We advise private-business owners on succession, transaction preparation and the choices involved in changing an ownership stake.
What happens to your stake?
Commonstake works with private-business owners preparing a succession, sale or change in capital. We help them examine what would happen to their ownership, income and involvement, and prepare the commercial information needed to compare the available paths.
Ownership succession
Separate ownership from management succession. Compare transfer options, the responsibilities of active and nonoperating owners, and the decisions that need agreement before shares change hands.
Transaction preparation
Organize the ownership, financial and operating information behind a proposed sale, acquisition or recapitalization. Identify unresolved matters and coordinate the questions for the specialists involved.
Board coordination
Clarify which decisions belong to shareholders, the board and management. Prepare meeting materials that distinguish the proposed decision, the alternatives and the information still missing.
A defined assignment
Agree the work, participants and materials before an assignment begins. Legal documents, tax advice and any financing or securities activity remain with the appropriate qualified specialists.
Map an intended ownership change
Choose an illustrative ownership position and describe the questions you want to examine. Your selections help prepare an inquiry. They do not recommend a transfer or establish its terms.
Before the change
The illustrative owner holds shares and manages the business.
Intended position
The shares remain.
Management responsibility moves to an appointed person.
The work behind an ownership decision.
| Focus | Assignment | What the work covers | Explore |
|---|---|---|---|
| Succession | Ownership succession | Owner priorities, transfer options, management readiness and decisions for family shareholders | Succession work |
| Transactions | Transaction preparation | Information gaps, deal preparation and the questions for legal, financial and tax advisers | Transaction work |
| Board | Board coordination | Decision rights, approval materials, meeting responsibilities and follow-up | Board work |
| Capital | Recapitalization planning | Owner liquidity needs, funding assumptions and the implications of a revised capital structure | Capital questions |
For owners considering a change: owner liquidity and company funding, or preparing for the buyer’s first request list.
From family transfer to a possible sale
A family planning a transfer may first need to agree who intends to stay involved. Owners considering a sale may need to compare their objectives before examining buyer terms. A board may already have a proposal but need the ownership information brought together. Each assignment can begin with the matter that needs attention now.
Before speaking to a prospective buyer
Preparation includes finding the current agreements, identifying who can approve a response and distinguishing missing records from decisions the owners have not made. The first buyer-request note explains how a question can move from document collection to an ownership decision.
Keeping an interest after stepping out
A continuing shareholder needs an arrangement for information and the decisions reserved to owners. The succession and owner-liquidity work considers that position alongside the role a person intends to leave. A management handover leaves the terms of the ongoing investment to be settled separately.
Tell us what is changing in the ownership of your business, or which decision needs preparation.
Contact Commonstake
Write about the proposed change
Include the type of business, the ownership question and any date already driving the work. Leave confidential records out of the first message.