MBO Guide for Management Teams

This book is aimed at prospective and existing managers of a Management Buy-Out or Management Buy-In. MBO / MBIs are inherently risky with failure rate being relatively high. This book can increase your chances of success, by describing some common elephant traps, bad practices and risks, and how best to avoid them. Management Buy-Outs and Management Buy-Ins are a hi-octane part of the business world. It is a high risk: high reward arena. Metaphorically an MBO/MBI is like fitting an 8 litre V12 engine into an aged VW Beetle and expecting it to perform much better than before, or as someone more colourfully put it: 'a venture capitalist would expect that if you made love nine times in a night, the baby will arrive in 4 weeks'. Since 1991 I have experienced 8 such deals. They vary greatly: staggering success to the verge of financial oblivion - and fortunately back again. The deals have ranged across very different markets; from the highfalutin world of global drug discovery in mythical Tintagel to heavy metal bashing (Dustcarts) in the West Midlands. The deals have been backed by many different Venture Capitalists and financed by UK and international banks. I have carried out a variety of roles across these deals: Chairman, Executive Director, Non-Executive director and as a personal Coach to a Managing Director. I have been very fortunate to have seen many MBO / MBIs through the prism of management since 1991. I have also attempted to make, what can be a serious and turgid subject easy-reading and on occasions perhaps almost entertaining!