Mid-size Steel Fabrication Shop
Industry
Location
Business Broker
Situation
The business owner had started the steel fabricator business more than forty years ago and wanted to retire. After running and growing the business for many years, he was tired and looked forward to spending time on Cape Cod. He found BayState Business Brokers in an online search.
BayState Business Brokers’ Approach
Business Broker John Brice met with the owner to discuss and confirm his goals for selling the business. After so many years, deciding to sell can be difficult as can the transition to embracing retirement and what’s next. The seller wanted the transaction to happen quickly and defined an aggressive six-month timeline for the business to be under agreement.
The owner expressed interest in evaluating if a long-time employee would be a feasible candidate to acquire the business. Brice and the seller met with the employee to assess interest, capability and fit for potentially taking over and running the business. Brice advised the seller that his interests would be better served by going to market to attract qualified prospective sellers.
Brice developed the materials to bring the business to market and was inundated with interested parties. Steel fabrication businesses tend to attract great interest, including parties seeking strategic roll-up opportunities. Multiple letters of intent (LOIs) were secured early.
Timing can be critical when bringing any business to market and despite being a seller’s market, there can be macro-economic factors out of the business broker’s and seller’s control. In this case it was the tariffs, especially tariffs on steel. Business slowed and uncertainty was high.
A group of young buyers (in their late 20s and early 30s) emerged as the best qualified to buy the business. The group included a couple who had previously launched and sold a start up business and a business partner who would ultimately have 20% ownership. The couple had joined a group to help first-time business buyers learn how to locate, evaluate and structure deals to buy a business and in this case, buy their new career. For 18 months they had been looking to acquire a metal fabrication company. The buyer group were informed about the industry and shared a vision for growth and modernization of the business.
As part of the quality of earnings process inherent in any transaction, the buying group expressed concerns regarding the past year’s financials. In addition to steel tariffs stalling business for a quarter, the owner had experienced health issues prior to the tariff talk, and the business had suffered. The historical numbers raised concerns to the prospective buyers. Brice actively worked with both parties, facilitating negotiations of deal terms, bringing both parties back to the negotiating table multiple times to keep the deal alive.
Results
Brice successfully kept both parties communicating to move the deal forward, adeptly balancing the desires of an owner who wanted the deal done quickly with the young buyer group who sought to mitigate risk as they planned to move across the country to run the business.
At the end of the day, the deal was finalized. After 18 months of looking, the buyers had acquired a metal fabrication business. This ambitious, talented and young buyer group moved from Lake Tahoe with the couple assuming ownership and ready to lead the business into its next phase.
The seller is making the transition into retirement; not an easy transition for many after having so much of one’s identity associated with owning and running a business.
What Our Clients Say
As young buyers going through our very first acquisition, we weren’t sure what to expect. John never once made us feel out of place or inexperienced. Instead, he was gracious, patient, and often a mentor throughout the process. He respected us fully, guided us thoughtfully, and never doubted our ability to see this deal through simply because of our age. That confidence and support meant the world to us.
John also went above and beyond at every stage. He brought the deal back from the dead multiple times when both buyer and seller had walked away. He always seemed to know exactly what questions needed answers and what each side needed to hear to move forward. In an emotional process, he kept everyone grounded in logic—never pressuring us to compromise our comfort level, but guiding us with a steady, thoughtful hand.
What makes John stand out even more is that his support didn’t stop at closing. He still checks in regularly to ensure the transition is going smoothly and has made it clear he truly wants the best for everyone involved. Because of his approach, we not only own a great business today, but we also maintain a strong relationship with the seller.
John is a great broker and an even better human. We look forward to working with him again in the future and couldn’t recommend him highly enough.
Stephanie Lakso and Garrett Moon, Buyers
