How long does it really take to sell a medium company in 2024?
Selling a factory or production plant is not a quick transaction at the notary. Last year in Silesia, the average time from the first conversation to the transfer to the account was 8 months and 14 days. We explain what this time is spent on and why haste is the worst advisor in valuation.
First 37 days: Tidying up documents and hard data from the floor
Most owners believe their documentation is ready for inspection. Reality comes to light when we ask for machine inspection protocols from 2021-2023 or current water-law permits. There is often a lack of specifics, which stalls the process right at the start. We check every zloty in fixed costs because the buyer will do the same, only twice as carefully.
In this stage, we prepare an Information Teaser. It's a short document showing the plant's potential without providing the company name. We focus on numbers: 14% operating margin, 47 permanent wholesale recipients, a hall with an area of 2350 square meters. These are facts that attract capital, not pretty adjectives in the offer.
The end of this stage is the moment we have a valuation ready based on the income method. We don't guess. If a machine is 12 years old, we calculate its real depreciation and impact on the result. Facts on the table allow us to avoid disappointments when it comes to actual negotiations with an investor.
Without order in the papers, your company's valuation drops by 12-15% at the very first site visit.
Buyer selection: 43 calls instead of a thousand emails
We don't send offers to random people. Our database for 2024 includes 83 active funds and strategic investors looking for plants in southern Poland. From this list, we usually select 12-16 entities that match your factory's profile. This is a stage that lasts about 94 business days.
Every interested party must sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA). This is crucial so that employees and competition do not find out about the sale too early. In July 2024, we led a process where only 3 of 11 interested companies advanced to the initial offer stage. The rest did not have secured financing.
During this time, we organize hall visits. They usually take place after the plant's working hours or on Saturday mornings. The investor wants to see what the machinery park looks like and if maintenance actually works as described in the documents. We calculate real profit from every machine we show to guests.
Due Diligence – the hardest 11 weeks
When you choose the best offer, the company examination begins. The buyer sends their lawyers and financiers. They scrutinize everything: from employment contracts for 42 operators to ISO certificates and contracts with energy suppliers. This is the moment where most transactions in Poland fail due to hidden legal defects.
To avoid problems, we run a so-called Data Room. It's a secured server where we keep all 156 key documents of the company. Thanks to this, answers to auditors' questions take us an average of 3.2 hours, not 3 days. Communication speed builds investor trust and shows that the company is managed professionally.
It happens that during the examination, small errors emerge, e.g., inconsistencies in land records. Then we don't panic, we just put a solution on the table. Lowering the price by 24,000 PLN is sometimes better than breaking off negotiations worth 12 million PLN. Without unnecessary adjectives, we explain where the problem came from.
The speed of answering auditor questions is the best signal that the company is healthy and worth its price.
Finalization and signing the contract at the notary
The last 3 weeks are work on the SPA (Sales and Purchase Agreement). This is a contract that usually has 45 to 70 pages. We negotiate every dot, especially clauses on the seller's liability after the transaction. We want you to be able to use the money peacefully after leaving the notary, not answer calls with claims.
The visit to the notary in Katowice itself is usually 4 to 6 hours of reading the deed. In 2024, installment payments have also become standard – e.g., 84.6% of the price payable immediately, and the rest after 12 months if the company maintains specified results. We help set these thresholds so they are realistic for the new owner to achieve.
To remember: selling a company is a marathon, not a sprint. If someone promises you to close the topic in 60 days, they probably don't know what a technical audit on a production hall looks like. We stick to facts and lead the process step by step until the money hits your personal account.
