Cirrus regularly performs valuations for those looking to purchase or sell an entire business and also for buy-in/buy-out purposes. Our focus is working with small to medium-size companies.

• Sale or purchase of an entire business. Valuations for this purpose can be very different than those for other purposes, such as divorce, shareholder disputes, estate and gift tax, etc. Valuations for these purposes tend to require the appraiser to make many assumptions about hypothetical buyers and sellers. By contrast, appraisers involved in transaction work deal with “real world” considerations, such as the actual cash flows the buyer expects to realize after the purchase of the business, assisting with negotiations, developing letters of intent (LOIs), structuring a deal, and looking at tax implications. Cirrus will work closely with your attorney and existing CPA to help ensure a smooth process.
• Buy-ins and buyouts. Where a specific individual is seeking to become a partner/shareholder in an existing business, or is seeking to sell his or her shares in order to retire, the appraiser must consider existing buy-sell agreements, tax implications, and other real-world considerations. In some cases, where a minority shareholder faces a “squeeze out,” Cirrus can provide expert witness services.
• Reviewing offers. Cirrus regularly reviews sellers’ offers to purchase a business. In such cases, a valuation has already been performed by one party and, depending upon the thoroughness of that valuation, the appraiser may not need to perform a full analysis.
• Business brokering. Although Cirrus is not a business broker, we work with brokers in negotiating sales or purchases of businesses.
• Buyout agreements. These agreements generally define the buyout terms, and sometimes pricing, for owners who are desiring to exit a business, for those who have been terminated, can no longer work, or whose estates are left with an ownership interest in a business. Cirrus not only helps implement these agreements for owners, but also assists in drafting valuation language for these agreements.