Acquisition Partnership
Buy it with the people who will help you run it.
For select acquisitions, LIMESTONE works alongside buyers on transaction evaluation, financial analysis, diligence coordination, transition planning and defined post-close operating priorities.
Engagement responsibilities and economics are negotiated separately. This is distinct from independent third-party Quality of Earnings, with potential conflicts addressed before work begins.
The five stages
Five stages, and what you receive at each one.
How this usually starts
You pay for the full review once, on the deal you decide to pursue.
The buyers we talk to sign two or three letters of intent before one closes, often lining up a different lender for each, and expect to buy one business. A full review on each would buy two or three reports to close one business, so the work runs in order: a read of each deal, a decision, then the Quality of Earnings and the operational read on the one that survives.
Two terms matter on most small acquisitions: cash left in the business for the months after close, so the new owner is not borrowing working capital in month two, and a seller note tied to the transition of the customer relationships, so the seller has a reason to make the introductions. Both are settled before the letter is final.
Structure
We take nothing from any lender, so the structure fits the business.
We are paid the same whether the deal closes on a 7(a) loan, a conventional loan or seller financing. On an SBA initial acquisition or business expansion at a business purchase price of $3 million or more, the lender’s quality of earnings comes from another firm under its own fee, and our work for you sits beside it.
Three ways to build a deal team
Seven questions to ask anyone who helps you buy, including us.
Most buyers assemble their own team or join a program; the last answer to each question is ours.
Ryan Anoskey, CPA
Partner
Jared Luegers, CFA
Founder and Managing Partner
The partners
Two partners, one or both in the business after close.
After close, Ryan Anoskey, CPA, takes the CFO Partner role and Jared Luegers, CFA, the Operating Partner role, one or both as you agree. We are taking on our first two Acquisition Partnership clients and will say so here until both deals have closed.
Day one onward
The roles can start the day the wire clears.
At the Embedded level the CFO role owns the 13-week cash view and the lender reporting; at Advisory it reviews them. The operating partner role owns the plan the diligence wrote, three to five initiatives, each with an owner, a date and a measure, re-read every quarter. One role or both; the cadence, the level and the terms are set in the engagement letter, and the levels are on the CFO & Operating Partner page.
Get started
Bring the deal you are closest to.
A thirty-minute call with both partners about the business, the lender and the letter. If the deal only needs diligence, we’ll say so and quote that instead.