M&A Forum: Selling or Buying a Business? Don't Miss Your Moment!

Is now the right time or is it better to wait until after the next recession? Either way, you need the right tools and knowledge to make this critical decision. Selling or buying a business is complex and infrequent. Make sure you are prepared to maximize your outcome. The program included a buy side and sell side panel of business buyers, sellers and industry experts followed by concurrent breakout sessions.

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Keynote Presentation

Cynthia LaConte, CEO, The Dohmen Company, provides an overview, perspectives, and lessons learned from The Dohmen Company's experiences in M&A.

Panel Discussions

Buy Side Preparation: How to Seize the Moment

• Opportunities and risks associated with buying a business
• Implications of mistiming the market
• Managing the before and after the purchase

Panelists:

• Brian T. Baker, President & CEO, Sentry Equipment Corp.
• Sequoya Borgman, Managing Director, Borgman Capital LLC
• Jim Frings, President, G3 Industries, Inc.
• Derek Smith, Commercial Bank Exec, SVP, Old National Bank

Moderator: Molly Dill, Managing Editor, BizTimes Media

Sell Side Readiness: How to Prepare for Your Moment

• Personal readiness vs market readiness
• Driving value through business readiness
• The deal is closed – Now what?

Panelists:

• Rick Blaha, President, Pak-Rite Ltd.
• Dr. Aly Gamay, President & CEO, DreamPak
• Nate Neuberger, Shareholder, Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren s.c.
• Steve Peterson, Managing Director & Co-Founder, Bel Air Air Growth Partners

Moderator: Ann Hanna, Managing Director & Owner, Taureau Group

Concurrent Breakout Sessions

Maximizing Company Value - Beyond EDITA

Learn about the current M&A environment and key strategies for positioning your company for maximizing value at the time of sale.

Presenters:

• Ann Hanna, Managing Director & Owner, Taureau Group
• Corey Vanderpoel, Managing Director & Owner, Taureau Group

An Honest Discussion About Financing the Deal

This panel discussed case studies, best practices, the do's and don'ts and the nature of banking relationships.

Panelists:

• Brian T. Baker, President & CEO, Sentry Equipment Corp.
• Derek Smith, Commercial Bank Exec, SVP, Old National Bank
• David Bartelme, Managing Director, Borgman Capital LLC

Moderator: Inge Plautz, SVP - Executive Business Development Officer, Old National Bank

Avoiding Deal Killers... There's Always Something

There are many aspects related to the buying and selling of a company. Attendees heard some lessons learned and what works, and what to do to avoid "disaster" so the deal doesn't "blow up".

Presenter: Carl Kugler, Shareholder, Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren s.c.