Explore the Data:

Owner Motivations in the "Silver Tsunami"

Visualizing the Owner Motivations Behind Private Business Transitions

With approximately 200,000 middle-market companies in the U.S. — many of them owned by baby boomers approaching retirement — a significant wave of business transitions is expected, representing an unprecedented transfer of company value in the coming years.

If selling is the pathway, what motivates bringing this asset to a broader market versus transitioning to an owner closer to home — whether employee or family member? Discover what motivates an owner as they navigate retirement and the transfer of their private business.

Understanding Owner Decisions

There are many layers to the ownership transition formula. Try different approaches for each of the three scenarios below. The decision areas you're working with include:

  • Next Owner: Will you transfer to a family member, an employee or a private equity investor?
    • Family Owner: Transferring ownership to a family member.
    • Employee Owner: Transferring ownership to an employee.
    • Private Equity (PE) Investor: Transferring ownership to a private equity investor.
  • Time Horizon: How long does the next owner desire to hold onto this asset after purchase?
  • Strategy: Will the next owner focus on growing the business through added debt, seeking new market opportunities or prioritizing cost cutting and efficiency?
  • Culture: How much will the company culture shift with this transition?
    Financial: What kind of revenue expectations do you have for the sale itself?

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An image of a graph showing the nature of business transitions.

Explore the Data: Owner Motivations

In partnership with US Bank, Enova International, and Edward Jones, we were above to collect actual preferences from nearly 600 business owners. This interactive experience below puts you in the decision-maker’s seat. Identify a competing set of priorities for different buyers to see where real owners lean in their decisions.

A bar graph visualizing the probabilities of various ownership transition methods. By configuring up to three scenarios with customizable filters, you can compare and contrast various outcomes to learn the impacts of each decision.
  • Scenario 1
  • Scenario 2
  • Scenario 3
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