Any Day Now...

Selling your senior care operation or medical practice is a big step. The process can be complex. It can involve many parties. Many sellers ask, "how long does it take to sell my operation?" The short answer ... it depends. Some transactions can close in as little as 30 days. Some can take more than a year. Below we discuss what factors impact the total time to sell a senior care operation or small medical practice - from initial listing to closing. We call this the Sell Period.

Factors Affecting the Sell Period

Exit Planning

Although not technically part of the Sell Period, exit planning has a major impact on the Sell Period. Before going to market, sellers need to develop the best financial performance than can for at least three years. Many valuation models heavily weight an operation's worth based on the past 3 to 5 years. During this preparation period, sellers need to eliminate wasteful spending (i.e., if the expense or expenditure does not contribute to enterprise value, get rid of it). The seller's books need to be clean. All business tax returns need to be filed. Business bank account transactions should show only items associated with the business (i.e., no personal transactions). The seller's accountant should be well-informed on the accounting practices used by the operation. The seller should have a well-documented, up-to-date playbook. This includes operations manuals, employee handbooks, policy updates, and desk procedures on how to run the operation.

Listing Preparation

The seller's business intermediary typically takes 30 to 45 days to (a) propose a most probable selling price the seller and business intermediary can agree on, (b) develop a comprehensive business review document for publication, (c) develop marketing collateral and a promotional plan, and (d) posting and promoting the listing.

Finding and Prescreening Buyers

Finding buyers in this market is easier than before. Prescreening and finding buyers that are a good fit for your operation is another story. Ninety to ninety-five percent of buyers are not a good fit for a seller. Many buyers are tire-kickers. Some may be competitors. Others are just curious about your operation or the industry. Finding the right buyer may take 6 to 12 months.

Purchase Agreement, Due Diligence, and Final Negotiations

Once the parties executed a purchase agreement, the buyer starts the due diligence process. During the due diligence process, the buyer verifies the information presented by the seller. The seller may ask for more information or qualifying data. The buyer also arranges her financing options with her lender, the seller, investors, or any combination of these parties. Finally, the buyer may counter the asking price with her own business valuation exercise. The parties negotiate these final points before entering the final Sell Period stage. Due diligence and negotiation typically takes 30 to 90 days.

Regulatory Hurdles and Closing

Since senior care operations and medical practices are state regulated entities, the parties will need approval from the appropriate licensing authorities. This can add another 30 to 60 days to the Sell Period (e.g., The State typically requires 30 days' prior notice of a change of ownership for an assisted living facility.) Closing usually takes 1 to 3 weeks (if a bank is involved, the closing time is usually the latter).