There are nine interrelated issues that heavily impact contractors. 

We will dive deeper into each of these over the next week:

1. Strength and alignment of the management team (post-deal)

2. Culture of the company - Is it prepared for an ownership succession and compatible with the new owner? Seems “soft” but is very “hard” and can destroy value quickly.  

3. Key relationship continuity with employees, customers, and others.

4. Financial partner alignment with banking, surety, and possibly insurance.  

5. Cash generation capabilities.

6. Asset vs. stock sale - who owns past liabilities, how are they quantified, and what is the tax implication?

7. Sustainable growth strategy and plan to ensure value is created for all stakeholders.  

8. Future direction of the construction industry and ensuring you are neither selling nor buying the equivalent of a horseshoe manufacturer and installer in 1900.  

9. Extremely low barriers to entry for new contractors can easily create competitors out of unaligned stakeholder groups, which often destroys value.