The best private equity funds are skeptics

"People will generally accept facts as truth only if the facts agree with what they already believe." 

Andy Rooney said these wise words and with his long history in the media, he would know.
Mistakes happen in private equity when the buy side--the fund managers-- fall in love with what they want to see.  Good funds want to critically assess the financial numbers long before meeting the personalities in order to make logical decisions. Once the fund meets the owners, their decision is 50% made. Now to see if they can get along as partners for the next few years.
Before you approach a private equity fund, ask, "Do the numbers fit with what you are selling as your business story?"
If not, get an exempt market dealer to help you develop your case and financial story. If you have revenues, debt is not the issue, you will be of interest to some investor.

Andrew Bell's big question on BNN The Pitch

Do you notice on the BNN hit TV show, The Pitch, Andrew Bell often asks the private equity panel this question: “How do you decide which entrepreneur gets the thumbs up?”

Andrew is asking for the secret recipe that gets one owner the investment but another seemingly good business owner gets rejected. Invariably, the private equity experts will say it is the people.

What is it about the people?

Well, they have to be passionate.

Yet many passionate people do not attract financing. What is the issue?

It really does come down to how open the person is to critical probing about their business. Do they answer questions directly or fudge? Do they listen to ideas by the private equity experts or do they dismiss, or even worse, ignore concerns?

When private equity says they invest primarily in the people, they mean they invest in people willing to move over and share the steering wheel.

Should I hire a broker or investment banker to help me sell my company?

An important question for an owner wanting to sell their business is, "Should I hire a broker or investment banker to help me sell my company?

The answer to this question is “maybe.”

The fees charged by intermediaries are significant. However, there are scenarios when qualified intermediaries can add significant value far in excess of their fees.

For example, if your company has performed well for the past two to three years, you want to sell most or all of it, there are a large number of potential buyers and you have no idea who the right buyer will be, a sale process run by an intermediary potentially can generate a much higher value. Another scenario is where the intermediary has particular expertise and experience in your industry, and there is “story” required as part of your sale presentation. If there is significant risk to your business if the word leaks that you are selling, you are likely better off working with a smaller exempt market dealer than a transactional lawyer.

If you want to save on lawyers’ fees, a good exempt market dealer will make sure the bulk of the work is done before calling in expensive lawyers.

There are many scenarios where an intermediary will not add value. For example, if you know the one or two likely best buyers, then you should be able to maximize value with the assistance of an experienced transactional lawyer (which you need regardless).

Private Equity likes to use intermediaries, exempt market dealers, when selling their own portfolio companies.

Often it’s a good idea to seek the advice of your accountant when making this decision. If you decide that you need an intermediary, please do not base your decision on the firm name. Be sure that the individuals that will be representing your company (often not the senior partner that comes in for the dog and pony show) have the talent, experience, time and drive to get your deal done. 

Speak to the local ExemptMarket Dealer Association in your geographic area.

Jacoline Loewen is a Director of Loewen & Partners Inc., an Exempt Market Dealer, specializing in finance for owner operators and family businesses, specifically acquisitions, restructurings, sales, successions, strategy and private equity financing.

Jacoline began her career with Granduc Mines, Northern BC, and then Deloitte in their strategy unit. She developed a strategic planning model and published it in a book called "The Power of Strategy”. She also wrote "Business e-Volution" and “Money Magnet: How to Attract Investors to Your Business” (Wiley), which has been used by Ivey as a text book.

She is a Director on the Board of the Exempt Market Dealers Association (EMDA) responsible for brand and communications. She is on the advisory board of DCL International, Bilingo China and Flint Business Acceleration. She has been a Director for other Boards such as the Strategic Leadership Forum.

She is a regular panellist on BNN: The Pitch, a contributor to the Globe & Mail and National Post, serves as a judge for the UBC and the Richard Ivey School of Business’ Business Plan Competitions and is a guest lecturer at Ivey and Rotman Universities. Jacoline holds an arts degree in Industrial Relations from McGill University and a MBA from the University of the Witwatersrand.  Her MBA thesis was selected by Cambridge University and published by Cambridge’s Engineering faculty. 

