Rick Grantham

Helping business owners to sell their businesses for maximum value

[Rick Grantham @rickgrantham]

Shocking service from https://t.co/gBlGVeegz8, British Airways. We have waited over 5 hours for our luggage in Munich. Now we even know it is here, and no one can get it to us!

[Rick Grantham @rickgrantham]

The question every PE investor should ask before holding longer:

Are you waiting for targets because that's the path to maximum value?

Or because that's the mental model that feels most defensible to stakeholders?

[Rick Grantham @rickgrantham]

Private Equity firms hold portfolio companies waiting for margins to improve. Meanwhile, strategic buyers solve their problems differently. By the time you hit your target, the premium buyers are gone. The math works—until it doesn't.

[Rick Grantham @rickgrantham]

Financial buyers care about:

EBITDA multiples
Margin improvement
Return on investment

Strategic buyers care about:

Market access you control
Technology you've built
Threats you eliminate

Different game entirely.

[Rick Grantham @rickgrantham]

How to unlock premium PE exits:

Identify buyers with strategic gaps
Research who needs what you have
Create genuine competitive tension
Focus on fit over financial metrics
Start the process before fund pressure hits

The buyer willing to pay 2x isn't on your list yet.

[Rick Grantham @rickgrantham]

Private Equity firms spend years perfecting EBITDA targets.

Then they exit to the first interested buyer.

Meanwhile, the strategic acquirer who'd pay 2x sits undiscovered.

The discipline that creates value during ownership often destroys it at exit.

[Rick Grantham @rickgrantham]

5 things strategic buyers care about more than your EBITDA:

Market access they can't replicate
IP they can't build themselves
Customer relationships that unlock new markets
Geographic presence filling their gaps
Capabilities solving their strategic problems

[Rick Grantham @rickgrantham]

The MBO story that haunts me:

Founder agreed to 5-year "generous" payout
Management flipped business in 2 years
Sold for 3x what they owed founder
Pocketed millions while paying original price

Perfectly legal. Completely devastating.

[Rick Grantham @rickgrantham]

Most business owners chase the lowest advisory fees and end up with the highest costs.

Your "trusted" accountant might structure your MBO cheaply—until they decide they want to buy your business themselves.

Cheap advice compounds into expensive disasters.

[Rick Grantham @rickgrantham]

3 things that change when management becomes your partner:

They can outvote you
They can block your decisions
Their bonded homes create pressure you can't control

Money makes everyone funny.

[Rick Grantham @rickgrantham]

Questions every business owner should ask:

If my business dropped 50% tomorrow, would my lifestyle survive?

Am I building wealth or concentrating risk?

Do I negotiate from strength or desperation?

What happens if I can't work for 6 months?

The answers reveal everything.

[Rick Grantham @rickgrantham]

Most business owners think reinvesting everything builds wealth

Year 1-5: "Reinvest everything"
Year 6-10: "Best returns here"
Year 11-15: "Diversify later"
Year 16-20: "Sort this when I sell"

Then reality hits

Your R80M business becomes R30M overnight.
#WealthManagement

[Rick Grantham @rickgrantham]

5 things that destroy business value overnight:

Load-shedding devastates operations
Key customer leaves unexpectedly
Global pandemic shuts your industry
Interest rates double your costs
Competitor launches superior product