Buckhead Coalition Founder Sam Massell to speak to GABB on April 29
Buckhead Coalition Founder Sam Massell to speak to GABB on April 29
ATLANTA, GA. – Sam Massell, the founder of the Buckhead Coalition and former mayor of Atlanta, will speak to the Georgia Association of Business Brokers on Tuesday, April 29. The GABB is the state’s largest professional organization dedicated to buying and selling businesses and franchises.
Massell, a life-long resident of Atlanta, has had successful careers in real estate brokerage, elected office, the field of tourism, and association management. He spent 20 years as a Realtor, becoming Vice President of Allan-Grayson Realty Company, then one of the city’s largest commercial brokerage firms. During that time, he was elected a charter member of the Atlanta Real Estate Board’s Million Dollar Club and was honored three times by the Georgia Association of Real Estate Boards for creating the “Outstanding Transaction of the Year.”
While in real estate, Massell became extremely active in a wide range of civic work, which eventually led to the political arena. He served 22 years in elected offices, including eight as President of Atlanta’s Board of Aldermen (now known as the City Council) and four as Atlanta’s mayor. While holding that office, he was also chosen as President of the 15,000-member National League of Cities. In addition, he has served a four-year term on the Board of the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority, and was a Board Member of the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games.
Among other achievements, his administration as Mayor is credited with establishing MARTA , with developing the city’s first enclosed arena (the Omni Coliseum), and with providing the “Five Points” Central City Woodruff Park, all with no call on ad valorem taxes. He also pioneered minority opportunities in city government, appointing the first female to Atlanta’s City Council and the first blacks as city department heads.
After leaving full-time public service, he entered the tourism business in Buckhead where he operated for thirteen years under the name of Your Travel Agent Sam Massell. He is a Certified Travel Counselor (CTC), and a former President of the Travel Industry Association of Georgia.
Mayor Massell now manages a nonprofit civic organization as founding President of the Buckhead Coalition, a prestigious association of Chief Executive Officers of major businesses on the north side of Atlanta. His many board memberships include Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau, Atlanta Historical Society, and Atlanta Speech School. In addition, he is in the Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau “Hospitality Hall of Fame;”Georgia Trend Magazine’s “Most Influential Georgian’s Hall of Fame;” the International Civil Rights’ “Walk of Fame;” and has received the coveted Council for Quality Growth “Four Pillar Award.”
GABB members represent owners of Georgia businesses and help them estimate the value of their businesses, create marketing plans and strategies for the sale of their businesses, and identify and qualify potential business buyers while keeping the sale confidential from employees and customers. Many of today’s business buyers are individuals who have decided not to re-enter corporate America , but are ready to control their own destiny by purchasing and operating a Georgia business. Many business buyers are also current business owners who saw 2013 as an opportunity to grow their revenues through purchases of competitors or strategic partners.
The GABB’s monthly meeting at 10:30 a.m. at the South Terraces Conference Center is preceded at 9:45 a.m. by a free light breakfast and networking session. The GABB is the state’s largest professional organization dedicated to buying and selling businesses and franchises.
The South Terraces Conference Center is at 115 Perimeter Center Place, Atlanta. For more information about the GABB, contact GABB President C. David Chambless at dchambless@abraxas.biz or 404-627-4454.
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GABB Spring Conference on March 25
Gadgets and Gizmos:
Learn about the latest cloud-based tools, mobile apps, software and other gadgets that will help you better market and manage your business.
Ramping up the Referrals:
Learn and implement a powerful referral marking plan. Examine your referral network and plan activities that will motivate referral sources to refer you.
Course Location: Atlanta REALTORS Center, 5784 Lake Forrest Drive, Atlanta, GA 30328
Morning Session: Gadgets & Gizmos
8:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m.
Technology Tools: The morning features a class in using technology tools taught by the In Motion Real Estate Institute. In this course brokers will learn about the latest cloud based tools, mobile apps, software, and tech savvy gadgets available in today’s market that will help them better market and manage their business. From a Livescribe® pen that records your voice, to a personal surveillance system that looks like a keychain, this action-packed class will teach business brokers the benefits of tools that will help them stay competitive, save money, and work efficiently!
