What is Business Planning?

Owners of successful small and medium-sized businesses need professional legal advice on a variety of topics.  These topics include everything from business formation to negotiating an agreement for a successful merger or acquisition. Successful business planning also includes negotiating and drafting documents for every complex business transaction that arises during the administration of a business.

Every business also needs to plan for succession.  Often times, owners of small and medium-sized businesses become so devoted to growing their business that they forget to plan who will run it after they retire. The sooner a business owner puts together and implements a succession plan, the higher the success rate.

McCarthy Weidler advises business owners on all aspects of forming and running a business.  Over the years, McCarthy Weidler has advised clients from a variety of industries, including pharmaceutical, real estate, retail, restaurant and food services, industrial and consumer goods, transportation, scrap processing, architectural and engineering, finance, insurance, and agriculture.

What Makes a Good Business Plan

A good business plan coordinates every aspect of a business creation, administration, and succession in a strategic, tax efficient names. A good business plan involves consideration of some or all of the following:

• Forming and structuring new businesses in an entity appropriate for the bussiness owner’s goals
• Preparing bylaws and articles, partnership agreements, operating agreements and shareholder agreements that help the customers run smoothly and grow
• Negotiating and preparing employment agreements that benefit the business and its owners
• Granting stock options to reward and retain key talent
• Planning for mergers and acquisitions so the business can continue to adapt and grow
• Structuring joint ventures when the business reachces out on new opportunities with others
• Analyzing debt and equity restructuring to keep the business profitable
• Performing business liquidations and wind-downs when the time comes to end a business
• Planning for business succession for the long term benefit of the owner and employees
• Planning in advance for federal and state tax matters that arise everyday or in the event of a large transaction

Representative Cases

McCarthy Weidler’s client base includes closely-held businesses, publicly and privately held businesses, and nonprofit organizations.  Some of the representative cases handled by our attorneys include the following:

• Represented management group in a $1.3 billion sale to a private equity group
• Merger of U.K. company into a U.S. company ($154 million transaction)
• Sale of building supply company ($95 million purchase price)
• Sale of specialty pharmacy to publicly-held corporation ($85 million purchase price)
• Sale of manufacturing company to a venture capital firm ($28 million purchase price)
• Negotiated real estate lease between private operator and Atlantic City Casino
• Sale of franchisor to a venture capital firm ($18 million purchase price)
• Sale of medical supply business ($12 million purchase price)
• Sale of photo printing service company to a U.K. company ($8 million purchase price)
• Acquisition of printing company ($5 million purchase price)
• Acquisitions of scrap metal recycling companies (combined transaction value in excess of $10 million)