Buying a business
Buying a business in Australia
Everest CPBB helps buyers find and assess businesses across Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland, including off-market opportunities. Define your budget and criteria, verify earnings and risks, and arrange independent accounting and legal advice before committing.
Why acquire?
- Scale
- An acquisition may increase purchasing power, capacity and customer reach. Test the integration costs and achievable savings rather than assuming a larger business will be more profitable.
- Diversification
- Adding customers, products or locations can reduce dependence on one revenue source. Check that the new activity does not introduce risks your team cannot manage.
- Competitive edge
- A strategic acquisition can bring new intellectual property, technology and people that competitors cannot easily replicate.
- Recruitment and retention
- A larger business with a greater variety of roles and development paths helps you attract and keep talented staff.
Our service to you
What we do on your behalf
- Identify acquisition targets and test operational benefits against your objectives
- Unearth vertical and horizontal integration opportunities through our off-market database
- Establish detailed acquisition plans and roadmaps
- Gain access to closely guarded vendor operating and financial information
- Hold contract deposits in a statutory trust account, subject to the contract and applicable requirements
- Keep the transaction professional, legal and smooth so you meet your operational and investment goals
The process
The legal acquisition process
- 01
Initial investigation
1–2 weeks
- Review high-level information
- Macro-economic and industry research
- Determine overall suitability
- 02
Initial enquiries
6–10 weeks
- Execute a non-disclosure agreement
- Review detailed financial information
- Arrive at a valuation and submit a Letter of Offer
- 03
Due diligence
2–4 weeks
- Operational, financial and legal due diligence
- Site visits and management meetings
- Confirm lease, licence and employee positions
- 04
Legal documentation
2–3 weeks
- Solicitor reviews the sale and purchase contract
- Final due diligence as required by your advisers
- Contract deposit held in Everest's statutory trust account
Buying FAQs
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to buy a business?
From first review to settlement, a typical acquisition takes around three to six months: one to two weeks of initial investigation, six to ten weeks of initial enquiries and offers, two to four weeks of due diligence, and two to three weeks of legal documentation.
How do you find businesses for me to buy?
We unearth vertical and horizontal integration opportunities through our off-market database, so most of the targets we present never appear on public listing websites.
How is a business we want to buy valued?
After executing a non-disclosure agreement you review the detailed financial information, and we help you arrive at a valuation before submitting a Letter of Offer. For independent valuations and formal reports we work alongside our dedicated valuation service, Everest Valuation.
How are my funds protected during a purchase?
Your contract deposit is held in Everest's statutory trust account and released in accordance with the contract and applicable requirements. A trust account safeguards how funds are held; it does not guarantee that either party completes the transaction.
What happens to leases, licences and employees?
Your advisers review lease assignment, licence transfer or approval requirements, and employee obligations during due diligence. Record required consents and agreed liabilities in the contract; this reduces risk but cannot eliminate every post-settlement issue.
Sense-check the price against the city you buy in
The same business can trade at different multiples in different cities. Everest Valuation's city guides help you judge whether an asking price is fair for that market before you commit.
Ready to look at targets?
Share your acquisition criteria and we will start matching you with pre-qualified, off-market opportunities.