Instructor Marsha Thompson is a Trainer/Speaker and Georgia REALTOR.® She has worked in corporate America for IBM and Experian Credit Reporting Agency. In the past she has trained for government agencies and done talks across the country for non-profits. Today she facilitates InMotion courses such as Gadgets and Gizmos for Agents as well as courses that focus on Credit, Sales and Communication. Marsha volunteers her time serving as President of the Fayette County Chapter of Jack and Jill of America. She lives in Atlanta with her husband, two daughters, and her dog Butterscotch, a.k.a. her exercise coach.
Afternoon Session: Generate More Referrals
12:30 p.m.-4 p.m.
The Referral Institute will lead a workshop teaching participants how to create and begin implementing a basic referral marketing plan. Participants will learn about a powerful yet easy referral process and leave with scheduled activities that will lead to referrals. This session is based on the concept of doing business by relationship. While there are two important aspects to this, having a compelling message along with a diverse network, we will focus on examining your referral network and on activities that will motivate referral sources to refer you. The process begins with a review of the 5 Steps of the Referral Process and use of the RISE²TM strategy to Identify and Strategize actions that will efficiently generate referrals.
Instructor Emile Paradis retired from the Marine Corps Reserve in 1995 as a Colonel. Upon retirement, he became a Financial Advisor where he learned the importance of marketing. In 1998, Emile started the first chapter of Business Network International in Louisiana. He moved to Atlanta in January of 2002 as the Managing Area Director, BNI, Atlanta.
Emile is the Managing Partner of RPM Advisors and is a franchise owner of the Referral Institute. He has been a Referral Institute Master Trainer and has developed a number of referral training programs that are taught nationally. He is also certified as a DISC Practitioner by Personality Insights, Inc. and has conducted DISC training for businesses both large and small. His presentations provide on-the-ground, useful information, mixed with action items and a little fun.
Emile is the founder of Global Network ATL and is the Executive Director for Fast Forward Restart, a nonprofit organization working with small businesses and nonprofits in their recovery from major disasters. Current project areas include New Orleans, LA and Rumford, ME.
Emile’s fundamental principle of marketing is the belief that to know me is to love me.
Directions to InMotion Real Estate ATLANTA
5784 Lake Forrest Drive, Atlanta, GA 30328
From the South: I-75 north to I-285 east or I-85 north to I-285 west. Exit at Roswell Road south and turn right onto Northwood Drive. Turn right onto Lake Forrest. The Atlanta REALTORS® Center on the left at the stop sign (intersecting Allen Road).
From the North: Take GA 400 south and change to I-285 west. Continue as above via Roswell Road.
From East or West: I-285 to Roswell Road. Continue as above.
Bring a potential GABB member to hear Atlanta Business Chronicle Publisher Speak Tuesday, Feb. 25
Bring a potential GABB member to hear
Atlanta Business Chronicle Publisher Speak Tuesday, Feb. 25
Your Georgia Association of Business Brokers officers want to significantly increase membership this year, and to do that, we need your help.
RENEW:
First, please renew your membership if you haven’t done that already. Visit our web page or click on the following links to renew.
GABB will publish and distribute a directory of all GABB members who are current at the end of February 2014, and you won’t want to miss this opportunity to present yourself to potential clients as a committed professional broker.
RECRUIT:
Second, we are asking ALL GABB members to recruit at least one new member in 2014. More members will benefit everyone by making our association stronger, improve networking and improve our status as THE professional organization dedicated solely to buying and selling business in Georgia. Click for information about joining GABB.
Third, recruit a SECOND new GABB member, and we’ll reward your diligence and dedication with $50. We all win when our association is robust. For more details on this offer, come to the GABB meeting on Feb. 25.
Fourth, please bring a potential member to our next GABB meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 25, to hear Ed Baker, longtime publisher of Atlanta Business Chronicle, one of the country’s largest business journals with more than 166,000 readers weekly. Mr. Baker has been publisher of Atlanta Business Chronicle for 27 years, one of the country’s largest business journals with more than 166,000 readers each week. In addition to his local responsibilities, he is Chief Strategic Officer of American City Business Journals, the parent company.
