Green Industry Merger & Acquisition News
March 2013
Published by The Principium Group | Edited by Ron Edmonds
In this issue:
Commentary – Food for Thought Reader Survey Results A Closer Look at the Survey Results on Exit Planning Recent Transactions A Look at Franchising Webinar: Creating a Sellable Business with John Warrillow Do You Know Your Sellability Score? Do You Understand the Value of Your Business? Books by Ron Edmonds Contact Information About The Principium GroupFood for Thought
We recently conducted a survey of our readers on various topics related to mergers & acquisitions and exit planning. The results are covered briefly in the articles below and the full results are available for download. In general, the results suggest that merger & acquisition activity may increase later this year. They also suggest that green industry business owners (at least our readers) are thinking about exit objectives, but only a minority have an exit strategy and just a fraction have a written exit plan. All of this is food for thought and we invite you to download the full report on the survey.
As always, if you are considering selling or buying a green industry business or you are ready to begin developing your exit plan, we welcome the opportunity to discuss your situation confidentially. Just give us a call or send us an email.
Ron Edmonds
ron@principiumgroup.com
888-229-5740
901-351-1510 (cell)
Reader Survey Results:
Strong Merger & Acquisition Plans But Need for More Exit Planning
The survey was completed by The Principium Group during the week of March 17-23 and was directed to readers of Green Industry Merger & Acquisition News.
“The survey results show the importance of mergers acquisitions within the green industry,” commented Ron Edmonds of The Principium Group. “This reinforces our belief that the pace of merger & acquisition activity may increase later in the year.”
“It also highlights an important concern. While 40% of survey participants said they had an exit strategy, only 13 percent actually have a written exit plan. Nearly all survey participants listed their most important exit planning objectives, but we believe their likelihood of achieving their objectives would be greatly enhanced by going through an exit planning process that results in a written plan.”
To download a copy of the full report, click here.
A Closer Look at the Survey Results on Exit Planning
The survey results related to exit planning were thought-provoking and demonstrated a disconnect between the objectives that business owners have in exit planning and the actual steps they have taken to increase the likelihood of achieving those objectives.
40% of people respoinding to the survey indicated that they had an exit strategy for their ownership interest in their business.
Although 40% of survey participants indicated that had an exit strategy, only 13% indicated they had a written exit plan in place.
Although only 40% of survey participants indicated they had an exit strategy and 13% said they had a written plan, nearly everyone who participated in the survey listed his or her most important exit planning objectives.
By a large margin, the most common exit planning objectives were “to exit financially stable” and to “exit on my timetable.” Somewhat surprisingly, the next most common objectioves were for the business’s customers to be well cared for and forthe business to contyinue and prosper, which were much more common than to trransfer the business to family member(s) or key employee(s).
Experience tells us that business owners are much less likely to achieve their objectives if they do not have a plan in place to do so.
Recent Transactions
Here is our summary of recently reported merger & acquisition transactions in the green industry.
In a move that launches an interiorscape division, Dworsky Partners, a firm that specializes in integrated acquisitions for companies in the building services industry, has formed a partnership with R&J Hall Environmental Services, an established interiorscape company. The new entity, named Dworsky Interiorscape, LLC, gives the firm a strong foothold into the Southern California interior landscaping market. Dave Dworsky, president & CEO of Dworsky Partners, sold his landscape maintenance business to The Brickman Group in May 2011.
Indiana-based Landscape Solutions has merged with Advantage Lawn & Landscape, expanding its service base in the Greentown, Kokomo, and Lafayette, Indiana markets. Advantage provided landscaping services, landscaping design, and snow removal services.
Have You Considered Franchising Your Business?
Franchising has been one of the great success stories of the past few years in the green industry.
Who hasn’t noticed the growth experienced by the major landscape services franchisors, including US Lawns and The Grounds Guys or the many lawn care franchises in the market? Certainly, franchise conversions are a major growth area. In a franchise conversion, an existing business owner purchases a franchise and then converts his or her existing business to a franchise model, adopting the systems and marketing programs offered by the franchisor. This is one of the hottest areas in franchising today.
Have you ever thought about franchising your business? Certainly the success of the major franchises in the green industry draws attention to the idea. Franchising can be a method to leverage the investment you have already made in operating systems, branding and marketing without investing the capital required to expand into new markets on your own. You don’t have to be an industry giant to consider franchising.
