How Do I Sell My School?
Let’s set the stage: you are the owner of one or several private schools, and wondering how much your schools are worth if you were to sell. Well, you picked the right time, the early education and childcare market is hot right now. But where does one start? Coming up with the right plan and hiring a respected, sell-side strategic broker can lead you to a successful closing with a nice lump sum of cash to retire or invest how you please. The right sell-side strategic broker will review your financials and come up with a valuation for your portfolio, market your school to strategic buyers who are willing to pay a premium for well-performing schools, and assist in all diligence through closing.
There are a couple different tools and actions in the process of selling your schools, so let's start with the first step. As a prospering business owner, the first thing you're going to want to do is plan an exit strategy and timeline for readiness. Next, you want to get a rough valuation of your school business and real estate, an industry specific sell-side broker can assist in every step of the way.
Attorney referrals, accountant referrals, and being directly approached by a buyer used to be the only option when it came to selling a business, with most of these references not being suited for the childcare industry, and bid wars for a school being few and far between, where are owners supposed to go when they want a sale? Well, look no further, SchoolWise Partners can connect you and your business with high-quality buyers while prioritizing confidentiality throughout the entire process. After signing an NDA, you will share the businesses financial statement and schedule of owner-related addbacks for the last couple years, this will help your broker calculate a valuation for your portfolio.
If we all agree and decide to move forward with the process, our team will create a 50+ page Offering Memorandum designed to present your company in the best light to potential principals and conglomerates that are willing to pay a premium for your business. This market presentation will present buyers with a close-up look at both your financials and operations throughout the company, presenting them with the ins and outs of their future purchase. This presentations are circulated and eventually solicit bids from multiple buyers, which are reviewed based on merit and price until a suitable buyer is located.
Once a few offer letters have come in, it’s time to weigh the pros and cons of each offer and see where there is room for negotiations. Acting with an established team that has negotiated over 500 million in deals, such as SchoolWise Partners, gives you an advantage and an ally who can properly value your school and get you what it's truly worth. SchoolWise will actively field multiple offers until they are proposed something true to the value of your private school, and negotiate terms with the buyer on your behalf to make sure your business is preserved and received to your liking.
After both the seller and the buyer agree to terms and we have a signed Letter of Intent, it's time for due diligence. On the buyer side, they will kick off with financial due diligence and validate the information provided to them. Buyers will also conduct real estate inspections and surveys of the property. Finally, the purchase agreement is drawn up, laying out the terms and conditions for the final sale of your school, which outlines not only the purchase price, but all the licensing and terms that come along with this sale. These agreements often end upwards of sixty pages in length, and an experienced firm on your side such as SchoolWise Partners can help you to navigate these rough waters.
If you are interested in learning more about the business sale process or exploring the option of selling your school / schools, give us a call (305-646-9970) or email any of our trusted associates (info@schoolwisepartners.com), we’ll assist in every step of the process. Even if you are not ready to sell, but curious to see what your school is worth, SchoolWise Partners would be happy to put together a FREE VALUATION for your business and discuss your future goals as owners.
Written By: Benjamin Almirall