The GABB’s monthly meeting will be at 10:30 a.m. at the South Terraces Conference Center is preceded at 9:45 a.m. by a free light breakfast and networking session. The GABB is the state’s largest professional organization dedicated to buying and selling businesses and franchises. The South Terraces Conference Center is at 115 Perimeter Center Place, Atlanta. For more information about the GABB, contact GABB President C. David Chambless at dchambless@abraxas.biz or 404-627-4454.
REFERRALS & TECHNOLOGY:
Save March 25 for the Spring GABB Educational Conference. Enjoy a valuable day of professional education designed to help you improve your business and earn your professional continuing education credits that you need for your broker’s license. The morning features a class in using technology tools taught by the In Motion Real Estate Institute. This course will introduce brokers to the latest cloud-based tools, mobile apps, software, and tech savvy gadgets that will help you better market and manage your business. In the afternoon, the Referral Institute will show participants how to use a powerful yet easy referral process and actually leave with scheduled activities that will lead to referrals. This session is based on the concept of doing business by relationship. While there are two important aspects to this, having a compelling message along with a diverse network, we will focus on examining your referral network and on activities that will motivate referral sources to refer you.
READ:
News from GABB’s blog for brokers.
The Pre-Sale Business Tune-Up. Owners are often asked, “do you think you will ever sell your business?” The answer varies from, “when I can get my price” to “never” to “I don’t really know” to everything in between. Most sellers may think to themselves when asked this question, “I’ll sell when the time is right.” Obviously, misfortune can force the decision to sell. Despite the questions, most business owners just go merrily along their way conducting business as usual. They seem to believe in the old expression that basically states, “it is a good idea to sell your horse before it dies.” Read more on the GABB blog.
Considering Selling? Some Things to Consider. Know what your business is worth. Don’t even think about selling until you know what your business should sell for. Are you prepared to lower your price if necessary? Read more tips.
GABB urges Senators to support Senate Bill. H.R. 2274 (A Bill exempting main street business brokers and middle-market intermediaries from securities licensing) was passed by the House of Representatives. The U.S. Senate legislation is not assured. Contact your Senators and urge that they both co-sponsor S.1923 and vote for it when it comes to the Senate floor.
GABB members, 2014 promises to be a big year for our association, and we don’t think you’ll want to miss out. So, renew, recruit, and reap the rewards of your GABB membership!
For more information about GABB, visit www.gabb.org or contact GABB Executive Director Diane Loupe at georgiabusinessbrokers@gmail.com or 404-374-3990.
You are receiving this email because you have expressed an interest in GABB. If you would like to stop receiving notices from the GABB, please email georgiabusinessbrokers@gmail.com and we will remove your name.
Read MoreEleven Georgia Business Brokers Named to Million Dollar Club with Over $60 Million Sold
Eleven members of the Georgia Association of Business Brokers (GABB) helped business owners and entrepreneurs sell and buy more than $60 million worth of small and medium businesses in 2013.
GABB members represent owners of Georgia businesses in extremely important transactions: the sale of their businesses. GABB members help business owners determine the asking prices of their businesses, create marketing plans and strategies for the sale of their businesses, and identify and qualify buyers of their business while keeping the sale confidential from employees and customers.
“The business climate in Georgia certainly improved in 2013, and we of the GABB were glad to be a part of stimulating the economy,” said GABB’s 2013 President Matt Slappey. Our transactions put tens of millions of dollars in the Georgia market and allowed banks to put a lot of money on the street via business acquisition loans. Allowing our clients to achieve liquidity from their business is a primary goal. Many will retire but some will turn around and buy another company right here in Georgia.”
Topping the GABB’s 2013 Million Dollar Club is C. David Chambless, president of Abraxas Business Services, Inc., and the 2014 president of the GABB. “It is an honor to lead the GABB, both as the top producer in 2013 and as the president in 2014,” he said. “Our organization is truly unique: we are an organization that provides its members with robust support in serving our members – the business owners and business buyers of Georgia.”
Other Top-Five business brokers include Jon Merry, an associate of the BUSINESS HOUSE, inc. of Gainesville; Jeff Merry, owner and founder of the Business House, inc. of Gainesville; Steven Josovitz, vice president of The Shumacher Group; and Matt Slappey, owner of the Decatur branch of Murphy Business and Financial Corporation.
