Business Brokers in Maryland

At A Neumann & Associates, LLC., we assist our clients in preparing for one of the most significant decisions they will ever make: selling a business.
We are your reliable, trusted partner, guiding you through the process of selling your business and closing deals in Maryland. If you seek to market your business for a sizable profit or are interested in knowing what your company would sell for, A Neumann & Associates, LLC offers the mergers & acquisition advisory, business brokerage, and professional financial services that you require. In order to know that you are making the optimal moves, you need a trusted partner, a business broker who closes deals and gets you the maximum value for your sale.

Pricing a Business

Using our experience and what we know about business pricing to ensure that your company is properly priced for market, we request your company’s financial information, recast the financials to determine the true cash flow your business generates, and prepare your business for a valuation. Accredited valuations take into consideration various factors, such as financial history, operations, and of course, the industry your business operates in. The business brokers at A Neumann & Associates, LLC will determine the demand for your business and recommend which actions to undertake to increase the value of your business.

How To Valuate A Business

There are different approaches to valuing a business: Single Period Capitalization Method; Excess Earnings Method; Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) analysis, also known as the intrinsic value approach; comparable company analysis, known as Market Approach; and book /FMV asset approach.
Discounted Cash Flow Analysis
Cash flow analysis is a method that helps a valuation firm to arrive at a value for a business using projected cash flows to determine whether or not it is a good long-term investment. It’s based on the concept of the future value of money. If an investor is going to invest today, they will want to know what that investment will be worth in the future.
Comparable Company Analysis
With this type of valuation, a valuation analyst identifies comparable, closed transactions within the past five years. The analyst uses those values to find the fair market value of a firm. It’s essentially comparing apples to apples — companies of a similar size in the same industry to each other.
It’s important to choose the correct variables to define the multiple that need to be used in estimating the value of assets in a list of comparable transactions. In order to complete this type of valuation, the valuation firms need to identify comparable metrics, such as cash flow, revenue, and EBITDA to obtain comparative closing values. Next, they convert those market values to standardized values, which creates price multiples. This allows for controlling differences between firms.
Valuing Businesses in the Time of COVID
COVID-19 changed the world and has had a major negative impact on businesses. Cash flow became tighter. Businesses had to adapt to changes and new regulations that affected their operations and accounting. In June, the American Institute of CPAs released new guidelines for evaluation professionals recommending adjusting their business valuations and addressing other questions that professionals in the field needed answers to.

Marketing Your Business

Selling a business is a significant endeavor that will require confidentiality and coordination among key people, such as your accountant, lawyer, and others. Working with a business broker streamlines the process by coordinating the team members and ensures that you get the maximum value for your sale. It is crucial to properly market your business and vet potential investors and purchasers for their financial capacity to complete such a substantial transaction successfully. We assist our clients in valuing, marketing, and ultimately selling their businesses. We guide them through the entire process of negotiating with buyers and closing the sale.

COVID-19’s Impact On A Business Brokerage

Before the pandemic, many businesses were booming and did not expect the sudden turmoil that would come with the global economy shutting down. In the United States, small businesses and major corporations face international economic challenges in the shadows of a worldwide health crisis while being reliant on SBA loans. It’s important that a company’s key leaders communicate a unified message to stakeholders to alleviate uncertainty during the selling of your business.

Engaging Qualified Buyers

Some business brokerages establish lists of buyers and hope to make a commission from pairing them with a seller when a business comes on the market. They have not done the requisite background work to know the purchase preferences of these buyers or their qualifications. Instead, they provide a point-of-contact for the purchasing entity, and not necessarily the head decision-maker for buying a business: presidents, CEOs, owners, and other company leaders. This results in false bids that can adversely affect the sale, breaching confidentiality in the process.
When it comes time to sell your business, A Neumann & Associates, LLC will present viable, pre-qualified buyers who have a serious interest in acquiring the type of business you are selling. This will save time and resources and help your transaction go smoothly.
While we respect Main Street companies and their economic value to both communities and owners, at A Neumann & Associates, LLC, we focus on the sale of midsize companies. We do occasionally handle smaller transactions on a case-by-case basis, but our focus on higher-valued corporations allows us to direct our energies to fewer clients, permitting us to offer bespoke financial services.
At A Neumann & Associates, LLC, we have established relationships with trusted decision-makers who can buy a higher-end business. Many of our brokers are established business owners themselves with strong professional credibility, brand awareness, and relationships built over years of reliable and successful transactions. Collectively, our office has more than 100 years of transaction experience. Reach out to us at A Neumann & Associates, LLC today, so we can schedule a consultation with you to let you know more about the buyer qualification process we will use to sell your business. A Neumann & Associates, LLC typically represents sellers of companies with a minimum of $500,000 in annual revenue.

Vetting Prospective Buyers

At A Neumann & Associates, LLC, we know what kind of questions to ask when vetting a prospective buyer and what information needs to be assessed before releasing confidential information and subsequently accepting a bid. We will bring all viable offers to you for consideration. We will also assess the likelihood of closing. In the event the highest viable bid is not the most attractive offer for other reasons, we will explain our rationale so you can make the final decision.
We perform our due diligence by confirming that prospective buyers have the funding to close and that other legal matters won’t block their ability to acquire your business. In the end, you will have a complete picture of your company’s suitors.

Preserving Confidentiality

Maintaining confidentiality throughout the process is essential in business brokerage. Selling a business is a critical time, and information leaks can impact the transaction in harmful ways. A nondisclosure agreement or “NDA” is a legally binding document that forbids Maryland buyers from disclosing information about the business transaction to anyone outside the bounds of the document.
A buyer will be asked to sign one of our standard confidentiality/non-disclosure agreements so that all parties agree to what is expected concerning discretion. It will specify which third parties a buyer may share information with, such as a financial advisor, an attorney, or accountants. The broker will then release a confidential memorandum, and the seller will release confidential information to the buyer. This may include financial records and trade secrets. The information exchanged between buyers and sellers is for the sole purpose of deciding whether or not to buy a business.

Frequently Asked Questions

While these are the most common questions we receive at A Neumann & Associates, LLC, we’d be happy to address your specific questions.
Who are the best business brokers?
A business broker who has handled a high percentage of completed transactions and has demonstrated that they know how to target strategic buyers is often the most qualified. You want to choose a broker who takes confidentiality seriously.
Additionally, an A+ Better Business Bureau rating for several years speaks volumes about the business brokerage’s dependability.
Because of the specialization involved in business transactions, another important aspect to consider when hiring a business broker is their educational background and credentials.

Maryland Business Brokerage

If you are considering selling or merging your business, contact the seasoned financial advisors at A Neumann & Associates, LLC today. We look forward to discussing your ventures.
If you are interested in any of the topics above or to learn more about how A Neumann & Associates, LLC can assist you in buying a business in Maryland, Selling a Business in Maryland, Business Valuation and Appraisal Services in VA, as well as other services, then call now to schedule your free consultation.
The A Neumann & Associates, LLC office in Annapolis, Maryland is located at the following address:

A Neumann & Associates, LLC
St. Leonard, MD 20685

Contact A Neumann & Associates, LLC

If you are considering selling your business, please contact us to learn more about our comprehensive service spectrum. Our experienced professionals will answer all your questions about selling a privately held business in complete confidentiality. Please to fill out a short form, or call us at (732) 872-6777. We will contact you directly and will never identify ourselves to your employees.