Lets Buy a Company

How to Accelerate Growth Through Acquisitions

The CD-RO

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The examples of acquisition related materials in this CD-ROM Workbook section were all taken from actual acquisitions and other related transactions for which I ha e acted as a corporate finance consultant o er the past few !ears" In all cases #except one with permission from the owner$% the names of companies and indi iduals ha e been chan&ed" Otherwise% howe er% these are the exact documents% forms% and calculations I used to execute a ariet! of acquisitions% mer&ers% and corporate sales for m! client companies and their owners" If !ou ha e an! questions or comments re&ardin& these forms% or indeed% an! other aspect of m! book% I can be reached b! e-mail at hleerust'earthlink"net" I hope this CD-ROM Workbook and its arious examples and forms are helpful"

$%ample & - Acquisition 'riorities

(s a part of the acquisition pro&ram for )land )ner&!% the wholesale petroleum products distributor mentioned in Chapter *% I helped the owner de elop the followin& acquisition priorities which were included in the +trate&ic ,lan I also de eloped to define the acquisition pro&ram for that compan! and to help with its financin&------------------------------------------In re&ard to its priorities as it de elops its acquisition pro&ram% )land )ner&!.s first efforts will be directed toward e%pansion within its current mar"et areas " (n example of this is the Compan!.s e aluation of the potential acquisition of twent!-one card lock sites in the Tampa /a! area" In /re ard Count!% the Compan!.s pendin& discussions with Che ron re&ardin& fuel suppl! to its ser ice stations in that area also represents an effort to acquire a &reater market presence in a area alread! ser ed b! the Compan!" In addition to these on-&oin& e aluations% )land )ner&! intends to identif! other acquisition opportunities for increased market penetration in all three of its current market areas includin& its Central 0lorida base" ) en thou&h the Compan! has a &reater market share and presence in its Oran&e and +eminole Count! operations than its other sales territories% the acquisition of a stron& participant in truck-to-truck fleet fuelin& in these areas% for instance% would be an attracti e addition to the Compan!.s be&innin& efforts in that market se&ment"

In 2ackson ille% the acquisition of almost an! small fuel wholesaler would be attracti e" /ecause )land )ner&!.s 0leetCard operations are the onl! card lock fleet fuelin& s!stem in the area% the addition of an! other fuel wholesalin& method would impro e the Compan!.s abilit! to match its ser ices to the needs of additional customers" The mar&inal increase in its sales expense in 2ackson ille would be irtuall! 3ero" The Compan!.s second priorit! for acquisitions is e%pansion o( its current (uel an) lu#ricant )eli*ery metho)s into new mar"et areas" Of ob ious consideration will be those ma4or population centers not presentl! ser ed b! )land )ner&! such as the entire +outh 0lorida area" The Compan! will also in esti&ate acquisitions as a means of establishin& an initial market presence in smaller but &rowin& cities in the center of the state north of Orlando% on the West Coast south of Tampa% and in the ,anhandle area" The third acquisition priorit! is directed toward petroleum pro)ucts (irms in mar"et segments not currently ser*e) #y $lan) $nergy " Of particular interest mi&ht be specialt! lubricants blenders" These firms bu! bulk lubricants and blend them% often with additi es% for special applications or pri ate label sale" )land )ner&! mi&ht also be interested in considerin& the arious participants in the used oil business includin& re-refiners% firms that filter and sell the oils for heatin& purposes% and firms that speciali3e in petroleum products disposal" (lthou&h there ma! be other se&ments of the petroleum business which would be considered for acquisition b! )land )ner&!% the Compan! will require that an! acquired firm offer some reasonable s!ner&istic fit to its current market se&ments% sales methods% or petroleum products businesses" The Compan! does not intend to acquire unrelated firms simpl! to promote sales &rowth or firms be!ond its immediate area of expertise" 5either does it intend to seek acquisitions outside its 0lorida base until it is well ad anced in its efforts to establish a stron& market position throu&hout that state" )land )ner&!.s acquisition priorities% howe er% are onl! &uides" These priorities ma! be taken out of sequence or% within reason% expanded somewhat dependin& upon unforeseen opportunities" (s it pursues its corporate &rowth ob4ecti es% )land )ner&! expects to use acquisitions as an inte&ral part of its expansion plans and will pursue an acti e% continuous% acquisition pro&ram based on the abo e priorities and fittin& its more specific acquisition criteria"