Exit Planning Essentials

Register for Fort Capital SMB Advisory’s upcoming seminar in Vancouver: Exit Planning Essentials.

Join Fort Capital SMB Advisory in Vancouver

October 9, 8:00 AM – 12:30 PM

Location: TD Tower, 3rd floor – Maple Room – 700 West Georgia Street, Vancouver, BC V7Y 1A2

*Registration is now closed* 

 

Learn how to prepare your business for a successful transition. This half-day seminar covers proven strategies to maximize value, reduce risk, and take control of your exit timeline.

This seminar is most relevant for owners of profitable companies with revenues in the $5M to $50M range.

Meet our Speakers

 

Tracey Swain | Regional Director, CFO Centre
Preparing to Sell
Polishing up your business for sale requires preparation over the 1-2 years prior to the actual sale.
In this segment Tracey will:

  • Share steps you can take starting today to get ready
  • Ensure your books and records are diligence ready
  • Ensure your profitability is healthy, stable and predictable
  • Ensure your finance team is strong and can operate well in the post sale environment
  • Discuss common pitfalls that companies make in the years proceeding a sale

Taking a best practices approach to preparing for sale will help entrepreneurs to realize the highest value for their firm on sale.

 

Kevin Walsh | Partner, Tax, Walsh King LLP
Tax Planning to Maximize your Proceeds
Planning for the potential tax on the sale of your business is a critical component to a transaction. As with all tax matters, the number of planning opportunities are maximized the sooner you engage a tax professional.

Canadian tax law and its numerous acronyms and nomenclature can be daunting. Kevin will provide an explanation of some of the key concepts that may be helpful during the sale process.

Tax planning opportunities exist whether you sell shares or assets. Kevin will discuss how each of these scenarios may impact the tax planning that you may want to consider. Kevin will also discuss some common tax planning opportunities that exist for private corporations including utilizing the lifetime capital gains exemption and multiplication of the lifetime capital gains exemption.

 

Grant Wallace | Partner, Fort Capital Partners
The Selling Process
Professionally selling a business to maximize buyer competition and create an optimal outcome for the seller requires a well-managed, disciplined process that typically takes 6 to 9 months.

In this segment Grant will:

  • Provide an update on current market valuations and activity levels
  • Explain how most businesses are valued
  • Highlight the key steps in a comprehensive go-to-market selling process
  • Discuss common transaction challenges and how to avoid them

Taking a best-practices approach to selling your business will frequently result in a faster close, higher value and better terms and conditions.

 

Elaine Tham | Partner, MDS M&A Lawyers
The Legal Side of an Exit
In this session, Elaine will discuss the legal aspects of selling a business (focusing on the sell-side, but also bringing in a buy-side perspective), including the following:

  • The role a lawyer plays in the transaction
  • Negotiation strategies for a letter of intent
  • Purpose of the purchase agreement and common areas of negotiation
  • Closing process and other closing documents

 

Albert Mason | Investment Advisor, TD Wealth Private Investment Advice
Managing Wealth Post Close
In this session, Albert will share practical strategies for managing wealth after a business exit, from selecting the right advisory team and navigating today’s market conditions to structuring investments for income, growth, and legacy. Attendees will gain an actionable framework for turning liquidity into lasting security and impact.