How to Structure Your Earn-out in Uncertain Times

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Anson Sowby started Battery, a creative advertising agency in 2013. Battery quickly won assignments from companies like Netflix and LEGO featuring A-list celebrities such as LeBron James, fuelling their growth to 50 employees by 2019. That’s when Paris-based Havas decided to make an offer to buy Battery.

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Anson Sowby started Battery, a creative advertising agency in 2013. Battery quickly won assignments from companies like Netflix and LEGO featuring A-list celebrities such as LeBron James, fuelling their growth to 50 employees by 2019. That’s when Paris-based Havas decided to make an offer to buy Battery.

Sowby’s story is full of insights, including:

• How Battery recovered from a devastating year in 2016.
• The hidden benefit of interviewing M&A firms.
• When to hire a CFO.
• The three types of acquisitions.
• The surprising role your location can play in the value of your company.
• How to tell your employees you’ve sold your business.
• The secret to a win/win earn-out.
• The unexpected emotion Sowby felt after selling.

Sowby engaged an advisor two years before being ready to sell and credits the outside perspective from an expert as one of the most important things he did to get Battery prepared to sell. If you’re keen to find an advisor to help prepare your business for a transition, request a meeting with a Certified Value Builder™.

About Our Guest

Anson is the Co-Founder and CEO of Battery, honored as a 3-time Ad Age Small Agency of the Year and ranked as a top 10 Fastest growing private company by the Los Angeles Business Journal 3 years in a row. In 2019, Battery was acquired by Havas. Prior to Battery, he co-founded one of the first pure play social media agencies called Rocket XL, growing the company to 5 offices across 4 countries before being acquired by the Cossette Communications Group in 2008.