Succession is a big driver of many of the deals in the current buy sell market. Last week, Robert Bass of Bass Sox Mercer told me that lack of management depth has been behind many of the deals his firm has done recently.
A good system to develop new managers, be they family members or others, is something every dealer should have. This week, I talked with the CFO of a Canadian group that has just that. Murray Auto Group is family-owned, but puts time, effort, and its own capital behind promising management candidates who are not family members. That has created a steady supply of managers when it acquires new stores.
For those who don’t have such a good system already in place, Don Ray of Portfolio Insurance returns to our pages this week with some more tips on how to prepare for succession. The first question to ask yourself is, not unexpectedly, do I have a capable successor? That may be more difficult to answer where family is involved.
We also have the always-popular Transaction News.
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Enjoy!
