies, resources.
- Who offers the best fit? Cultural alignment, strategic rationale, long-term vision.
- Who can close the deal? Financial capacity, credibility, speed, and certainty
With ONEtoONE’s worldwide office coverage, you are not limited to a single market. We help you address these key questions and identify the ideal buyer, wherever in the world they may be.
CAN THE ASSETS BE SEPARATED IN THE SALE OF A COMPANY?
A company owns two types of assets:
- Assets in the perimeter: operationally essential items—e.g., dedicated production machinery and the factory’s land and buildings. These assets are generally included in the sales agreement.
- Assets outside the perimeter: assets not part of the company’s production process: Investments in unrelated subsidiaries, non-operational real estate, etc.
When assets outside the perimeter belong to the company, it is normal to spin them off from the company. The seller can buy the asset individually or through a holding company. However, each asset has to be analysed to calculate the tax cost of the spin-off.
You can also sell a company by carving out and transferring specific assets instead of (or in addition to) selling shares. Typical structures include an asset deal (APA), a carve-out (pre-closing reorganization to isolate a business line/subsidiary), or a hive-down into a new entity that is then sold.
Separating assets is feasible and often value-enhancing, but it requires precise scoping of which assets and liabilities are included or excluded, careful management of third-party consents and contract novations, detailed tax and regulatory structuring, and a well-designed Transitional Services Agreement (TSA) to ensure operational continuity and protect deal value. Ask your M&A and tax advisors.
WHY DOES DUE DILIGENCE MATTER IN A COMPANY SALE?
Due diligence is a basic procedure in a purchase transaction. It involves checking risks and compliance, conducting an audit to verify facts and information, and determining the company’s state.
Due diligence is essential for the transaction’s closing, especially from the buyer’s point of view. It is an important step in the process of selling your company. It allows the buyer to examine and audit the business to decide whether to acquire it.
ONEtoONE provides and manages a secure Virtual Data Room, ensuring the incorporation and ongoing update of all documentation required for each of the legal, financial, tax, labor, technological, environmental, and commercial auditors.
The findings from each due diligence review may uncover contingencies that ONEtoONE’s advisors, working closely with the client, will strategically address and negotiate with prospective buyers to safeguard value and optimize transaction terms.
WHEN IS THE OPTIMAL TIME TO SELL A COMPANY?
The optimal time to sell a company is when three factors align: your personal situation, the company’s timing, and the market conditions.
Personal situation: Approaching retirement, a planned lifestyle change, health considerations, or anticipated family conflict may warrant initiating a sale.
Company timing: Sustained revenue and margin expansion, a need for growth capital, or shareholder misalignment may warrant a sale or buyout to restore focus and unlock value.
Market conditions: Target an exit when sector multiples are elevated, buyer appetite is strong, and financing conditions are supportive—before the cycle turns.
WHAT TO AVOID IN THE SALE OF YOUR COMPANY?
Forgetting to understand your company’s real value, not having a professional selling strategy, and only negotiating with a single buyer are common mistakes to avoid in selling your company.
Instead of falling victim to these errors, be prepared to take your company off the market and professionalise the selling process to ensure you do not miss the best deal for your life’s work.
Keep in mind the interests of minority shareholders and, with your advisor, rigorously assess intrinsic constraints to anticipate and manage the inevitable complexities of the sale process.
WHAT IS MY COMPANY WORTH IN A SALE?
A company’s price is not fixed; it is the consideration agreed by two independent parties in an arm’s-length sale. The final amount is established through negotiation.
Many business owners’ view of value incorporates emotional factors—legacy, sacrifice, years, personal milestones—that buyers do not price in.
Conversely, buyers price the business on risk-adjusted earnings and actionable synergies, and negotiate accordingly.
To achieve the best price, quantify buyer-specific value and distinguish price from value; a professional valuation is the critical first step.
Buyer synergies and financial capacity are decisive; therefore, a global search to identify the most suitable acquirers—wherever they are—is essential.
Related articles
For more profound insights into company sales, visit the ONEtoONE Blog—expert articles, best practices, and FAQs.
Unveiling the rule of 130: knowing when to sell and diversify your personal assets from your business
ONEtoONE has advised Biotulin in the sale of its assets to Lorience Paris
ONEtoONE has advised Destino Holdings on its acquisition of Doblemente
ONEtoONE have acted as advisor to InterBeverage Services in its purchase of three of Delivra´s business lines.
ONEtoONE has acted as adviser to Grupo Algaher in its sale to Espiga Capital
ONEtoONE has acted as advisor to Bolsas Castresana in its acquisition by Chimiget Group.
ONEtoONE has advised Adria Winch Group in its sale to Global Offshore Engineering Group.
Avoid Pitfalls at Every Stage
Read our exclusive e-book series to identify and prevent the most common mistakes across the three phases of a company sale. Explore “Errors in the Sale of a Company” in the ONEtoONE Library.
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