Multi-Million Dollar Club members also include Matt Wochele, president of Preferred Business Brokers, Inc.; Dean Burnette, founder of Best Business Brokers of Savannah; and Eric Gagnon, founder of We Sell Restaurants, Inc. Rounding out the honors are Michael Kelly of Coldwell Banker High Country Realty; Gareth J. Young of Abraxas Business Services, Inc.; and J. Snypp of Preferred Business Brokers.
Jeffery Merry, who has been GABB’s top producer in eight previous years and has been a part of the Million Dollar Club since its inception in 1999, was honored with the GABB’s Phoenix Award.
The Georgia Association of Business Brokers (GABB) is the state’s only professional organization and Multiple Listing Service dedicated to buying and selling businesses and franchises. The GABB maintains a web site that lists hundreds of businesses and franchises for sale throughout Georgia, as well as around the country, in a variety of fields, including animals and pets, automotive, business services, child care, cleaning, construction, schools, electronics equipment, fitness, flooring, floral, food businesses, gas stations, landscaping, manufacturing, medical, shipping, restaurants, retail, security, signs and businesses related to the internet.
A lifetime member of the GABB Multi-Million Dollar Club and 2014 GABB President, C. David Chambless is the president of Abraxas Business Services, Inc., which focuses on businesses with revenues between $5- and $30-million in the manufacturing, distribution, healthcare, technology, and services industries. An inactive CPA, Mr. Chambless has served in sales, marketing, and executive roles in technology firms; as CFO for Aaron Rents and various private companies; and as a management consultant. Chambless currently serves on the membership committee of the Atlanta chapter of Business Executives for National Security and on the Sporting Clays committee of the Atlanta Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America. He has served or is serving in various roles in the Technology Association of Georgia (TAG), including as a member of its board of directors and chair of its Leadership Council. He has served on the boards of the Grant Park Conservancy and the Southeast Atlanta Business Association. Mr. Chambless is actively involved in All Saints’ Episcopal Church. His other community investments include service on the boards of The Samaritan House of Atlanta and the Resource Opportunity Center of Atlanta, and on the Advisory Council of 24/7 Gateway, a homeless-services center. Mr. Chambless has an MBA in Finance from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and a Bachelor of Industrial Engineering from Georgia Tech. Mr. Chambless and his family live in historic Grant Park.
GABB 2014 Treasurer JON MERRY is a Senior Business Broker with the BUSINESS HOUSE, inc. of Gainesville. In 2012, Mr. Merry received recognition as one of five brokers to join the Multi-Million Dollar Club for closed M&A transaction. In addition, Mr. Merry is owner of M&E Appraisals, Inc. located in Dawsonville, GA. Further, he is a Certified Machinery and Equipment Appraiser (CMEA) with the National Equipment and Business Builders Institute (NEBB Institute) for over 10 years. A CMEA is intensively trained in the legal requirements involving professional appraisal standards, as well as the methodology approach employed in establishing fair market value, orderly liquidation value, and forced liquidation value in any market condition. Mr. Merry is a member of the International Society of Business Analysts (ISBA), Georgia Lenders Quality Circle (GLQC), and the International Business Broker Association (IBBA). As a native of Georgia, Mr. Merry was a professional umpire for Minor League Baseball for 11 years. He and his wife, RaeLynda and their two sons, Jacob and Joseph, live in historic Dahlonega.
JEFFERY E. MERRY, SR., a past president of the GABB, was the GABB’s top producer the past eight years and has been a part of the Million Dollar Club since its inception in 1999. Jeffery was recently honored with the GABB’s Phoenix Award, which esteems an individual who has earned Million Dollar Club status for 10 years. Mr. Merry, owner and founder of the BUSINESS HOUSE, inc. of Gainesville, is a member of the International Association of Business Brokers. For more than two decades, his firm has specialized in serving the manufacturing, distribution, veterinary and medical industries. As a Business Intermediary, Certified Exit Planner and Consultant, Mr. Merry has been involved in more than 300 mergers and acquisitions that have ranged in acquisition price from $60,000 to more than $15 million. He has been an adjunct instructor for the MBA program at North Georgia College. Mr. Merry holds a Bachelor’s Degree from Mercer University, a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Illinois Edwardsville, and a Juris Doctorate from Atlanta Law School. Mr. Merry, a resident of Dahlonega, is a licensed real estate agent in Georgia and Florida, a Senior Business Analyst, and a member of the Exit Planning Institute. He is married to attorney Rebecca Speir Merry, has three children, five grandchildren, and enjoys travelling, reading and riding his motorcycle.
