ironshield financial
How to Increase the Value of a Distribution Business
Transforming a distributor or reseller into a valuable company may seem like a daunting task. Distributors are usually not worth very much, because an acquirer reasons that without a point of differentiation, a distributor is vulnerable to a price war. Rather than acquire a target company, a savvy potential acquirer of a distributor could temporarily lower…
The Recurring Revenue Bump
Last month, Darden, the owner of the Olive Garden restaurant chain, announced it was acquiring Ruth’s Chris, the legendary American steakhouse, for $715 million, implying a valuation of around one times last year’s annual revenue, or about ten times their adjusted EBITDA for 2022. Not bad for a giant company, but Ruth’s Chris’s value was likely…
How First Impressions Can Drive the Value of Your Business
The initial impression customers have of your business often influences how much they decide to spend with your company. This is well known, but have you ever considered how first impressions affect the way potential investors value your business? When raising capital, investors’ initial perception of your business significantly impacts their valuation,affecting both the equity…
How to Protect Your Equity When Your Business Is Thirsty for Cash
When it comes to financing the growth of your business, you may find yourself facing a difficult choice between the lesser of two evils. Selling shares in your business can provide an immediate cash injection, but it means giving up some of your valuable equity stake. Borrowing money from a bank, on the other hand,…
One Overlooked Metric That Could Transform Your Company’s Value
You know gross margin impacts your profit, but have you considered the impact it has on the value of your company? When assessing your company’s value, acquirers and investors will often scrutinize your gross profit margin. Gross profit margin is the difference between a company’s revenue and its cost of goods sold. In other words,…
The Purest Way to Increase the Value of Your Business
Picture a magic slot machine. Each time you pull the arm, you make back a multiple of whatever you wagered. How much time would you devote to cranking that arm? When it comes to the value of your business, you can make many bets, but only one has a virtually guaranteed return. Most companies are valued…
CC&L Q2 2023 Market Outlook and Investment Review
Your portfolio managers are constantly analyzing the market to help them make the best investment decisions on your behalf. It’s important for you to feel comfortable with these decisions, so we’d like to offer you the opportunity to better understand the process that portfolio managers use to manage your investment portfolio. We hope that it…
5 Strategies for Identifying Innovative Candidates to Replace Yourself as Founder
In 2012, Jaclyn Johnson founded Create & Cultivate, a media company that educates and inspires women to succeed in business. By 2018, Johnson had grown Create & Cultivate to eight employees when an acquirer offered her a staggering $40 million. Unfortunately, the deal was too good to be true. When the acquirer discovered how dependent…