About the Book

Home » About the Book

Buy-Sell Agreements for Closely Held
and Family Business Owners

• Publication Date: August 31, 2010
• Length:  243 pages
• Dimensions:  6×9 paperback
• Publisher:  Peabody Publishing, LP
• ISBN:  978-0-9825364-3-8
• Price: $29.95 (plus shipping/handling)

SPECIAL OFFER
For a limited time, Buy-Sell Agreements for Closely Held and Family Business Owners is specially priced at $25.

In addition to the printed book, you’ll also receive a complimentary e-book for immediate download, The Buy-Sell Agreement Audit Checklist (valued separately at $19.95).

Buy-sell agreements are not merely legal documents to be signed and forgotten. How they operate when triggered can have huge consequences for a business owner, his or her family, and the business. Are you sure that you know what will happen when your agreement is triggered? If not, this book is for you. It provides critical information and insight you won’t find anywhere else – information that can save you and/or your heirs money, as well as possibly control of your business.

Read how Tom Deans, Ph.D., author of Every Family’s Business, describes the book:

Although Chris Mercer wrote this book in a refreshing, and at times, humorous tone, readers can’t help but wonder how many business owners he has witnessed during his long career who failed to plan for their business’s inevitable transition. The value of this book lies in the seemingly endless examples of business owners who destroyed their own wealth. The recurring theme is consistently ill-conceived or outdated buy-sell agreements – or worse, no buy-sell agreement at all.

As a professional business valuator, as an acknowledged expert in his field, as an expert witness, Chris has occupied a front-row seat in courtrooms and boardrooms; one is left with the feeling that what he saw was often disheartening. Maybe having watched so many families twist in the wind and fight publicly over the question – “what is this business worth?” – after the owners’ father, mother, brother, or sister died, took its toll.

If it did, then surely everyone who reads this book will emerge the beneficiary of this author’s professional odyssey. His choosing to share his personal insights on an age-old problem – “how do I place a value on my business in the event I am divorced, disabled, or dead?” – is no small challenge. That Chris has written such an entertaining book on such an emotional (some would argue tedious and perplexing) subject is significant.

This book is as much about protecting owners and families as it is about protecting wealth. It’s as much about protecting a business owner’s legacy as it is about maximizing shareholder value.

Buy-Sell Agreements for Closely Held and Family Business Owners is written for all business owners who have or will have buy-sell agreements for their companies. Whether you have or are about to sign a fixed-price buy-sell agreement, a formula buy-sell agreement, a buy-sell agreement that contains a valuation process, or a combination of the above, this book is a must-have.

Chris Mercer has seen enough explosions following the triggering of buy-sell agreements to know that badly crafted agreements can be disastrous for all involved. However, you can know in advance your buy-sell agreement will work – and it doesn’t have to be triggered to find out. This book explains how. It gives you the tools and the knowledge you need in language any business owner can understand.

Read an excerpt from the book

See the book’s Table of Contents

Check out reviews of the book

Order your copy of the book from the publisher