High prices not the only outcome sellers seek

Purchase price may be a huge factor in getting deals completed, but sellers also care about the future of their company, says Goodwin Procter LLP partner Stephen Lee in a video interview with Mergers & Acquisitions at the ACG Los Angeles Business Conference. “Most sellers, especially entrepreneur sellers, they really care about their business, they really care about the people that work in their business, and they really want to think about fit.”

LEE: The common misperception is that sellers really only care about price. Most sellers, especially entrepreneur sellers, they really care about their business, they really care about the people that work in their business, and they really want to think about fit.

And so, pricing is obviously a very big factor, but the deal maker's ability to convey how the target company is going to be wrapped up either in a portfolio of a private equity, or in a strategic company's existing operations and how they're going to treat employees, that's a huge factor in deal decisions right now.