Capital gains key component to Romney’s tax strategy

Different types of taxes seem too difficult for Americans to understand. With our sales tax HST, Canadians may understand the distinctions.

I do find it interesting which media sources like to just give the percentage and no elaboration on whether it is income tax or capital gains tax. The charity donations are also worth comment.

Here is a Palm Beach article on the topic.

Capital gains key component to Romney’s tax strategy

Tony Clement - Canada's best years are ahead of us

The best years are ahead of Canada. These positive words were part of Tony Clement's speech yesterday at The Empire Club, Toronto, just yesterday.
Clement has applied government resources towards helping business in a consistent and positive manner; this is noted and appreciated. Here is an excerpt from his speech well worth the read.:

Speech by Tony Clement, President of the Treasury Board of Canada, to the Empire Club of Canada

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Toronto, Ontario

A leading American historian and senior advisor to former U.S. secretary of state Condoleezza Rice has finally admitted the truth—Canada won the War of 1812.^[1]

The year after that struggle came to a close, another Canadian hero was born—the great architect and visionary of the Canadian state, Sir John A. MacDonald.

"We are a great country," he said, "and we shall become one of the greatest in the universe if we preserve it; we shall sink into insignificance and adversity if we suffer it to be broken."^[2]

Sir John A. saw clearly the road ahead. And he formed this country with the values of the Empire in mind—freedom, peace, justice and the equality of people.

Over the years, those values have asserted themselves in Canadians in times of crisis.

We see them in our sacrifices at Vimy, Ypres and Paschendale, in Normandy, Korea and Afghanistan.

And we see them in our compassion and aid for the victims of earthquakes, tsunamis and disasters in foreign lands.

Canada has come a long way in 200 years. We have grown and evolved into the one of the most successful countries in the world.

When British Prime Minister David Cameron visited Canada last September, he acknowledged Canada’s leadership at the start of this new century.

In a speech to Parliament, he suggested Canada had everything it needed to succeed, and passed the torch.

He noted our leadership in two areas vital to success in the 21st century—innovation and education.

"From Blackberry to Canadarm," he said, "yours is a home of innovation and technology."

He also congratulated Canada on its diversity, saying the way we had “integrated people from many different backgrounds into a mature democracy is a model from which we can all learn.”

And the British Prime Minister is not the only one who believes in Canada these days.

Our economic leadership during the global economic crisis of 2008 has been recognized around the world.

Last year, both the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Organisation for EconomicCo-operation and Development (OECD) forecasted we would have among the strongest economic growth in the G-7 in 2011, and again this year.

And for the fourth year in a row, the World Economic Forum rated the Canada’s banking system as the world’s soundest.

In addition, three credit rating agencies—Moody’s, Fitch and Standard & Poor’s—have reaffirmed their top investment-grade ratings for Canada.

And Forbes magazine recently ranked Canada the world’s best place to do business.^[3]

By any standard, Canada has weathered global economic crisis and ongoing financial uncertainty well, particularly when compared to most other developed nations.

Since introducing Canada’s Economic Action Plan in response to the economic downturn of 2008, we have recovered more than all of the output and all of the jobs lost during the recession.

And almost 600,000 more Canadians are working today than when the recession ended, resulting in the strongest rate of employment growth during the recovery by far amongG-7 countries.

And real GDP is now significantly above pre-recession levels—the best performance in theG-7, according to the IMF and OECD.

But our country is not out of the woods yet.

As we emerge from the worst recession since the Great Depression, we know Canadian families are worried about their jobs and their financial security.

While we understand that the government’s role is to create the conditions in which Canadians will thrive, we also believe that it is the ingenuity, the aspirations and the determination of Canadians that will be the driving force behind economic growth and jobs.

So, in the time I have remaining, I would like to tell you about the things we are doing to help make that happen.

I’ll mention just three.

