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Showing posts with the label equity financing

What is a Roll-Up?

Roll -Up is a type of Merger&Acquisition strategy. It happens when smaller companies in the same market or industry sector are merged into one large entity. Reasons for consolidation include economy of scale, expanded geographical coverage, better name recognition and increase in value. Merger of smaller companies happens in fragmented industries where there is no dominant company or where is one dominant player and none of the small companies can challenge its dominance. Usually it is the private equity firm that does investment thesis, using analysis to identify target companies for an acquisition. If you as an owner want to buy more smaller companies and merge them into one entity the deal is most often done as a combination of cash and equity in exchange for ownership stake at the acquired company. Before the deal is done there are several very important questions that need to be answered. Are the target companies good match? What additional products/services/value...

Why is borrowing money good for your business?

Debt often has a negative connotation but is not really the complete truth. It is often a good way to raise money in order to enable your business to grow and expand. When it comes to loans there is more options available so you can choose the right option for you. There are different kind of loans but the main ones are bank loans, credit cards, lines of credit and factoring. Bank loan has a simple concept with fixed amount and fixed time. It is paid monthly with interest rate. The problem is that it is not that easy to get a loan especially if you just have started your business and even if you do bank may require significant collateral. You are probably already familiar how credit cards work. They are mainly used for short-term funding. You should be careful when using credit card not to build up balance too high. Line of credit is a very flexible type of loan. You don't have to take the lump some but smaller amounts that are better suited to your needs. It is only impo...

Understanding financial statement

The financial statement is a written record of financial activities that gives an overview of financials results and conditions. Financial statement has three basic components: balance sheet which is an overview of assets, liabilities and equity on a particular date, income statement shows net income of the company during a set period of time and cash flow statement which shows inflow and outflow of cash caused by company's activities during stated period of time. Financial statements are often audited to ensure accuracy for tax, financing and investing purposes. Balance sheet reports your net worth at a particular point in time; you can understand it as snapshot in time, usually at the end of the fiscal year. It summarizes all financial data in three categories, assets, liabilities and equity. Assets are tangible objects of financial value owned by the company. Liability is debt owed to a creditor and Equity is a net difference when total liabilities ...

Being a public company - what it means?

In simple term public company is company whose shares are publicly traded on one or more stock exchanges or over the counter market (OTC) and that ownership is dispersed among the many investors. History of public market dates back in early modern period when Dutch helped lay foundation of modern financial system. Publicly traded companies usually have many investor while privately held companies had fewer, but company with big number of investor doesn't have to be public company. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) states that every company with more than 500 investors and more than $10 million in assets must register with SEC and adhere to its regulations. Most public companies where private and after that they meet requirements to become publicly traded company mainly because it brings many advantages. Public companies are able to raise capital  through the sale of stock in a way shares become company's currency which is then traded on the market. Before it w...

Debt or Equity?

When it comes to choosing the right type of financing you will have to consider multiple factors on both sides, type of financing and your business needs. As we mentioned in previous articles all financing boils down to two types: debt financing and equity financing. If you are new in business you will need money to invest in expansion and growth. Chances are that you don't have long history of profitability and that you didn't have time to build good credit score which means that banks and some lenders will not be eager to give you a loan. Or on the other hand you are not comfortable with a fact that you can lose your assets whether business or personal. In that case equity financing will work best for you. This is an opportunity to raise cash without strict requirements that bank will demand from you and you will not have to pay monthly rates to the lender as in the case of debt financing. By avoiding monthly payments you will have more cash on your hands that you can...

Mezzanine financing

Mezzanine financing named for its place in the capital structure, is a hybrid of debt and equity financing. Lender gives you a loan and if everything works out the company simply pays to loan back under already fixed terms. The truth is that large percent of new businesses fail so lender has the right to convert their loan into an ownership percentage or equity interest. This allows lender to have a claim to any future profit and protect himself in case of default. On the other hand mezzanine capital enables owner to keep full ownership as long as business is lucrative. It can also be used to persuade reluctant investor who sees your venture as a high risk by offering him mezzanine arrangement. If business fails to pay the loan lender is generally paid after venture capital companies and senior lenders are paid. Mezzanine financing is also offered to business with established reputation and products and history of profitability where process is completed with little due dilige...