Unsolicited Offer Leads to Multi-Million Dollar Valuation and Sale
Founded in 2005 by Bill Gallagher, Superior School of Real Estate is known for its quality programs, entertaining instruction, and impressive passing rates on the national and state licensing exam.
Business Background
What started as Bill Gallagher's small teaching business, has grown over the years into a 20-instructor business that’s chosen for continuing education by over 20,000 brokers per year. Superior School of Real Estate boasts one of the highest pre-licensing examination pass rates in the state at 75% and has more Distinguished Real Estate Instructors (DREIs) than any other school in NC.
Bill Gallagher started his real estate career in Charlotte, North Carolina after graduating college from Wake Forest University. He quickly rose through the ranks to become Broker-In-Charge for Merrill Lynch Realty, while teaching pre-licensing and broker courses at Mingle School of Real Estate and ethics in new member orientation for the Charlotte REALTOR association.
In 1998 Bill was promoted to President of Career Development for Prudential Carolinas Realty and opened Bill Gallagher School of Real Estate under the Prudential Umbrella. He then opened Superior School of Real Estate in 2005 and was awarded REALTOR of the Year in 2006, for his outstanding service to the real estate community.
The decision to sell his business developed after receiving an unsolicited offer. After reviewing the offer with his Attorney and CPA, who urged him to accept the deal, Bill contacted Jeffery Baxter at MidStreet Mergers and Acquisitions. MidStreet determined that Bill’s business was worth far more than the unsolicited offer and together they reviewed all of Bill’s options.
How We Helped
MidStreet explained the advantages and disadvantages of individual buyers vs. Private Equity Groups vs. Strategic acquirers and asked what Bill’s goals were in selling his business.
Bill felt he would need to divert his attention away from teaching to capitalize on the business’s many opportunities for growth, but that’s not what he wanted. Bill’s heart has always been in the classroom. For him, a perfect situation would be to sell the business and continue teaching at superior as an instructor following the sale. With this goal in mind, Bill listed his company with MidStreet.
MidStreet met with Bill’s advisors and created a comprehensive marketing and negotiation plan to achieve his goals. Through a controlled process of arranging meetings and releasing marketing materials to select buyers, the business received 26 qualified inquiries.
MidStreet conducted interviews with 14 individual buyers and 3 private equity groups, which led to 5 Buyer/Seller meetings and ultimately 3 offers on the business.
Bill Gallagher decided to accept a majority recapitalization offer from McKissock, a national firm owned by Private Equity Group, Quad-C.
In the end, the offer he accepted was more than three times higher than the original unsolicited offer. It also allowed Bill to maintain some equity in the business and featured an employment agreement negotiated by MidStreet to keep Bill teaching.
Bill Gallagher went on the establish a generously charitable remainder trust with his extra earnings from the business sale and continues to educate students at the Superior School of Real Estate to this day.
His story is a prime example of how a business sale can change your life for the better, and why business owners should have a valuation performed on their business before accepting any unsolicited offers.
