Mercer’s popular print book Buy-Sell Agreements for Closely Held and Family Business Owners is now available as an e-book. 

Buy-sell agreements are among the most common yet least understood business agreements and many are destined to fail to operate like the owners expect. Many, in fact, are ticking time bombs, just waiting for a trigger event to explode. If you are a business owner or are an adviser to business owners, this book is designed for you, providing a road map for business owners to develop or improve their buy-sell agreement.

Buy-Sell Agreements for Closely Held and Family Business Owners (E-book) will be your guide for understanding what your agreement says from business and valuation perspectives. The book includes a comprehensive and yet understandable roadmap for business owners and their advisers. It discusses the three major types of buy-sell agreements – fixed price, formula and valuation process agreements.

Chris Mercer makes a convincing recommendation based on more than 30 years working with business owners and buy-sell agreements. The best valuation mechanism for most successful closely held and family businesses is one calling for a single appraiser that is selected by the parties now (i.e., before any trigger event), and who prepares an appraisal to set the price for the buy-sell agreement. Then, the appraiser will provide an annual reappraisal to reset the price every year (or two at most).

You will want to share this e-book with your fellow owners, your accountant, your attorney and your financial planner. Together you can insure that your buy-sell agreement will not be a ticking time bomb, but that it will provide a reasonable resolution, in terms of pricing, terms and process, if and when it is triggered.