We construct marketing information and financial analyses that frame the key selling points based on how we believe buyers and investors will best resonate with the business. We also help accrue the right target list to ensure we are balancing process confidentiality, speed, and competition.
Once marketing preparation is complete, we reach out to prospective buyers and/or investors with introductory information, followed up by several calls with IKONA to qualify their interest. After qualifying interest, we schedule direct calls with management for select prospects and establish an initial bid date for the process.
We collate all initial indications of interest ("IOIs") and review key parameters with you. We then narrow the list down of parties we want to move forward for deeper diligence, which includes opening a virtual dataroom and conducting live meetings with the management team.
We ask for a much more detailed final bid, commonly referred to as a Letter of Intent ("LOI") or Term Sheet. In addition to reviewing LOI terms, we look at the total body of diligence conducted to best assess risk/reward in each prospect (ie valuation vs. closing risk). If multiple parties at near identical terms, we continue the bidding process until a clear winner emerges.
Nothing good happens during exclusivity other than deals closing, so we want this period to be as short as possible. We see 30 days as currently market, but many of our highly competitive deals have had even shorter exclusivity windows, including some with no exclusivity whatsoever. We are working with you to provide lots of ad-hoc analyses and also continually pushing counterparties to close as quickly as possible. We fully manage all third parties (lawyers, accountants, insurance) and are intimately involved in all key documentation.