GABB Million Dollar Club Member STEVEN JOSOVITZ is vice president of The Shumacher Group, where he heads the restaurant business brokerage division and provides commercial retail and restaurant real estate site selection, sales and lease negotiation expertise. A former restaurant owner and trained professional chef, Steven has an extensive background in restaurant and hotel management. He also offers consulting, appraisal services and has been retained by law firms for his expert opinion to help settle disputes. Mr. Josovitz, a resident of Norcross, earned a B.S. in Hotel/Restaurant Management from Florida International University in 1981. Mr. Josovitz is a member of the Georgia Restaurant Association, International Council of Shopping Centers and the Retail Brokers Network. He is Multi-Million Dollar member of the GABB’s Million Dollar Club and received the 2012 Million Dollar Club Lifetime achievement award.
GABB Lifetime Multi-Million Dollar Club Member and 2013 GABB President MATT SLAPPEY is the owner of the Decatur branch of Murphy Business and Financial Corporation. Mr. Slappey has been the top broker in Murphy Business & Financial Corporation of Georgia from 2008-2013. Matt’s focus is on businesses with values between $2MM – $50MM and believes that his results for his clients are the ultimate acknowledgement of his abilities. He has ranked in the top 10% of the GABB each year of his membership. Mr. Slappey, a native of Decatur/DeKalb County, draws from his experiences in previous business transactions, his Certified Business Intermediary (CBI) designation from the International Business Broker Association (IBBA), degrees in Accounting, Economics and Business from Presbyterian College and 12 years of experience in management for a Fortune 100 healthcare company. A seven year active duty veteran, Mr. Slappey was a pilot and military intelligence officer in the U.S. Army. He is an active member of Oak Grove United Methodist Church and enjoys spending time with his wife and three daughters, playing in a band, and enjoying the great outdoors.
MATT WOCHELE CBI founded Preferred Business Brokers, Inc., in 1996 after a 17-year career as an investment banker. He is a life member of the Georgia Association of Business Brokers Million Dollar Club and a member of the International Business Brokers Association. Under Mr. Wochele’s leadership, Preferred has represented hundreds of private business owners in the sale of their businesses. As the managing broker he has had the opportunity to guide and train a number of successful agents in the business brokerage field. Having a career in both the public business arena and now the private sector has been rewarding and certainly interesting. Mr. Wochele resides in Sandy Springs with his wife, Kathy, a professional artist. Kathy and Matt have five daughters and one son-in-law.
DEAN BURNETTE founded Best Business Brokers in 2009 after more than two decades of starting, buying and selling businesses. With roots in Southwest Louisiana and Georgia, Mr. Burnette draws from his experiences as a business owner, previous buying and selling transactions, the International Business Broker Association (IBBA), and GABB. He is a member of the Real Estate Commercial Alliance (RCA) a subsidiary of the Savannah Area Board of Realtors (SABOR), the 2013-2014 President of the Savannah Small Business Chamber of Commerce, a member of the Savannah Area Chamber of Commerce, the Savannah Folk Music Society and the Derenne Business Owners Association. He is a member of the Georgia Association of Realtors (GAR), the International Business Brokers Association (IBBA) and also a proud sponsor of the 2014 Georgia Logistics Summit. Mr. Burnette is married to Dr. Deborah Burnette, has two children, three grandchildren, and they enjoy traveling, playing music, kayaking, running and being in four parades a year on their float the “Santa Maria.”
