Lia Majid had spent nearly a year and a half searching for a business to acquire and thought she’d finally found a deal worth pursuing. She spent months negotiating with the firm’s sellers and believed she was on the verge of a purchase. However, at the last minute, her backers and mentors at the Search Fund Accelerator (SFA) wanted her to completely restructure the deal. Majid was part of the first cohort of SFA. SFA was the brainchild of Timothy Bovard who founded the accelerator to help search fund entrepreneurs vet deals, review proposals, and provide emotional support during the search. Through SFA’s leads, Majid had identified a target company that was willing to sell one of its divisions, but she still needed Bovard’s input before drafting a Letter of Intent (LOI) for the seller. Bovard, however, was concerned about the proposed carve-out acquisition, a complex task for even a seasoned CEO, let alone a first time CEO. Faced with Bovard’s concerns and SFA’s new deal structure, Majid had to decide whether to reengage the target firm with this new deal or to move on to investigate other prospects.
Publication Date: 2019-08-26
Suggested Citation: Allison Mishkin and A.J. Wasserstein, "Bovard and Majid: The Investor’s Perspective" Yale SOM Case #19-015, August 26, 2019
Keywords: Legal support, Acorn, Elijah, Law firms
Teaching Notes: No