CGK Business Sales: Houston, Texas
CGK Business Sales are mergers and acquisition advisors in Houston, TX. We are different from the norm. Houston TX business brokers tend to be those with little financial training or outside experience in M&A. This is a scary thought, when you consider that selling a business might be the largest financial transaction of your life. Our backgrounds are some of the best you will find at this segment of the M&A industry. Let us put that experience to work for you. CGK Business Sales has a long history of helping local Texas business owners sell their businesses.
- We sell over 85% of the businesses that we advise, compared to an industry average of less than 20%. How do we do this? Through our proprietary process, CGK Business Sales finds numerous qualified buyers for your business. This helps get better results, both in price and in terms, for our sellers.
- The buyers we find are local Houston companies and high-net worth individuals, private equity firms and strategic industry buyers from across the the United States, and international buyers looking for good businesses to buy.
- With numerous offices across the U.S., we have built up an extensive buyer database of high-net worth, private equity, venture capital, and strategic buyers from your industry.
- Find out what makes us different from all the rest. Contact us below and see why we are different.
- If you need help selling your business, call CGK Business Sales at (713) 588-0240.
Keeping Your Business Sale Confidential
For business sellers, maintaining confidentiality is a crucial part of the sale process. If creditors, competitors, customers, or employees find out that there’s an impending sale, it could adversely affect the business’ momentum and its value. While confidentiality is tricky, it’s less so when the owner works with an experienced, qualified Houston M&A advisor. In this guide, readers can learn which steps to take to keep a business sale confidential.
Use Blind Listings and Ads or Not At All
Often, some of our engagements never hit a website. We go directly to who we identify as the best buyers. In some cases, a confidential web posting may ensure a healthy number of qualified buyers. Even Houston business brokers will advise their clients against using the business’ name until buyers are qualified and have signed a confidentiality agreement. Businesses should be advertised based on their strength and nature, rather than their names, and responses should be directed to the advisor’s confidential email address. This step allows sellers to save money and time by following up only with the most qualified prospects.
Execute an NDA
It’s required to have the buyer sign an NDA (non-disclosure agreement) before they begin working with the seller’s M&A advisor. These agreements are rather broad, and they cover how much info can be shared with buyers’ partners, lawyers, accountants, and advisers. Buyers are required to work with the M&A advisor rather than going directly to the seller, which offers many benefits as far as confidentiality is concerned.
Pre-Qualify Buyers
A Houston mergers and acquisitions advisor will screen potential buyers as a way of protecting the seller’s confidentiality. The firm has proprietary buyer verification methods, and the team takes the entire process seriously. If a buyer doesn’t have a resume or LinkedIn profile, they’re not taken seriously and they’re not qualified to buy the business.
Learn What to Expect From Your M&A Advisor
A qualified buyer would prefer for the business’s information to stay private because they like knowing that the owner has taken steps to protect sensitive information. Buyers should be ready to go through the proven process, and if they seem to be in a rush, they’ll likely be eliminated from the buyer pool. While it’s important for the seller to work closely with the broker or advisor, it’s vital for buyers as well.
Meet the Buyer In Person
The final step in the initial selling process is for the Houston business broker or M&A advisor to schedule an in-person meeting between the buyer and seller. Ideally, such meetings are held after hours at the business or in the broker’s offices; they’re rarely done over the phone. Sellers typically take in-person buyers more seriously, and buyers will get the chance to learn whether the seller will help them during the training and transition phase.
The Final Word
As sellers review the steps listed above, they may be nervous about the process, especially if they’ve never gone through it before. An effective Houston investment banker, M&A advisor, or business broker will help both parties in a way that keeps confidentiality throughout the entire process. CGK Business Sales has successfully handled many transactions over the years, and the team has an extensive knowledge base on how to successfully market and sell businesses. Call or email us below today to schedule a consultation or visit the website for more details.
Greg Knox
Managing Member
With over twenty years in finance and business experience, Greg Knox has personally sold nearly thirty businesses. His experience at places such as Wachovia, Deutsche Bank, and T. Rowe Price, make him uniquely qualified to help sell your business. In addition, Greg has M&A investment banking, hedge fund, private equity, hedge fund, and trading experience, which help his expertise in business valuations and the mergers and acquisitions process. Greg has started, owned, and sold multiple of his own businesses, which gives him an insight into what it’s like to be a business owner. Previous to CGK, Greg had numerous years as M&A middle-market investment banker and at a local business brokerage, where he was consistently a top M&A advisor worldwide for numerous, consecutive years. Mr. Knox holds a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration and a Master of Business Administration from Franklin and Marshall College and Cornell University, respectively. Greg has the Series 79 (investment banking), 55, and 63 FINRA licences.
Eric Lewis
Managing Director
Eric Lewis has over eighteen years of experience in the financial industry and business. His experience includes companies ranging from major investment banks to proprietary trading firms, and other Fortune 500 companies. While spending the last 10 years in the energy business, he built physical commodity businesses and traded their financial products. He has a deep understanding of the valuation process, having built valuation models for companies, physical assets, and projects. His financial career has led him to work for Goldman Sachs, Cargill, Merrill Lynch, TD Options, and other, private, finance companies. Eric also owns his own digital marketing business. Eric holds a B.A. from the University of Texas at Austin and an Master of Business Administration, with a concentration in finance from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
Matthew Mistica
Managing Director
Matthew Mistica has more than 10 years of experience in finance and entrepreneurship. Matthew has 7 years of experience in Corporate Finance working for Chevron Corporation and Shell Oil as a financial analyst with various upstream drilling business units and downstream refinery margin optimization. In recent years, Matt’s entrepreneurial spirit drove him to start, grow, and eventually sell (with CGK) a very successful biohazard remediation and hoarding removal company, with locations in Houston and Austin. He graduated at the top of his class with a Bachelor of Science from California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo concentrating in Finance with a minor in Economics. During his oil and gas tenure, he obtained his MBA from the University of Houston focusing in Business Management, and he was the recipient of the Dean’s Award for Academic Excellence. Matthew is an M&A Advisor for CGK’s Houston branch.
CGK Business Sales
Houston Office:
1200 Smith St
Houston, TX 77002
phone: (713) 588-0240
- Counties that we help service near Houston, TX include Harris, Waller, Austin, Fort Bend, Brazoria, Galveston, Chambers, Liberty, Montgomery, and other counties.
- Local areas include the Inner Loop, North Houston, East Houston, South Houston, West Houston, Katy, Sugar Land, Pearland, Clear Lake, Kingwood, Atascocita, Spring, Woodlands, Tomball, Cypress, and more.