When longtime business partners in private companies go through a business divorce, emotions often run high. One or both of the partners may be seeking a “revenge premium” in the business divorce process based on their perceived mistreatment by the other partner during their time together. While the urge to extract a pound of flesh from a soon-to-be former partner during a business divorce is understandable, it is likely to be self-defeating. Seeking pay back from the other partner is likely to result in heightened conflicts, a longer time to complete the process, and more distractions for the business. By contrast, when partners keep their emotions in check, they can achieve mutually positive financial outcomes and increase the opportunity to preserve their business and personal relationships.

Introduction – The Costs of Pursuing a Revenge Premium

Securing a revenge premium from the other partner during a business divorce is not just difficult to obtain; the decision to go down this road virtually guarantees that both partners will be engaged in a more protracted, expensive process. These negative results include: (1) incurring substantial legal fees that may escalate rapidly into six figures (or more), (2) participating in multiple rounds of negotiations that do not produce a financial windfall, and (3) dealing with the negative reactions from other key stakeholders in the business, including employees, clients and other owners. In addition, the company’s performance and total value may decline precipitously in the midst of a contentious business divorce because management will be focusing on conflicts between the partners rather than prioritizing the company’s operations. 

The lose-lose type of scenario described above is one that both partners should take pains to avoid. Pursuing a business strategy that is guaranteed to increase conflicts, expense and time away from a focus on the business is akin to voluntarily jumping into quicksand. The remainder of this post therefore focuses on strategies for business partners to consider in efforts to optimize the outcome of their business divorce.  

Opt-In Strategies

When a business divorce takes place, the majority business owner may have become frustrated by the minority partner’s conduct and therefore insist that the minority partner accept a purchase price for the partner’s interest in the business that is less than its fair market value. That is what we refer to as a revenge premium. To head off the serious conflicts likely to ensue from the pursuit of a revenge premium, however, the majority owner may want to consider an entirely different strategy and approach to the business divorce.    

Majority Owners: Paying a Peace Premium to Departing Minority Partners

Specifically, the majority owner is advised to consider paying a purchase price for the minority owner’s interest that is well above its fair market value (FMV), which we refer to as the “peace premium.” We are not suggesting that the majority owner deliver a huge windfall to the minority partner, but instead to consider a purchase price that is 20%-35% larger than the FMV of the minority interest. The majority owner’s initial reaction to this suggestion may be that making this “excess” payment is rewarding bad behavior by the minority partner in the past, but for the reasons set forth below, the majority owner may want to consider biting the bullet and paying the peace premium to the minority partner.

Minority Investors: Buying Into a Soft Exit From the Business

For minority partners, their approach may be to demand an exorbitant purchase price for their interest, which is paid to them promptly. If the minority partner has not secured a buy-sell agreement from the majority owner, however, the minority partner has no contractual basis to issue a buyout demand to the majority owner. Therefore, making a demand like this would be akin to seeking a revenge premium because the minority partner has no legal basis for it. Indeed, in response to demands of this nature from the minority partner, the majority owner may elect to remove the minority partner from all operational and management roles in the business. When this type of squeeze out is implemented, the minority partner will be left with no access to further compensation, distributions or dividends from the company, and the partner may have to wait for years for some type of liquidity event to take place to monetize the investment in the business.

While the minority partner who has no buy-sell agreement in place with the majority owner can resort to a litigation strategy in efforts to bring the owner to the bargaining table to secure a buyout, a more effective, less contentious approach should be considered. Specifically, the minority investor could propose a soft exit from the business that permits the investor’s interest to be purchased over time by the company and on terms that do not create a financial hardship for the business.

This type of structure might involve a combination of a cash payment that is paid to the minority partner over time, as well as a revenue share for some period of years. All of these terms are subject to negotiation, but a soft exit for the minority partner could look like this:

  1. The minority partner accepts a purchase price of an amount that is below the FMV of the business, which is paid out over five years with 20% paid up front. This would not be a steep discount, but perhaps 10-20% below the FMV;
  2. To balance the shortfall in the purchase price for the minority partner’s interest, the company also agrees to pay the minority partner a set percentage of the company’s revenues for three years; and
  3. The minority partner and the company agree on a ceiling and a floor for the revenue share. In this regard, the company guarantees that the total amount of the future revenue share paid to the partner will not be less than a set amount, and the parties also agree that the amount of the revenue share will not exceed a capped total amount. Thus, the parties agree to a range of additional potential payments to be made to the minority partner after closing.

This type of soft (negotiated) exit from the business provides an opportunity for the minority partner to secure an exit from the company for a value that may meet the investor’s financial objectives, but without bankrupting the company. 

A Third Path: An Exit Facilitated by Third Parties

Another path for business partners to consider when they need a business divorce is one facilitated by third parties. The agreements the partners entered into may require them to attend a pre-suit mediation, but even if a mediation is not required by contract, there is generally little downside to attending a mediation with a business mediator skilled in facilitating business divorces. This type of pre-suit process is non-binding, and it will permit the mediator to help the parties explore efforts to resolve their claims/differences in a creative manner, which will avoid the time, substantial expense, and inconvenience of engaging in litigation. 

If a mediation is not successful, the partners may also consider submitting specific issues to arbitration. It is not unusual for the main conflict between partners in a business divorce to be the value of the business, and if they are at an impasse regarding valuation, they may end up in court over this issue. When litigation is the only option, that will result in a battle of the experts where both parties hire business valuation experts and present competing valuation reports to the judge or the jury for resolution. That approach will involve years of costly litigation, which will require the partners to incur the fees of both their legal counsel and valuation experts. 

One alternative is to limit the partners’ dispute to the issue of valuation and submit that issue for resolution by a single arbitrator or arbitration panel. This type of arbitration is much faster than litigation as it can take place in a matter of a few months rather than over multiple years; the company’s value will be determined by experienced business lawyers or former judges selected by the parties; and the arbitrator’s determination will be final without any appeal. If the partners are confident in their determination of the company’s value, this may be a better, less costly option to consider when company valuation is the primary conflict between them.   

Conclusion

Businesspeople are not immune to emotional reactions, and business divorces tend to magnify the feelings of the partners that caused them to separate. That is why it is common for business partners in this situation to pursue outcomes that seek to extract some type of revenge premium. But when partners ratchet down the emotions and engage in efforts to find pragmatic solutions — such as peace premiums, soft exits or the use of mediation or arbitration — they can save themselves from severe financial headaches and lasting emotional heartaches. 

Partners who are able to control their emotions during a business divorce can achieve outcomes that produce an array of positive benefits, which extend beyond their own transaction. More specifically, partners who focus on securing a win-win outcome in their business divorce place themselves in position to secure reasonable value for themselves; they will maintain (and perhaps enhance) their professional reputations; they will protect the enduring value of the business; and they will preserve their personal relationships. Setting aside the urge to obtain vindication is not just an appeal to the better angels of business partners, it is a strategy that is designed to produce the best possible outcome for them and also for the business. 

This focus on the continued success of the business also applies to the departing minority partner, who should care about the business even after the partner’s interest has transferred. First, the departing partner may have a revenue share that is directly tied to the future performance of the business. Second, even if the departing partner does not have a revenue share arrangement in place with the company, there is likely a payout of the purchase price, and the partner will not want to deal with a monetary default if things go south in the business. Finally, if the business does continue to flourish, the departing partner should be able to point to his or her role in the business with legitimate pride in having contributed to the company’s success.

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