5 Reasons to Be Acquired in the Built Environment

The built environment is getting more and more competitive. During the pandemic and even now as the economy improves there are fewer clients for firms to market to and get work from. This phenomenon creates intense competition, lower prices, and the need to be better or bigger than your competitor to win the contracts. How do you become bigger and better quickly?

Become acquired! Stonemill Partners is representing more and more firms who recognize the need to be bigger and offer more services to compete. In addition, these firms want to retain their key people. How do you do this? Offering bigger and better opportunities with projects and advancement within your organization are the ways to do this. We hear many firm owners say, “I just can’t get the projects that I used to get because I am too small. I don’t have the experience or resources that larger firms have.”

If you are reading this and are thinking that you need more capacity, a more diverse focus, more people or have the need to expand your geography then you should consider being acquired to get a “leg-up not a leg-out.”

When you are acquired for this reason, you should receive full market value for your firm at closing plus an employment agreement with the new firm that is over and above what you sell your firm for. Some owners obtain stock in the newly combined entity and become principals in addition to being acquired.

What we are finding as we talk to sellers that we have represented is that they have found it much easier to get even more work from their current clients because of the experience, new services, and capacity that they can provide post-acquisition.

Companies acquire other companies for a few different reasons:

1. To expand their footprint; acquiring to expand their geographical reach.
   
2. To expand capacity to offer more of what they are already offering.
   
3. To diversify a service offering; offering complementary services to what they are already offering, while obtaining new clients and new business with current clients.
   
4. To obtain experienced staff. Acquiring a company with experienced people is better than paying high commissions to employee search firms.
   
5. To signal to new prospects and current clients that you are now a bigger company with more resources, more capabilities and a firm that can serve many needs.

As you can see there are many reasons to be acquired. Maybe you should consider being acquired as part of your growth strategy.