The first is reducing the deficit and balancing the budget over the medium term.

The second is freeing businesses to grow by cutting red tape that can stifle productivity.

And the third is creating opportunity through our move to Open Government.

REDUCING THE DEFICIT

Throughout our history, Canadians and their government have learned valuable lessons from economic crises.

Today, Canadians understand the necessity of reducing the deficit and returning to fiscal balance in the medium term, finding savings within government spending, and taking targeted actions when necessary to support the recovery.

This is our balanced approach that will boost our efforts to achieve a sustainable and prosperous recovery, and preserve our Canadian economic advantage now and in the future.

Canadians understand this. And in last May’s federal election, we received a strong mandate to eliminate the deficit, keep taxes low and continue creating jobs for Canadians.

In the Budget that followed, we announced our plan to return to a balanced budget while keeping taxes low.

Building on previous efforts to reduce government spending, we launched our deficit-reduction initiative.

This review is about more than finding savings. It is about modernizing government.

It’s about retooling for the future—and providing the right programs and services at the right cost to support Canadians’ success in the years ahead.

FREEING BUSINESS TO SUCCEED

But as a country, we need to come at the challenge of creating economic growth and jobs in Canada from several different angles.

That’s why, in addition to getting our fiscal house in order, we are making sure the people, businesses and communities in Canada have the tools they need to succeed.

That brings me to our second key initiative—cutting government red tape to free businesses to grow.

We believe red tape impedes economic productivity by taking up precious time and resources, and curbs the entrepreneurial spirit.

Cutting red tape helps business focus on what they do best: sustain the economic recovery by creating jobs and generating wealth.

It also spurs innovation by leaving a clear regulatory picture for entrepreneurs, and a marketplace that is easier to understand.

Prime Minister Harper set out to realize all these benefits when he set up the Red Tape Reduction Commission last winter.

This Commission issued its final report earlier this month.

And as a sign of our commitment, we are taking action to implement a “One-for-One” Rule to control administrative burden on business.

This work is just one example of how we are helping businesses grow and invest for the future.

OPEN GOVERNMENT

The third initiative I’d like to mention is Open Government.

Open Government allows Canadians to not only learn about, and participate in government, but also to create new products using government data and information.

Last spring we launched this initiative through three main streams.

Open Data, which is about offering Canadians Government data in a more useful format to reuse in innovative ways.

Open Information, which is about proactively releasing information, including information on government activities, to Canadians on an ongoing basis.

And Open Dialogue, which is about giving Canadians a stronger say in Government policies and priorities, and using Web 2.0 technologies to expand citizen engagement with government.

By tapping into the ideas and talents of our citizens, we can be more responsive to meeting their needs.

In fact, earlier this winter, we held an Open Government on-line consultation, and Canadians gave us some great suggestions.

We also held the first-ever, Government of Canada tweet chat to generate discussion about Open Government.

Open Government can also strengthen transparency and accountability in government, and a strong democracy is essential to a nation’s economic success. I’m a true believer in this.

CONCLUSION

Let me conclude my remarks today with one final observation about our need for economic growth and jobs in these challenging times.

Over the years, Canadians have learned that chronic deficits are a mortgage on our future. Chronic deficits create higher taxes, less opportunity and less freedom for our children and our grandchildren.

Ultimately, they squander the opportunities that have been given us.

That’s why we must stick with our low-tax plan for jobs and growth—a plan that has worked and served Canadians well.

I believe Canadians can overcome any challenge. We always have—as long as we never waste our treasure or lose faith in ourselves.

As Winston Churchill said when he addressed our Parliament during the bleakest days of the Second World War, “we have not journeyed all this way across the mountains, across the Prairies, across the centuries, because we're made of sugar candy.”

Freedom, hard work and sacrifice have got us where we are today, and leadership, fiscal prudence and helping Canadians achieve their dreams will take care of tomorrow.

It’s not always easy, but as history shows, it is doable.

And the benefits for us and for future generations will be immeasurable.

Thank you.