A GABB Million Dollar Club Member for the sixth consecutive year and 2011 GABB President ERIC GAGNON is the President of We Sell Restaurants and wesellrestaurants.com. He has been designated an industry expert by Business Brokerage Press. A radio personality, frequent speaker and writer, Eric co-hosts a radio show dedicated to the restaurant industry that is broadcast from the nation’s 7th largest media market. Mr. Gagnon expanded the We Sell Restaurants brand into a franchise in 2012 that is growing with offices across the country. Mr. Gagnon is the co-author of Appetite for Acquisition, an award winning book on restaurant brokerage that was named “Best of 2012” by Small Business Book Awards. In addition to GABB, Eric is a member of the International Business Brokers Association (IBBA) and has served as a speaker at their national meeting. He is also a member of the Business Brokers of Florida (BBF), the Southeast Franchise Forum (SEFF) and the International Franchise Association (IFA). Eric is licensed as a Broker in Georgia, South Carolina and Florida. He holds degrees from major universities in both the United States and Canada.
MIKE KELLY, GRI, is an Associate Broker with Coldwell Banker High Country Realty. He founded Mike Kelly Realty and Development in Blairsville, Ga., which specialized in the brokerage of commercial and industrial real estate and businesses in northeast Georgia and western North Carolina. Mr. Kelly has a strong background in the commercial and industrial field, working in valuation consultation for 20 years with the world’s largest appraisal company in the world, American Appraisal Associates. Mr. Kelly operated several startup companies in Florida and after achieving significant growth in a decade, sold the companies at the peak of the market. Mr. Kelly was born and raised in Freeport, New York, and graduated from St Peter’s College in New Jersey with a bachelor’s degree in economics. Mike and his wife Ruth have four married daughters and eleven grandchildren. Kelly is a Director of the North Georgia Technical College Foundation, past president of the Rotary Club of Union County, a member of St. Francis of Assisi’s Finance Council and an active member of the Blairsville-Union Chamber of Commerce.
GABB 2013 Treasurer GARETH YOUNG works with Alpharesults to help companies obtain Georgia business income tax credits: his specific focus is the Georgia retraining tax credit, especially businesses with between 100 and 1,000 Georgia-resident employees. Mr. Young has extensive experience in business and corporate development, finance, and the nuts and bolts of running a small business. He was Executive Director of Corporate Development for BellSouth Corporation, where he was responsible for developing and executing business expansion strategies through mergers and acquisitions, partnerships, and other transactions. Mr. Young began his career at Deloitte in the UK, where he spent seven years. He left the corporate world in 2006 to pursue both independent business livelihood and his spiritual path. In addition to becoming a successful entrepreneur and an accomplished speaker, Gareth is one of the founding members of the Red Clay Sangha, an Atlanta Buddhist community, and is very involved in interfaith activities, serving on the boards and in executive leadership with several Atlanta organizations. He is a father of two teenage children, a graduate of Oxford University, and an author of novels, works on spirituality and social justice, and a weekly blog.
J. SNYPP, a former GABB Board member, lives in Dunwoody, grew up in Atlanta and graduated from Georgia Southern University with a degree in marketing. Mr. Snypp spent more than two decades in the office furniture business before becoming a Business Broker and has been with Preferred Business Brokers, Inc. for eight years. He has found success selling businesses in a variety of industries most recently selling multiple day care centers, a travel agency and cooking school. Mr. Snypp is married and has two sons. Therefore, when he is not selling businesses he is usually coaching a football or baseball team, camping, canoeing, water skiing, scuba diving, or involved in some other family activity.
Read MoreGABB urges Senators to support S.1923
SEC issues M&A Brokers No-Action Letter
News for GABB from the International Business Brokers Association
Good News: H.R. 2274 (A Bill exempting main street business brokers and middle-market intermediaries from securities licensing) was passed by the House of Representatives on January 14, 2014, by a vote of 422-0. Congratulations to all who have helped to get this Bill passed.
Bad News: The overwhelming support for the House Bill (H.R. 2274) must not give us the false sense of security that this U.S. Senate legislation (S. 1923) is a sure thing for passage. Based on the unanimous bi-party support in the House, we should be able to conclude that this current legislation (the result of our industry’s past seven years of efforts) would have a strong chance of Senate passage.
