How to Make a Better Deal in Your Deal-Making: Top 5 key points to remember

Posted on: October 4th, 2016

Business experts classify the anatomy of a business deal as having three main components.

One, the expected return, or what you would expect to gain; two, the upside potential, or the best possible outcome and three, the downside risk, or the worst possible scenario. The ultimate goal of a well-negotiated deal is to have a fair expected return, a positive upside and possibly very little downside.

While a considerable amount of experience and expertise goes into completing a successful deal, we have listed out five essential pointers to help you get the best out of your deal making.

The simpler, the better: Complications in deal making often arise out of complicated deals. To avoid unnecessary confusion, uncertainties, or misunderstandings, keep it simple. The majority of the negotiation should focus only on the key points that serve the underlying interests of both parties.
Use the Clock: In most cases, negotiations expand to fill the entire time available. While important decisions should not be rushed into, a healthy deadline often works in favor towards achieving a better deal. So insist on a deadline at the onset of your negotiations.
Understand where your BATNA lies: Commonly called the Best Alternative To a Negotiated Agreement, BATNA helps in understanding the best-case scenario if the deal doesn’t get done. This in turn will influence the incentive each side has to make a deal happen
Don’t be afraid to get personal: Ultimately, the success of the deal revolves around the people involved. It is therefore wise to take time to understand the person behind the deal and his/her motivations and objectives. Whether you choose to play golf, or go to dinner, spend quality time and learn all you can about the person or people involved.
Be smart about the written contract: Finally, a deal is only as good as its final contract. Avoid falling into the temptation of allowing the other side to do your paperwork for you. Rather hire your own lawyers and specialists to get the legal language right, making sure it is a watertight deal.

As the Fed decides to ease interest rates, middle market acquisition financing structures will benefit in a number of ways. The underlying values of middle market companies will increase leading to a higher enterprise value and lower loan to value ratios for existing portfolio companies of acquisition financing lenders.

The role of acquisition financing is infrequently elevated above a functional transactional one. When a business needs financing to acquire, they go to the market and source acquisition financing to supplement their equity investment to close the deal. Despite existing in many different forms, acquisition financing is rarely explained in terms of the value it brings to the acquirer.

Acquisition financing underwriting usually focuses on business and financial issues that underpin the stability of cash flow. Providers of acquisition financing usually validate the durability of a company’s competitive advantage and the depth of its resource base. Environmental issues are usually not a major part of the analysis in today’s service and technology-based economy.