Mergers and Acquisitions For Dummies (2 page)

Mergers & Acquisitions For Dummies
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by Bill Snow

Mergers & Acquisitions For Dummies
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Copyright © 2011 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana

Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana

Published simultaneously in Canada

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Library of Congress Control Number: 2011926316

ISBN: 978-0-470-38556-2

Manufactured in the United States of America

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

About the Author

Bill Snow
is an experienced M&A professional. He advises business owners in the sale of their companies or the acquisition of other companies. He's the one who contacts the buyers and sellers, negotiates and structures deals, oversees the due diligence, works with the attorneys to draft the purchase agreement, and ultimately gets the deal across the finish line.

Companies that Bill has advised include (but aren't limited to) businesses in marketing services, food processing equipment, drink dispensing equipment, guarding, cleaning, staffing, distribution, data marketing, wastewater services, telecommunications, and systems integrators.

Bill has written articles for numerous online sources and self-published a book about venture capital called
Venture Capital 101.
He has been involved with World Business Chicago, the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, the Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center, the Technology Executive's Club, the Midwest Entrepreneur's Forum, and DePaul University's PEN Symposium. He also hosts occasional networking events.

He has an MBA and a BS in finance, both from DePaul University, and he's a registered limited representative (FINRA series 63 and 79). You can find out more about Bill at his Web site,
www.billsnow.com
.

Dedication

To business owners and executives who are thinking about buying or selling a company.

Author's Acknowledgments

The genesis of this book goes back to my humble little attempt at some creative writing. Little did the subjects of those silly newsletters know that I had ulterior motives for documenting (and, uh, embellishing) those crazy years in our 20s. Sure, our little newsletter contained some funny bits, but truth to tell, I was writing it to hone my technical writing skills and to foster my creative abilities. Seriously. And you thought it was all about you!

So a big thank you to a cast of characters that include Ebbitt and that fine woman Clare, Little Lisa, Big Steve, Stevie V, Johnny V, Mariola, Jason S, Jason T, Joe, Carrie, Rogie, Rainbow, Jen, Tony, the Dold Boys and everyone at the Dold Family Compound, the brood of ungrateful Kemps (Tim, Kelly, Kerry, Karla, and Loren), and the unknowing and unwitting, creative-juice-generating granddaddy of 'em all . . . our Romanian pal Mark. I am grateful for your youthful antics, and more important, I am grateful for your continued friendship. Well, those of you who still speak to me.

A huge thanks to my mother and father, Carol and Bill Snow. I will never be able to repay you both for all that you have done for me over the years. When I find a T-shirt that reads, “We gave our kids everything and all we got was a lousy mention in a book,” I'll send one to each of you. And to my sister, Laura, the first in the family to get a PhD. You made it so much easier for me to pursue this book venture: Now I can be the first in the family with a published book. You also said I was a perfect choice to write a
For Dummies
book, “'cause they're snarky.” Though I'll have you know, Ms. PhD smarty-pants, that
For Dummies
books are actually irreverent.