How to Avoid Common Stumbling Blocks in an M&A Process: With Raam Jani

In The Trenches

This episode is brought to you by⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Oberle Risk Strategies⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠: Insurance Broker and Insurance Due Diligence Provider for Search Funds and Other Small-to-Medium-Sized Businesses⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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This episode is brought to you by⁠⁠Boulay, the industry standard for Quality of Earnings, tax, and audit services, serving search fund entrepreneurs for 20+ years⁠⁠

*Raam Jani is one of the most experienced lawyers in the Search Fund ecosystem, and within the small business M&A ecosystem more broadly. In our discussion today, we cover some mechanics (including when one should begin the legal diligence process, how to avoid overwhelming sellers with too many information requests, and how he deals with situations where his legal counterpart is less experienced in matters of M&A). We cover frequent stumbling blocks within the M&A process (including how to evaluate the true extent of the key person risk that resides within any given seller, what areas of the purchase agreement tend to be most contentious, and why he advocates for rep & warranty insurance). And finally we conclude with some general market observations, including whether he thinks the lower middle market is as inefficient as it was 5-10 years ago.