Facilitating a successful sale process is Johnston Blakely's dedicated sector focus, rich transaction experience and deep industry relationships. These qualities enable us to generate competitive interest in the sale while maintaining effective process management. Our active participation during each transaction stage allows us to minimize visibility and preserve confidentiality, alleviating unnecessary management distraction and business disruption. Johnston Blakely for-sale engagements typically involve these transaction stages:

Defining Client Objectives
Each client has specific transaction objectives which require thoughtful consideration at the outset. The initial focus of Johnston Blakely is listening to the client to understand the issues of primary importance. Only this appreciation provides a foundation upon which can be structured a sale process that best aligns with those objectives.

Identifying Likely Interest
Johnston Blakely maintains established relationships with senior management of a wide array of financial and strategic buyers active in the life sciences. As such, the firm can assemble a tailored list of potential acquirors likely to have a high level of interest in a transaction.

Preparing the Descriptive Memorandum
After a comprehensive review  with management of the business and its financial prospects, Johnston Blakely takes the lead in assemblying an optimized descriptive memorandum. Importantly, the firm's dedicated life science focus affords it insight into emerging market trends and investment themes to best position a client within the context of the current market environment.

Developing a Marketing Campaign
Marketing campaigns employed in a for-sale assignment range from highly targeted efforts to broad auctions. The preferred marketing strategy is dependent on a range of influences, such as anticipated number of potential buyers, likely level of interest and desired level of confidentiality. Johnston Blakely creates a client-specific marketing plan based on such considerations. Often a hybrid model is crafted, specific to the particulars of a client.

Coordinating Site Visits & Management Presentations
Site visits and management presentations are of vital importance as they provide a client the greatest opportunity to positively influence a potential acquiror. Accordingly, Johnston Blakely will often take a lead role in the developing the presentation and refining management's delivery.

Negotiating, Structuring and Closing
Johnston Blakely will solicit from potential buyers proposals which outline valuation, deal structure and terms. Depending on the situation, a one-stage or two-stage review process is often employed to maximize realized value while enhancing timing & reducing business disruption. We manage due diligence inquiries and participate in transaction documentation.  With closely-held private companies in particular, we typically interact with outside counsel to enhance a transaction's tax efficiency.