If you have a successful business, would like to expand faster than may be possible through retained earnings and don’t want to bring in outside investors who might dilute your ownership or control, franchising can be an excellent growth vehicle for you.
Through a strategic alliance partner, The Principium Group offers a franchise development program through a strategic alliance partner that can get you started on the road to franchising your business at a much lower cost than you might imagine.
The franchise development programs allow you to undertake your franchising program as part of your existing operational budget. The program simplifies the entire process for you and takes you through it step-by-step.
If you are interesting in considering franchising as an option, contact us and we can set up an initial telephone call to see if franchising makes sense for you.
Webinar: John Warrillow on Creating a Sellable Business
John Warrillow, the bestselling author of Built to Sell: Creating a Business That Can Thrive Without You, will lead a one-hour presentation on building a sellable business. Built to Sell was ranked by both Inc and Fortune Magazine as one of the best business books of 2011. During this unique session, John will discuss the principles of increasing the value of your company – John will also take your questions directly.
The webinar will be held on Thursday, April 11, 2013 at 11:00 am EDT, 10:00 am CDT, 9:00 MDT and 8:00 PDT.
To register for this webinar, click here. This webinar is by invitation only. When completing your registration, please list The Principium Group or Ron Edmonds as the advisor who invited you to the webinar.
John Warrillow is also the developer of The Sellability Score. For more about The Sellability Score, click here. To get your Sellability Score, click here.
Do You Know Your Sellability Score?
Have you wondered just how sellable your business is? Here’s a chance to find out. Take this quiz and find out your business’s sellability score. 
Click here to get your Sellability Score.
Do You Understand the Value of Your Business?
The Principium Group offers a cost-effective approach we call the Market Value Assessment. The Market Value Assessment provides a valuation for your business based on established methods and industry conditions for planning purposes. It also will specifically identify important factors that affect the value of your particular business.
If you are interested in learning more, please click here, email us or call Ron Edmonds at 901-351-1510.
Books by Ron Edmonds
Ron Edmonds of The Principium Group is the author of three books of special interest to green industry business owners:
Green Exit – Exit Planning for Lawn and Landscape Business Owners
Charting a Course – Acquisition Strategies in the Green Industry and
How to Sell Your Green Business
For more information about these titles or to order copies from the publisher, click on the links above.
You can also order them from amazon.com in print or kindle formats. Click here to visit our Amazon Store.
Contact Information
The Principium Group
888-229-5740
Ron Edmonds
888-229-5740 ext 101
901-351-1510
Richard Helling
888-229-5740, ext 102
LinkedIn.com/in/richardhelling
Chris Martin
888-229-5740, ext 103
LinkledIn.com/in/christophersmartin
Visit SellMyGreenBusiness.com for the latest news and information.
The Principium Group provides advisory services related to mergers & acquisitions, exit planning and capital formation to a variety of middle market and small businesses, with a focus on the green industry. Our professionals have assisted business owners in hundreds of transactions.
For buyers, Principium provides assistance and counsel in strategic planning, identifying potential acquisition targets, due diligence and planning for successful integration of acquisitions.
For sellers, Principium provides assistance and counsel in evaluating strategic alternatives, identifying and negotiating with potential acquirers and assisting with transactions from due diligence through the closing process.
In order to provide the highest quality service, we maintain relationships with other professionals serving the green industry and can access those professionals to supplement our internal resources. No matter how large or small your business may be, we have the resources to serve you well.
We understand that the decision to buy or sell your business is a profound one, and we pledge to work with you in a professional and confidential manner while we help you navigate this often confusing process.
Whether you have immediate plans to buy or sell a business or may sometime in the future as part of an exit planning strategy, we would welcome the opportunity to talk with you about your business.
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The information included in this newsletter is derived from publicly available sources. Our intent is to give a perspective on the industry taken as a whole. The inclusion of a transaction in this newsletter does not imply that The Principium Group acted as an advisor to either of the parties to the transaction. It is the policy of The Principium Group always to maintain the confidentiality of its client relationships. For those transactions in which The Principium Group did play a role, the information included herein is still limited to that available through public sources.
Entire contents copyright 2013 The Principium Group, Inc.
