Getting forced out of a partnership

Filed under: portal.xn--b8qr95do2b.com — wktd @ March 9, 2010 edit
  • I have a problem. I own a company with 3 other partners. We all have equal shares. All three of my other partners are trying to force me out of the company. They gave me two choices. Either the buy my shares of they just fire me so I can't collect a paycheck. The buy out number is so low for what I think the companys worth. I've invested 6 years into this business and I'm not sure what it's worth. I guess what I'm asking is how do I go about dealing with this. Do I get a laywer? How do I know what my company's worth?


  • Sorry I haven't replyed. I haven't slept in 2 days, I was worried. I was terminated as of today. They took my keys and I got my last check. I did take all the books to my accountant and he will get back to me Monday. My ex-partners will have a dollar amount on what they want for my shares this Friday. I will take that to my accountant and he will direct me to the right layer to use. Thank you for your help.


  • Dear industry-ga; Thank you for allowing me an opportunity to answer your interesting question. “…how do I go about dealing with this?” You deal with it in a clear minded, professional, business-like manner. You are now on a different “team” than your former partners. Approach this as a “winner-take-all” card game. Never show your poker face and don’t let anyone see your cards. If they do they will predict your next move. Strategy will be your only secret weapon, unless of course you are privy to other potentially useful information that you can hold as a legal trump card. Keep in mind the old adage “two heads are better than one”. It still applies even though it is not necessarily in your favor. Conceptually, financially, and perhaps even intellectually, you are now greatly outnumbered 3 to 1. What you need to do now is get a bigger and better “team”. Which brings us to your next question. “Do I get a lawyer?” ABSOLUTELY! And the sooner the better. Your business opponents should not be allowed time to strategize. You need to get legal counsel and you need to get it fast if you plan to retain your stake in the business, or at very least, settle for a fair or even more lucrative severance. Your attorney can provide you with a means of preventing your partners from liquidating, re-structuring, tampering with your interests or perhaps even carrying out a hostile takeover/hostile buyout – at least for the time being. Often, by causing your opponents to become so encumbered with liability and litigation that they begin to look unattractive to consumers or investors, they might be forced to counter with a settlement or maybe even reconsider the move altogether. If they get the idea that you might selfishly scuttle the entire ship in defense of your own personal interests, it’s possible that one or more of the partners might have a change of heart. If even one of them get skiddish and appears to be leaning back toward your side, you’ve succeeded, because then it will be 2 against 2 (a much more advantageous position to be in, for sure). “How do I know what my company's worth?” Your attorney can help you determine this. It might also be necessary to him to buy you some time to do it. You have a right to evaluate your interest in anything you own before it can be sold, transferred or liquidated by hostile partners. In doing this, many of the partners’ plans will have to be placed on hold. Hopefully, again, this might produce some anxiety, or maybe even disenchantment between one or more of the partners. They are more likely to cooperate if they become impatient or nervous about their own futures or believe that their hostile coalition may not be as strong as first perceived. Your attorney can provide you with information for performing these types of analysis in order to determine with worth of your interests. Keep in mind that you also want to determine the worth of each partner’s interest as well, along with an overall appraisal of the company as a whole: THE JORDAN EDMISTON GROUP, INC http://jordan.broaddaylight.com/jordan/TFAQ1.shtm “A supply and demand analysis would imply that the value of your business is worth what the market (defined as the point at which the marginal buyer and the marginal seller meet) is willing to pay you at a given moment in time. Determining a business's value often begins with the preparation of a discounted free cash flow (DCF) analysis. A discounted free cash flow analysis calculates the present value of a business' total estimated future free cash flows over a given period of time usually five years. While a DCF analysis will provide a range of implied multiples of revenue and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) for a business, there are several drivers that affect market value including: Current health of the economy Size and dynamics of the underlying markets served Growth trajectory and profitability of the business Strength of the company's franchise and brands Competitive landscape and the company's share of market Strength of the management team; and Opportunities for continued organic growth and growth through acquisitions” BUSINESS KNOW-HOW http://www.businessknowhow.com/QandA/bizval.htm This article explains in very simple terms how one gets a fairly accurate idea of how much his business is worth. GE SMALL BUSINESS SOLUTIONS http://www.gesmallbusiness.com/magazine/1998_fall/f1998_whats_busin_worth.jsp This article talks about many of the same methods as the article above but offers a different approach to the explanation. BANKRATE.COM http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/biz/Cashflow_banking/20000609.asp Offers some online sources and tools for evaluating your business. ANATOMY OF A HOSTILE TAKEOVER http://loper.org/~george/trends/2002/Feb/87.html A very interesting article that recounts an actual situation that appears to be very similar to yours. TAKEOVER DEFENSIVE TECHNIQUES http://emgt.ku.edu/emgt806/Handouts/takeover_defensive_techniques.htm Explains some terminology. You will quickly note that the names reflect a kind of corporate game-play. TECH COMPANIES WARD OFF TAKEOVER http://news.com.com/2100-1017-256140.html?legacy=cnet A nice article about a new takeover defense called “the poison pill”. I hope you find that that my research exceeds your expectations. If you have any questions about my research please post a clarification request prior to rating the answer. I welcome your rating and your final comments and I look forward to working with you again in the near future. Thank you for bringing your question to us. Best regards; Tutuzdad-ga INFORMATION SOURCES THE JORDAN EDMISTON GROUP, INC http://jordan.broaddaylight.com/jordan/TFAQ1.shtm BUSINESS KNOW-HOW http://www.businessknowhow.com/QandA/bizval.htm GE SMALL BUSINESS SOLUTIONS http://www.gesmallbusiness.com/magazine/1998_fall/f1998_whats_busin_worth.jsp BANKRATE.COM http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/biz/Cashflow_banking/20000609.asp ANATOMY OF A HOSTILE TAKEOVER http://loper.org/~george/trends/2002/Feb/87.html TAKEOVER DEFENSIVE TECHNIQUES http://emgt.ku.edu/emgt806/Handouts/takeover_defensive_techniques.htm TECH COMPANIES WARD OFF TAKEOVER http://news.com.com/2100-1017-256140.html?legacy=cnet SEARCH STRATEGY SEARCH ENGINE USED: Google ://www.google.com SEARCH TERMS USED: determine company's value determine company's worth company hostile buyout company hostile takeover







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