Information Planet is an international education agency with over 20 years’ experience in the industry, with offices spread throughout 13 countries. Information Planet specialises in promoting educational institutions to international students. They provide a wide range of services to support students and help them achieve their dream of studying overseas.
Over the course of 20 years, Information Planet had grown into a well-respected, astute business renowned for innovation and service. The owner had spent years building the business into a succesful enterprise and was now looking at new opportunities.
As a result, the owner was considering options for exit, including a partial sale of the company to generate additional capital that would enable them to increase value before exit.
Information Planet were looking for a partner with the expertise and knowledge to implement a strategy to extract the maximum value from a partial sale. After assessing various exit planning service providers, the business approached Strategic Specialists Group to find out how we could help them achieve their desires.
Information Planet decided to proceed with Strategic Specialists Group’s exit planning services because of our multi-discipline approach. Our approach involves doing a deep dive into the key business functions to discover where opportunities lie, and how those functions can be improved. This approach deals with all the issues a business is facing and increases the actual and perceived value of the business.
Furthermore, we can provide Specialists with expertise in specific areas. Information Planet were looking for an exit planning Specialist with a financial background that could focus primarily on their financial records, while still working across other functions as needed. In particular, they wanted to ensure that their business was reflected in the best light to achieve the highest possible sale price. They also needed someone who could become part of their team and work with them until they achieved their desired results.
Strategic Specialists placed a CFO Specialist in the business that was experienced in exit planning and getting a business ready for sale. The Specialist we placed was a seasoned professional with first-hand experience, which included building a family business to a revenue stream of over $100m before a successful exit to a major multinational company. This Specialist had also achieved successful sales on behalf of businesses similar to Information Planet.
Our CFO Specialist was placed into the company in a part-time role with a flexible contract that suited the business’s needs and budget.
The Specialist worked closely with the business owner and the executive team to determine the current state of the business, what the needs were, and how business value could be increased. They also discussed various exit and transition strategies and determined that a partial sale of the business would achieve their desires. After going through this process, the Specialists was tasked with managing the following tasks:
(1) Preparing Accounts: Many business owners are unaware that it is one thing to produce a set of accounts for tax, another to produce them for a company looking to sell. We worked with the internal team and re-presented the accounts so that they properly reflected the value that had been built up in the business, and ensured they were of a sufficiently high standard to meet investor scrutiny.
(2) Restructure: The Specialist assisted in restructuring the business to enable a part of the business to be sold, while ensuring the owner and executive team retained enough control to drive the overall company and increase its value.
(3) Buyer Demands: The Specialist evaluated buyer demands and expectations related to the business and reflected them in the documentation that was presented to buyers. This included looking beyond the standard tangible assets contained in accounting systems and finding ways to present how this client’s intangible assets such as Human, Social, Customer and Structural Capitals added value to their business.
(4) Lining up Buyers: Finally, the Specialist was tasked with developing a list of prospective buyers and setting up meetings. To do this, they communicated with their industry contacts to determine where to advertise the business for sale and what business networks they should reach out to. The Specialist then developed a list and started to approach both investors and buyers. Accordingly, the Specialist was able to successfully set up meetings between the Owner and several prospective buyers.
Over several months of working closely with the owner and executive team, the following results were achieved:
A few months later, a partial sale of the business was successfully completed, achieving a value well above the initial expectations when the first strategy sessions were undertaken.
