I understand your concerns. I've done tech/ISP M&A for years (including selling three of my own ISP and telecom businesses) since before I was a lawyer. Even now, I consult telecom and ISP clients regularly on how to structure deals and how to handle the labor and employment issues (since employees are often a huge part of these deals). I don't think a blanket answer is the right one. The key is in the structure. If business attorneys are telling you that it can't be done and that you should run from seller-financed deals, then they either aren't listening to what you're asking or they don't do very many, if any, of these deals. Wholly- or partially-seller financed deals are extremely common in this industry. I'd go so far as to say only a minority of these deals are 100% cash-at-closing.
If you're concerned about the time to get relief, you can and should take advantage of emergency equitable relief available to you and also add specific language into the agreement that preserves that immediate right to get an injunction if certain covenants are breached. It won't take months or years to do that, but hours to at most 48-72 hours to preserve the status quo so assets, customers and employees are lost or wasted. Federal and state courts move very quickly in emergency situations that require this kind of relief. It's not "conventional" litigation that can (and does often) stretch for years. A more common situation where this occurs with far more frequency is the non-compete context. Whether to pursue this kind of relief is more often a business and risk decision on your part, just like it is a business and risk decision whether to sell to a buyer in the first place. As to your last point, a buyer might not be able to get financing from a bank for a host of reasons, many of which have nothing to do with their "quality" as a buyer. For that matter, even a cash-at-closing deal isn't final in every circumstance. If the buyer goes belly up and files for bankruptcy, a bankruptcy trustee has the ability to claw back the funds from the purchase and even unwind the deal under certain circumstances. Doug From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Cameron Crum Sent: Wednesday, March 19, 2014 3:09 PM To: WISPA General List Subject: Re: [WISPA] Selling ISP Doug, The problem I see with that is that you will most likely have to take the other party to court to enforce the terms of your agreement if one of the terms is breached. It could take months or even years to get a final judgement at which time there may be nothing left. This may be good advice for a non-wisp business, but in the fast paced world of broadband, customers will likely flee before a resolution is reached. If the buyer is left insolvent, you are left with nothing, and may be on the hook for all your own legal fees. I talked to three different business attorneys and they all told me to run from any seller financed deal regardless of who the buyer was. Again, if the buyer can't get financing on their own, are they a good buyer? On Wed, Mar 19, 2014 at 2:55 PM, Hass, Douglas A. <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: Of course! You have to have a willing seller and buyer to start. My point is that setting preconditions before you get started (as a buyer or as a seller) unnecessarily limits what you ultimately would be able to do. Don't take options off the table until you have a specific deal to consider. Then is the time to say "I'm only taking cash" or "I'll finance, but only with X, Y, and Z terms that protect me." Doug From: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> [mailto:[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>] On Behalf Of CBB - Jay Fuller Sent: Wednesday, March 19, 2014 2:53 PM To: WISPA General List Subject: Re: [WISPA] Selling ISP Depends on how bad you want to sell ...we don't always want to buy. Sent from my Verizon Wireless 4G LTE Smartphone ----- Reply message ----- From: "Hass, Douglas A." <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> To: "WISPA General List" <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> Subject: [WISPA] Selling ISP Date: Wed, Mar 19, 2014 2:08 PM Cameron- There's lots of ways to structure the deal so that you're protected, even if the buyer is a complete imbecile and even if the buyer doesn't have cash up front. If you want to sell or if you want to buy, don't let the all-cash restriction prevent you from making a deal. If you end up in court chasing payments from the buyer, then you likely didn't draft your agreement carefully enough given your tolerance for risk (of course, your due diligence should be telling you whether the buyer is an imbecile, and that information should inform what kind of deal you're willing to accept). To categorically reject buyers who don't have 100% cash to hand you at closing might mean leaving money on the table or more flexible terms from someone who can put together a more attractive end package. In that sense, it works like selling real estate. The all-cash offer isn't always your best one. To Randy's point--Jab has undergone a major shakeup at the top. Many of the senior executive staff have departed in the last few months. That might account for some of the quietness. I don't have any inside information, just what I learned trying to round up potential panelists and speakers for WISPAmerica. Doug From: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Cameron Crum Sent: Wednesday, March 19, 2014 1:45 PM To: WISPA General List Subject: Re: [WISPA] Selling ISP The seller is not a bank. Why should they take on all the risk? What happens if the buyer is a complete imbecile and runs the network into the ground and defaults on payments? Now you are in court suing for money you will most likely never see, and even if you retake possession of the network, it may be in shambles or most of your customers have left. We walked away from a couple of buyers who would not pony up the cash. I'd say as one who sold a wisp, if the buyer can't afford it, or can't arrange their own financing, you don't want to sell. On Wed, Mar 19, 2014 at 1:39 PM, Mike Hammett <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: There's many more buyers out there. ----- Mike Hammett Intelligent Computing Solutions http://www.ics-il.com ________________________________ From: "Randy Cosby" <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> To: "WISPA General List" <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> Sent: Wednesday, March 19, 2014 11:00:34 AM Subject: Re: [WISPA] Selling ISP Is anyone actually buying right now? I haven't heard much about the big buyer (Jab) lately. On 3/19/2014 9:49 AM, CBB - Jay Fuller wrote: The going rate, we've seen (and has been discussed here many times), is about 1.5x annual revenue Douglas A. Hass Associate 312.786.6502<tel:312.786.6502> [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> Franczek Radelet P.C. Celebrating 20 Years | 1994-2014<http://www.franczek.com/20thAnniversary/> 300 South Wacker Drive Suite 3400 Chicago, IL 60606 312.986.0300<tel:312.986.0300> - Main 312.986.9192<tel:312.986.9192> - Fax www.franczek.com<http://www.franczek.com/> Franczek Radelet is committed to sustainability - please consider the environment before printing this email ________________________________ Circular 230 Disclosure: Under requirements imposed by the Internal Revenue Service, we inform you that, unless specifically stated otherwise, any federal tax advice contained in this communication (including any attachments) is not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, for the purposes of (i) avoiding penalties under the Internal Revenue Code or (ii) promoting, marketing or recommending to another party any transaction or tax-related matter herein. ________________________________ For more information about Franczek Radelet P.C., please visit franczek.com<http://franczek.com>. The information contained in this e-mail message or any attachment may be confidential and/or privileged, and is intended only for the use of the named recipient. If you are not the named recipient of this message, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution, or copying of this message or any attachment thereto, is strictly prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please contact the sender and delete all copies. ________________________________ ----- Original Message ----- From: Eagle One Wireless<mailto:[email protected]> To: 'WISPA General List'<mailto:[email protected]> Sent: Wednesday, March 19, 2014 10:33 AM Subject: Re: [WISPA] Selling ISP We priced ours at 2.5x gross revenue. We had about 10 companies contact us. I would say 5 were serious but they wanted us to finance it so we decided not to sell. Thanks, Kevin Melson Eagle One Wireless 1505 Hwy 72 E Corinth, MS 38834 662-287-1722<tel:662-287-1722> [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> www.e1w.com<http://www.e1w.com> -----Original Message----- From: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Ryan Morgan Sent: Wednesday, March 19, 2014 10:30 AM To: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> Subject: [WISPA] Selling ISP What is the current rate for selling your ISP! I would like to sell, for health reasons. Thanks for your help! Jean _______________________________________________ Wireless mailing list [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless ----- No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com<http://www.avg.com> Version: 2014.0.4336 / Virus Database: 3722/7216 - Release Date: 03/19/14 ----- No virus found in this message. 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