On the contrary, according to status of S.1923, the Senate version has a less than stellar chance of passing. Our industry has never gotten this far in the legislative process before, and we have momentum working to our advantage. We must have your efforts and/or continued efforts to facilitate passage in the Senate. See a
We have come so far, but still need your help. Here is what we need you to do:
• Contact your Senators and urge that they both co-sponsor S.1923 and vote for it when it comes to the Senate floor.
Contact your Senators today! Invest three minutes of your time to contact your Senators about your support for S.1923 by clicking here.
Contact Georgia Sen. Johnny Isakson
Contact Georgia Sen. Saxby Chambliss
We currently have a total of five Sponsors and Co-Sponsors for S.1923:
• Joe Manchin, III [D-WV]
• David Vitter [R-LA]
• Saxby Chambliss [R-GA]
• Thomas Coburn [R-OK]
• John Barrasso [R-WY]
Invite your Senators to Co-Sponsor S 1923!
Contact Georgia Sen. Johnny Isakson
Contact Georgia Sen. Saxby Chambliss
Share this link with an urgent plea for support to the Brokers, Lenders, and other Transaction Professionals in your network to insure their clients, business owners are not put at risk in the event of an asset sale converting to a stock sale.
BREAKING NEWS! Last Friday, the SEC issued a sweeping M&A Brokers No-Action Letter generally mirroring HR 2274 /S.1923. This is another major milestone on our path toward clarifying and simplifying the complex, overlapping and unduly burdensome regulations that can impact buyers and sellers of privately held businesses, and the professionals who seek to assist them.
In a nutshell, unregistered brokers and intermediaries operating within the bright guidelines of the No-Action Letter can now take some added degree of comfort that the SEC very likely will not pursue action against them, regardless of the size of the transaction. We have little doubt this was influenced by our legislative successes. Unfortunately, an SEC no action letter does not prevent attorneys or courts from tangling brokers in asserting the need for registration, and it can be withdrawn by SEC at will, and further does not obligate any state from following suit in contradiction to their state securities licensing laws. We cannot lose sight of the goal and lose any momentum now! We need to complete the process to accomplish exemption by law!
Do it now. This is your future. We need your help!
Thank you for your continued efforts and support.
Source:
Dora Lanza & Steve Wain
2014 M&A Source and IBBA Chairs
Text of Proposed Letter
[YOUR LETTERHEAD] [DATE] [NAME AND ADDRESS OF YOUR SENATOR]
RE: Support S. 1923 the Small Business Mergers, Acquisitions, Sales and Brokerage Simplification Act of 2013
Dear [Recipient’s Title and Name]:
As an M&A advisor, I am writing to ask for your support of S. 1923, the Small Business Mergers, Acquisitions, Sales and Brokerage Simplification Act of 2013. This bipartisan bill to reduce regulatory burdens on small business owners and their advisors was passed by the House of Representatives (H.R. 2274) on January 14 by a vote of 422-0.
Senator Joe Manchin III (D-WV), and Senator David Vitter (R-LA) introduced the Senate version of the bill and I encourage you to cosponsor this bill and urge your colleagues to pass the bill on the Senate floor. Senators Saxby Chambliss (R GA), Tom Coburn (R OK), and now Senator John Barrasso (R WY) have co-sponsored the bill.
As an M&A advisor myself, I know that:
- An estimated $10 trillion of privately owned businesses will be sold or closed as baby boomers retire.
- Jobs are preserved and created when new entrepreneurs acquire and grow existing businesses.
- Business brokers can play a key role in facilitating private business mergers, acquisitions, and sales.
- Simplified regulation of business brokerage services will facilitate the flow of capital to privately held businesses, which are the driving force in growing the nation’s economy and job growth.
In its guidance to the House Financial Services Committee on this bill, the SEC strongly preferred exempting business brokers and M&A advisors who assist in the sale of smaller, privately held businesses, as opposed to creating a simplified registration and regulatory regime.
Passage of S. 1923 is strongly supported by the Alliance of Merger and Acquisition Advisors (AM&AA), the Small Business Investor Alliance (SBIA), the US Chamber of Commerce, the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA), the Association for Corporate Growth (ACG), the M&A Source (MAS), the International Business Brokers Association (IBBA), and numerous regional, national and international professional associations.
Thank you for your support.
Sincerely,
[YOUR NAME HERE] Read More