Successful Acquisitions

Minority Interest

Before we look at acquisition proper, we should give special consideration to minority interest ownership. This surprisingly neglected tactic has many significant benefits. First, assuming you have limited budget to invest in external growth, buying several minority interests allows you to spread your risks. You don’t have to put all your eggs in one basket. Second, you can purchase an interest in a company that would otherwise be too expensive or too big for you to comfortably acquire whole. (See Chapter 3 for some important advice on the size of acquisitions.) A third benefit is that your investment as a minority owner is unlikely to trigger the departure of a management team that you may want to see remain for some years ...