The decision to acquire a business is often made with a clear vision: buy their technologies, conquer a new vertical, reduce the competition, and increase profits. But for a seller, it’s all about advantageously positioning their business, finding the right partner, and closing the deal on time. This is often challenging, as it entails numerous key legal, business, human resources, intellectual property, and financial issues, which result in sub-optimal monetary gains and longer sales time.

Established to assist businesses in navigating this complex journey of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) is Cetane Associates.

Serving as a leading M&A consulting specialist since 2007, Cetane Associates helps clients maximize their business value and secure the best deal possible with its suite of unmediated and end-to-end M&A advising services. Coupled with its team of professionals who have in-depth knowledge in the financing, accounting, law, and M&A domains, the company is a go-to partner for home services and transportation organizations. It assists them in deciding the right moment to sell, attaining maximum interest from potential buyers, and transitioning the sales process to successful completion. Team Cetane Associates also excels at negotiating agreements in its client’s best interest while maintaining a balance between buyers and sellers to achieve a win-win.

“We ensure that buyers are capable of taking care of our clients’ existing employees, upholding their company culture and legacy, and optimally meeting their customers’ demands,” states Steve Abbate, managing director of Cetane Associates.

Each client engagement at Cetane Associates begins with a business evaluation that helps understand the true value of their company. The team then examines the reason for the sale and identifies ways to maximize the business value of its client’s organization.

If a business cannot obtain the maximum value at the time of sale, it often spends several years working with clients to maximize their business value. Cetane Associates examines sellers’ profit and loss records to identify the key areas where the business value could be swiftly increased. It often recommends clients to change their corporate status for maximum tax benefit.

Upon gathering all these insights, the Cetane Associates team starts looking for the best buyer from their repository of hundreds of potential financial and strategic buyers. It takes buyers to a virtual data room and shares the information confidentially, empowering them to make well-informed decisions. The company makes decision-making seamless by providing all the information that a buyer’s board of directors, banks, and investors need in the right format. This is followed by the team collaborating with buyers and sellers to ensure the requirements of each party are optimally met.

Cetane Associates then guides clients through the due diligence while compiling all the required materials to assist them in clearing the audit. They examine the seller’s ownership and asset allocation data on balance sheets and collaborate with their accountants, enabling them to make the best-informed decisions while choosing the deal with the lowest after-sale tax payment.

Illustrating Cetane Associates’ value proposition is its engagement with a Massachusetts-based petroleum firm, where it assisted them in quickly and efficiently closing a deal. The client had initially tried selling the business themselves but could not proceed due to their lack of experience. Cetane Associates closed the sale for a 30 percent higher price than the company could have originally obtained. It also helped the client gain the most advantageous tax benefits.

“We make sure that clients are never left confused and alone within the complex M&A journey. We strive to be their constant partner navigating them seamlessly through the entire process and securing the optimal deal,” adds Abbate.