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Commonly Asked Questions from Business Owners

You may be at a crossroads in your business. Perhaps you’re considering retirement or seeking capital to expand operations, acquire another business, or change strategic direction. Whatever the reason, selling a business represents a significant personal decision for business owners. Akoya provides sellers with the flexibility and options for investment that meet your personal and business goals.

We do not invest using a traditional fund structure and don’t have the pressure or time constraints to deploy capital. We invest our family capital, which allows us to be more discerning and hold the investment long term or until the business is ready to be sold.

Because we partner with family-owned and founder-owned businesses, we have developed a keen appreciation for the unique challenges and considerations of transferring ownership to an outside party. We work closely with business owners to ensure a minimally disruptive transaction process and develop management and board roles that fit their post-closing needs.

We are relationship-driven investors and believe that alignment is the key to success. When we make an investment in a company, we strive to increase the wealth and value not only for the founder/owner, but also for the entire management team and company employees. We provide the infrastructure and support necessary for the company and its employees to achieve the fullest potential. As part of our structure, we provide a meaningful equity grant to the key members of the leadership team to ensure complete alignment of interests.

We work with founders to customize a role that is consistent with their personal goals and objectives. Prior to closing a transaction, we develop a comprehensive Value Creation Plan in collaboration with the business owner and the company’s leadership team. The purpose of the Value Creation Plan is to create a roadmap for growth — both organically and through acquisition, if appropriate — while ensuring that the culture and legacy of the business is preserved and enhanced.

We encourage business owners to re-invest a portion of their transaction proceeds into the business. Oftentimes this re-investment, or “rollover,” can lead to significant additional proceeds.

You will gain a true partner working with Akoya. We are experienced business leaders and builders, not financial engineers. Our Sector Leaders — senior industry executives with extensive operating experience and a track record of building businesses — lead our partnership efforts with companies. They bring their domain expertise and industry relationships to the companies in which we invest.

We are active participants in the growth and success of our investments. Akoya brings operational and financial resources plus additional capabilities to make both organic and inorganic growth possible. Through additional capital, we invest in infrastructure and people and, when appropriate, accelerate acquisition activity to expand both geographic reach and capabilities throughout the organization.   

We are not under time constraints to exit an investment. We invest long-term, patient capital, which means there is no pressure to exit at a pre-determined time. We work from day 1 to execute the shared vision of the Value Creation Plan. Our purpose is to position your company for continued growth and success. We exit only when the time is right.