One Strategy Took Them From 12.5 to 16 times EBITDA

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Arleen & Ted Taveras had been growing their insurance consultancy for twenty years when they received an unsolicited acquisition offer for 12.5 times EBITDA.

It was a tempting offer from an industry stalwart, but Arleen & Ted wondered if they might be leaving money on the table.

Rather than accept the offer, the couple decided to hire an advisor to shop their company in a formal sale process which garnered 27 expressions of interest, 12 of whom made a formal offer. Ultimately, Arleen & Ted agreed to a cash offer of around 16 times earnings – more than their original, unsolicited bid.

In this episode you’ll discover how to:

• Gracefully turn down unsolicited offers without dampening their interest.
• Use the unsolicited offers you get from private equity groups.
• Get employees to think like owners.
• Create a turnkey operation using video-based Standard Operating Procedures (grab our guide to SOPs here).
• Stay calm at the prospect of losing a multimillion-dollar offer.
• Calculate the right amount of your sale proceeds to share with your employees.
• Handle retained earnings building up inside your company so that you don’t lose them as part of an acquisition.

 

Check out our full M&A Glossary

About Our Guest

Ted & Arleen Taveras

Ted Taveras

Ted Taveras is the Co-founder of Insurance Licensing Services of America, Inc.  (ILSA). He has over twenty years’ experience in the financial services industry working in insurance, commercial banking, and investment banking.  At ILSA he took on the role of training the company’s staff in the areas of personal development, management development, and leadership development. He served as a board member, and chairman, of the Heart of Texas Workforce Development Board, Inc, and has served on The Texas Surplus Lines Association (TSLA) Legislative Committee and as well as a member of the Texas Association of Workforce Boards, The American Bankers Insurance Association (ABIA), The Independent Insurance Agents of Texas (IIAT), and the National Association of Professional Surplus Lines Offices (NAPSLO).

Ted holds a Bachelor’s degree in English and Journalism from Syracuse University.

Arleen Taveras

From 1997 until September 1, 2021 Arleen Taveras was Co-founder, President & CEO of Insurance Licensing Services of America, Inc. (ILSA). Throughout the years the company launched over 50 compliance services. In 2017, the 20th anniversary year, the company launched the Spot On Insurance (SOI) podcast—the place for insurance professionals to get weekly podcasts covering innovative solutions for the industry. Arleen co-hosts the podcast with her husband Ted.

Arleen is considered a leading authority in insurance compliance and licensing regulations. She is a past member of the National Association of Insurance Brokers’ Licensing Task Force, and the Texas Surplus Lines Association Legislative and Recruiting Committees and has been a member of the Society of Insurance Licensing Administrators (SILA) since 1993.

Arleen attended Jersey City State University and the College of Insurance in New York City where she obtained her Associate in Risk Management, (ARM).

On September 1, 2021 she relinquished her President & CEO role when ILSA was acquired by ReSource Pro. She now serves an advisor to the company which employs over 5000 team members worldwide.

 

Connect with Ted & Arleen:
Ted – LinkedIn
Arleen – LinkedIn