Should You Sell Your Business To A Competitor?

Selling your business can be a tough decision to make and even harder if you plan to do so to an industry competitor. But this may actually work in your favor in many ways, the first being that a rival will know the true value of your enterprise and make you an offer more in line with what the business is really worth.

Any business for sale is going to have suitors who may or may not know what they’re doing when it comes to understanding how your industry works. That can be a real hassle as you are constantly trying to convince potential buyers of the real worth of the company. Someone who already works in the field is going to be far better positioned to be able to analyze your company and put together a meaningful offer package.

At the end of the day, that offer may not be exactly what you were seeking but it just may be a whole lot closer to the sale price than you might receive from interested parties who are looking to dip their proverbial toe in your field of expertise.

So as you contemplate selling your business you may want to think long and hard about getting one of your competitors to step up and buy it instead.

Making the Decision

It’s never easy to decide when or if you should sell, much less to one of your competitors. But once you take all of the important determining factors into consideration, trusting your gut feel about the individual and the size of the offer is really your best and most reliable guide. Simply put, if it doesn’t feel right, don’t pull the trigger.

Whether you’ve come to this decision from a personal standpoint or out of financial necessity, there are some hard and fast guidelines that can help put your mind at ease when the time has come to sell the company you worked so hard to build.

Reasons to Sell to the Competition

Sometimes you don’t need to do a heck of a lot of soul-searching in order to decide whether the time is right to sell, regardless of who is buying it from you. There are some indicators that are just too obvious to ignore or pass up.

Boredom

Yes, it happens. You’re champing at the bit to try something else. Something different. Something brand new. Maybe you’ve taken this business as far as you think it may go or at least as far as you can take it within your capabilities or current condition. Perhaps you need a new challenge and this business isn’t offering up any more unique stimuli or inspiration.

That’s all perfectly okay and you feel your talents lie in building a company from the ground up instead of operating it on a day to day basis. If this all sounds like you, then selling the business is a great idea as it allows you to move forward with your next venture and you’re ready to take on new challenges and obstacles.

The Offer is Too Good to Pass Up

You may not even be considering a sale at this point in time, yet here is one of your biggest industry competitors walking up to your doorstep with an offer to buy that is too hard to refuse. The money is good, very good, and you would be a fool not to at least give the offer some serious thought. Now you have a decision to make, the same one we discussed above but now you’re looking at it from a very different point of view.

You’re still in control here, after all someone else wants something of yours and up until now you hadn’t even considered selling. Now with a veritable Brink’s truck being backed up to your front door so to speak, you could be looking at a life-changing event.

The Time has Come

Sometimes you’re ready to get out because you just want to retire for good. You don’t want to build a new business or operate the one you have currently because you’re tired and you have other life plans you would like to pursue. You’ve been thinking of retiring for a few years and now seems like the right time to call it a day.

Choosing to sell to a competitor might result in you selling the business faster and for a lump sum that will allow you to enjoy your retirement a lot more than you might have expected.

David

David Rosenberg: A seasoned political journalist, David's blog posts provide insightful commentary on national politics and policy. His extensive knowledge and unbiased reporting make him a valuable contributor to any news outlet.