M&A Activity M&A activity in the Food & Beverage space remains healthy with just under 250 deals announced in Q1 2018, down from 370 deals on Q1 2017 (which was a very high quarter in terms of deal count and aggregate transaction value). The largest deal by far was the $23 billion Leveraged Buyout (LBO)…

There is no single process that everybody follows when purchasing a business, and there are many factors that determine whether a business, once bought, will fulfill its desired purpose. But if there is one thing that will mitigate the chances of failure, and increase the chances of success, it is conducting detailed due diligence on…

Are you planning to expand your restaurant business? Do you plan to open new stores? Do you need outside capital to fund that expansion? Here are five steps to take now to improve your chances of successfully raising capital – debt, equity, or both. 1. Make Sure Your Books are in Good Order Most restaurant…

Before diving into global investment trends in Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) and Machine Learning (“ML”), it may be worth quickly defining them. To quote John McCarthy, widely recognized as one of the pre-imminent leaders in this space, AI is defined as “The science and engineering of making intelligent machines.” AI systems can perform tasks that normally…

Due to the recently passed Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), business owners who were looking to sell their business in 2018 may now be reconsidering. After all, the TCJA cuts corporate tax rates resulting in increased cash flow for profitable companies. While this is true, it is also worth considering that private company valuations…