Business exit planning involves business succession planning and exit strategies such as mergers and acquisitions. Whatever your situation may be, you should always be thinking about the time when you will leave your business, voluntarily or involuntarily, and to whom you will leave it. Business exit planning should begin when you form your business and should morph as your circumstances change. Market conditions may change, making your dream of selling your business to a Fortune 500 company unfeasible or impossible. Yet, there may be other options, such as employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) or management buy-outs or private equity funded exits, that may allow you to meet your goals. Family members may or may not be well-suited to taking over the family business, so alternative structures may need to be used to achieve a smooth and lucrative exit, while preserving family wealth and stability. Business exit planning involves the unique skill sets of tax planning, estate planning and business planning (as well as a bit of psychology!), where experience in handling myriad and complicated types of business exit transactions will be essential to a successful exit.
