When selling your business in New Zealand, one of the best ways to get a better sales price is to widen the pool of interested buyers. The more interest in your business, the greater the likelihood that someone will pay what you’re asking or close to it and that it will sell quickly. There are only so many New Zealand investors who are looking for a new company to buy and even less that are searching for an opportunity in your niche. Expanding your listing to attract offshore buyers can increase the buyer pool exponentially in some cases.
2017 Seems a Good Time to Attract Overseas Investors
Now is also a great time to position a business for overseas markets. According to the managing director of one multinational commercial property agency, the current level of buying interest from offshore investors is unprecedented. The buyers are mostly coming from the regions surrounding New Zealand, including Australia and mainland China. According to reports, profitability is the reason these investors are seeking Kiwi commercial properties and businesses. Some of them are seeing double the yield on New Zealand based purchases than on similar investments in their home nations.
Tips for Attracting Overseas Buyers for Your Business
Selling your business to an offshore buyer does take a little more work than selling it to someone in New Zealand. Here are a few tips for opening the door to overseas interests.
- Work with a broker who’s experienced in marketing and selling to offshore entities: Such a broker would be able to help you get through legal and regulatory steps that might be required for selling to an overseas buyer, but they’ll also have the resources to market to this audience effectively. Many brokers have partners, contacts or even offices in offshore locations and even those with a physical presence only in New Zealand or Australia may know exactly how to advertise to other markets.
- Be proactive with communication. Know that a global client may need more communication or information from you, even if they’re already in your niche. It’s important to understand some of the major differences in how your business type is run in New Zealand versus overseas. With that knowledge you can better communicate major factors for success or value to the potential buyer. Work with professionals to review all your advertising and for-sale listings to ensure the right points are highlighted in a way that speaks to each specific market.
- Plan to overcome the language barrier. In many cases, you or your broker will have at least one language in common with someone on the buyer’s side, but take the time to ensure that’s the case. Don’t just assume that you’ll be able to understand each other or that contracts and paperwork will read exactly the same to each party. Even if you speak the same language, cultural differences can make for misunderstandings during negotiations, so don’t be afraid to ask for or give clarification on important points. It’s also a good idea to avoid acronyms and industry slang for the same reason. By working with the right professionals, you can expand your search for a business buyer to more markets. That helps you sell your company faster and possibly get a higher sales price.
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