Jim Cohen, CBI and Lead Broker of Chicagoland Sunbelt, Completes Sale of CNC Machine Shop

Dec. 6, 2010 - PRLog -- Contact: Jim Cohen
Address: 8745 W. Higgins Road, Suite 220, Chicago, IL 60631
Phone: 773-243-1603
Email: jcohen@sunbeltnetwork.com
URL: www.chicagolandsunbelt.com

CHICAGO, IL – December 6, 2010 - Machine shops have faced hard times. According to the U.S Economic Census, in the state of Illinois in 1997, there were 1620 machine shops producing $4 billion in revenue in Illinois.  However, in 2007 there were 1484 machine shops contributing $2.3 billion in revenue to the Illinois economy, an approximate 10% decrease in the number of businesses and 40% decrease in revenues.  
“It is a stark image: in ten years once vibrant machine shops have excess capacity and underutilized talent” said Jim Cohen, Certified Business Intermediary and Lead Broker at Chicagoland Sunbelt. “In such an environment it is hard to imagine that there is a market of buyers for machine shops.”
However, a recent transaction by Jim Cohen, demonstrates that there are investors out there. Cohen represented a machine shop and fielded 94 inquiries, had 70 business profile showings, and received five offers.
“Most business owners look for one offer, but Chicagoland Sunbelt aims for multiple”, Cohen explained.  “Multiple offers lead to a better deal for sellers.”
Interest in the business was generated through a custom marketing plan that gave the business maximum internet exposure while reaching out to key players in the market and pre-screened buyers in the Chicagoland Sunbelt database.  
The seller was looking to retire and had put an immense amount of effort into preparing the business for sale. Two years before he planned to sell he analyzed operations and made internal improvements that streamlined the operation, cut down days to turnaround jobs, reorganized the worker roles, and invested in state of the art equipment. Those actions all added to the bottom line, which in turn added value.  
Interested parties were machine shops and other manufacturers looking to expand capabilities. The ultimate buyer was a precision machinery manufacturer that had added a machine shop as a line of business. This was one of many recent transactions they had made.
During it’s time on market, the economy affected the business and cash flow eroded. Despite that setback, however, Cohen leveraged marketing and negotiating tactics to generate multiple offers on the sale.
“I really appreciate Jim's expertise, professionalism, and responsiveness during the entire transaction,” Tom Alger, the seller in the transaction, said. “We had some very sophisticated buyers and Letters of Intent.  Jim was excellent in helping me see the `bones‘ of the deals and he clearly outlined the options that would be best for me.  Jim knew the obstacles we would hit even before they happened and his negotiating skills were excellent.  He also provided a great deal of comfort and support throughout the entire engagement; when things were going well in addition to when they weren't."
Once the buyer and seller came to terms the transaction took approximately six weeks to close.

About Jim Cohen
Jim is a Certified Business Intermediary and the Lead Broker for Chicagoland Sunbelt.  Having spent more than twenty years as an owner of multimillion-dollar domestic and international manufacturing businesses, Jim brings a wealth of experience in buying, operating and selling closely held companies.  He has firsthand knowledge of the passion that drives the needs and concerns of individuals selling their businesses.
Jim represents owners in the confidential sale of businesses ranging from one to twenty million dollars in revenue.  Jim has also represented clients in sectors including automotive, construction, education, financial, food service, health care, industrial maintenance, medical supplies and technology.  These sectors span business-to-business, direct to consumer, distribution, manufacturing, retail, and wholesale channels.

Jim is a proud member of the International Business Brokers Association and holds the Certified Business Intermediary® (CBI®) designation. This designation sets the industry standard within the intermediary community, and provides assurance of professionalism to clients and other key advisors.
To see Jim’s complete bio visit http://www.chicagolandsunbelt.com/team-Cohen.htm
About Chicagoland Sunbelt
Chicagoland Sunbelt is a business brokerage firm that focuses on helping people sell, buy and grow businesses in Chicagoland and the surrounding Midwest. Having sold hundreds of businesses, Chicagoland Sunbelt understands in a broad range of industries, including business services, distribution, food & beverage, franchises, personal services and retail. Its experienced team of M&A brokerage consultants also develops and executes comprehensive strategies designed to meet individual financial and non-financial goals.
Chicagoland Sunbelt is also a proud member of Sunbelt Midwest, which operates offices in Minnesota, Wisconsin & Illinois, For your next business purchase or sale, visit Chicagoland Sunbelt at www.chicagolandsunbelt.com.

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