Gold Magazine January - February 2014, Issue 34 | Página 48

transaction and, of course, the more time is required to successfully complete this process. In
addition, each owner of a business has different
circumstances underlying his or her decision to
exit the business, so the timeframe for completion of each transaction can vary from one
week to several years. Therefore, methodology
is very important. We take a step-by-step approach to selling a business by understanding
business value drivers and providing an opinion of value; by performing market research
to identify potential buyers; by preparing
promotional material; by making preliminary
approaches and short-listing interested buyers;
by conducting negotiations and deal structuring, and, finally, by coordinating all the professionals involved to close the deal. To fulfil our
mission, Connecor has designed a full package
of business transfer services covering legal, accounting, tax, commercial and other issues in
mid-market transactions. Our most important
asset is our network, with our own offices in
Barcelona, Amsterdam, London, Singapore,
Shanghai and Hong Kong as well as 40 associated offices in over 30 countries worldwide
through Amicorp, our major shareholder. We
have the ability to structure complex, international transactions and close deals that are
beneficial to all parties involved, because we
can offer a total package including tax-friendly
solutions, legal structuring and commercially
viable operations. Finally, confidentiality is key
to our success.
Gold: Clear strategy and careful planning
seem to be of paramount importance to
Connecor. Will you be leading by example
in the Cypriot market?
M.C.: A very well-thought strategy is the basis
for commencing a business and it is perhaps
the most important ingredient in making the
business successful. A clear strategy, however,
must also be accompanied by a touch of flexibility, so as to adjust planned actions and meet
targets. Whereas Business Brokerage is a very
widespread and organised service in the USA –
and also moderately active in Europe – it remains to date a fairly under-represented service
in Cyprus. Competition for transactions in the
SME market is quite mixed and can be sometimes confusing as a number of parties attempt
to offer this service, but only a few specialise in
the way Connecor does.
Connecor has a methodology of doing things:

we offer a niche service by focusing on serving SMEs and assets in that category, which
is a difficult market to serve, especially for
bigger transactional offices. We have our
own methodology of approaching clients, of
promoting businesses and closing deals. A
new way of doing things can prove successful
if communicated correctly and if the client is
willing to be educated on the most beneficial
way of selling a business. We are here to stay
and we’ll invest time in educating our clients
on how they can focus on the business while
we focus on the deal!

DUE TO
THE CRISIS,
BUSINESSES
ARE ACTUALLY
SELLING AT
A DISCOUNT
Gold: Speaking of the deal, how big a challenge is it to partner a buyer and a seller?
What does the process involve?
M.C.: The search for serious buyers or sellers of b \