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Merging Pack

Why Merge?

Mergers take place for a variety of reasons, e.g. to increase the overall profits by achieving an economy of scale; to create a bigger critical mass, thus enabling a more structured workforce to be put in place and the establishment of specialist value-added departments; to dilute the amount of practice administration per partner or, in some cases, to transfer the practice administration to a new partner; to enable the partners to ‘play to their strengths’, to amalgamate offices creating economies of scale, etc. Also, merging firms often provides a logical solution to the problems of succession.

Equality Of Ownership & Responsibility?

A merger does not automatically imply that the merged parties own equal equity, or that they earn equal profits. However, if the profit share is not equal, neither will be the responsibility for any losses! However, it is frequently the case that an adjustment is made to ensure that all the partners in the new concern own equal amounts of goodwill and have equal voting rights.

The ‘Passive Role’

If you have decided that merging with another firm could offer the solution to your needs, and if you don’t already have a network of contacts in the profession, registering with an M & A agent or broker, such as APMA, which you can do by downloading our free Merging pack, and waiting until ‘something comes along’ is an easy option. However, you should be aware that a successful outcome relies on a suitable firm, also seeking to merge, declaring their interest to that same agent or broker, at a similar time.

The ‘Active Role’

This is a more realistic option for a would-be merging firm, whereby you retain us to approach the market on your behalf. We will, by agreement, approach several hundred firms conducting a market development exercise, mainly by direct mail. We will write to them giving an overview of your requirements and invite them to contact us with a view to discussing their interest. Frequently we are able to offer solutions to respondents that they may never have thought of, which meet your end objective.

But Does It Work?

Once you have completed and returned our Merging pack, which can be downloaded free of charge from our website, APMA can set about finding you suitable merging partners either at local, regional or national level. The parties are reviewed, valued and then we assist in setting up the new practice structure.

The key considerations are:

  • How to decide the best strategic fit.
  • How to locate potential partner firms.
  • How to value the parties.
  • How to keep focused and stop the detail throwing it off course.
  • How to keep the legal and administrative processes moving forward.

The Limit Of Your Exposure

The cost for this marketing exercise, which includes individually typing and addressing the letters, stuffing and franking the envelopes and handling ALL telephone, fax and written response, including any visits which may be necessary, is just £1.30 per firm. You only pay our fees when you have successfully purchased or merged with a practice or block of fees. In other words, we act on a contingency basis, i.e. NO SUCCESS, NO FEE.

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