MBO
MBO
MBO
ut
Abuyoutis an investment transaction by
which an entire company or a controlling part of
the stock of a company is sold. A firm "buys
out" a company to take control of it. A buyout
can take the form of a leveraged buyout, a
venture capital buyout or a management
buyout. Where the company being bought out is
a public company, a buyout is often called a
"going private" transaction.
LEVERAGED BUYOUT
LBO is a financing technique of purchasing a
private company with the help of borrowed or
debt capital. The leveraged buy outs are cash
transactions in nature where cash is borrowed by
the acquiring firm and the debt financing
represents 50% or more of the purchase price.
Generally the tangible assets of the target
company are used as the collateral security for
the loans borrowed by acquiring firm in order to
finance the acquisition.
MANAGEMENT BUYOUT
Exit
strategy
opportunities.
Financial
investors generally have a 3 to 7 year time
horizon. They seek companies that can either be
sold to a strategic buyer or are believed to be
good candidates for an initial public offering.
These avenues offer exit multiple expansion,
which means that the effective price multiple
paid on exit is expected to be richer than that
paid on acquisition
Management Incentivisation:
Management faces constant pressure to maximise
profits and implement new growth strategies.
However, it is often recognised that linking
managerial compensation to substantial direct
equity ownership can provide a powerful incentive.
A MBO can be an effective way to implement such
an incentive structure.
MBO PROCESS
Preparation
MBO-strategy,
offer
Feasibility
examination
Preparation of
Analysis and
a business plan preparation of
(3-5 years)
the MBO
structure (from
buyer or sellers
Company
valuation
Due diligence
examinations
Letter of Intent
Defining the
transaction
structure
Financing
discussions
LOI
Closing
Due diligence
Final
(legal, tax, finance) contractual
negotiations
Preparation of
the final financing
Closing:
transaction
Contract
concluded
preparation
Offer
~ 2 months
~ 1 month
1-2 months
Indicative offer
Principle decision
Exclusivity
(management,
agreement
private equity
with partners
partner)
board (time
limited)
Binding
offer
1-2 months
1 month
Contracts
Closing
STEP 1
Business Plan Development The development of a
comprehensive business plan should include the
companys financial projections, the strategy the team
will implement to achieve these projections, the level of
capital investment required to implement the strategy
and a clear definition of success. It is also important that
the buy out team have a thorough understanding of the
market forces and economic variables that may
influences future business prosperity. An estimated
timeframe for the purchase negotiations and completion
of the buy out should also be established.
STEP 2
Selection of a Financial Supporter : The
individual managers involved in a buy out will often
lack the financial capacity to fund the transaction on
their own. Frequently, the buy out team will seek
backing from an equity partner such as a private
equity firm. Careful planning and selection of an
appropriate equity partner is critical to the success
of any MBO team
STEP 3
Conducting Due Diligence : While a MBO team
will have greater knowledge of a business than an
external acquirer, it is still important that a proper
due diligence is undertaken. The individual
managers involved in the MBO will already have
access to certain types of confidential information.
However, it is important that any buy out team has
access to all relevant information and can assess
the full situation to ensure the validity of estimates
and plans.
STEP 4
Debt Funding : Identifying the types of debt
funding required and securing the debt is an
important next step in the buy out process. The
most common form of debt funding for a MBO is
Senior Debt, however a combination of Mezzanine
Funding and possibly Hybrid Capital can be
arranged in conjunction with Senior Debt
STEP 5
Documentation : The final step of the MBO
process is to create and sign off on the legal
documentation between the parties, which
outlines the relationship between all shareholders
of the restructured entity. This process ordinarily
commences around the time of the Due Diligence
process although the final contracts will reflect all
information discovered during Due Diligence.
EXAMPLES
A
classic
example
of
an
MBO
involvedSpringfield
Remanufacturing
Corporation,
Springfield,
Missouriowned
byNavistar(at that time,International Harvester) which was in
danger of being closed or sold to outside parties until its
managers purchased the company.
In the UK,New Lookwas the subject of a management buyout
in 2004 byTom Singh, the founder of the company who had
floated it in 1998. He was backed by private equity
housesApaxand Permira, who now own 60% of the company. An
earlier example of this in the UK was the management buyout of
Virgin Interactive fromViacomwhich was led byMark Dyne.
EXAMPLE
WHY IT MATTERS
The
primary
difference
between
amanagementbuyoutand
any
other
type
ofacquisitionis the inherent knowledge and expertise
of the buyers compared with the sellers. The buyers
(management)will usually have more knowledge of
the company and its prospects than the sellers. In
most scenarios, the sellers rely on the input of
management regarding the future of the company to
help set the selling price. Here, theadvisorsbecome
the buyers. In this scenario, the sellers are at a clear
disadvantage.