It might be the middle of winter, but things are still hot in the insurance M&A market. Although activity slowed a bit in the fourth quarter, 2011 transaction volume far surpassed that of 2010. Through November, the number of insurance deals was up 24% for the year with 256 transactions recorded. This is the second highest level of M&A activity in the last 10 years, only surpassed by 2008 which was the peak of the market.

It has been a wild year for the for-profit education sector, and career and technical colleges in particular.  The tone of the industry is quiet, but optimistic.

After successfully weathering the storm over the Department of Education's new gainful employment regulations, the for-profit education sector was hit by several high profile placement rate scandals, including publicly traded Career Education Corporation.  Eighteen state attorneys general are now investigating for-profit colleges. As a result, publicly traded education companies saw their stocks drop by more than 24% from their high in July of this year compared to a 9% decrease for the S&P 500.

But, fortunately, we are beginning to see the market reward well run schools. 

A few years ago, a business owner named Don was ready to sell his company. Instead of taking him as a client, we asked him to take the "Sell Test." Don failed. He was shocked. He wanted to know what it meant.

Asking a business owner to take the "Sell Test" means making sure the proposed transaction will ultimately accomplish the business owner's goals.

Let's look at the "Sell Test" one question at a time.

Most businesses are valued on a multiple of earnings, so your profits are one key factor in driving up the value of your company, but the other number in the equation is the multiple of your earnings used to arrive at a price. This multiple is based on the risk a buyer sees in your business.  The riskier it looks, the lower the multiple and the lower the value.  The more stable and predictable your business is, the higher the multiple a buyer will be willing to pay.

Below is a list of 8 things you can do to increase the value of your business in 2012:

A recent study conducted by GF Data confirmed that the use of seller financing in the form of earnouts and seller notes in middle market transactions hit an all time high in 2011. Historically, seller financing has been used in between 40% and 50% of all lower middle market transactions.The exception was 2008, when seller financing was included in over 60% of deals. However, according to GF Data Resources' Second Quarter 2011 Report, almost 80% of deals in the under $25 million range were structured using earnouts and/or seller notes.   That's almost twice the historic average.

It can take up to 18 to 24 months to transact a divestiture. Poor preparation and planning, followed by subjective rather than objective valuations, are the main contributors to this long time cycle, causing deals to unravel during negotiations.

Confidence is contagious - so is a lack of confidence.

                                                          - Vince Lombardi

The word confidence has been used a great deal lately in talking about our economy. The discussion about confidence is healthy as it is the true platform from which businesses move ahead. All business leaders understand that strong belief and commitment reinforces the right attitude driving confidence. When you get right down to it, confidence is about attitude. A high level of confidence backed with the right attitude generates results and creates business value.

Bexil American Mortgage will be operated by an experienced executive team, led by John M. Robbins, the former CEO of American Mortgage Network and past Chairman of the Mortgage Bankers Association. This team has previously formed startups, and has operated and successfully sold two mortgage banks to major financial institutions, including JP Morgan Chase and Wachovia Bank.

Despite the soft employment growth statistics, the budgetary crisis in Washington and overseas, and an anemic economy, a recent survey by Deloitte indicates that businesses plan to move forward with their plans for growth and expansion. Nearly 60 percent of corporate M&A professionals surveyed by Deloitte said they expected an increase in the number of deals their companies will pursue each year for the next two to five years.

Interestingly, the initial optimism reflected in the survey, "Corporate Development 2011," is put into context when you consider that only 7 percent of respondents felt that previous deals exceeded their expectations and more than 31 percent believed that past transactions failed to live up to expectations.

MidCap Advisors LLC, a boutique investment banking firm based in New York with offices throughout the United States, advised William Palumbo Insurance Agency, a Massachusetts insurance brokerage firm, in connection with the sale of its assets to Hub International New England.

Mountainside, NJ, August 15, 2011 - MidCap Equity Partners, LLC ("MidCap"), in conjunction with
management, today announced the acquisition of National Educational Music Co., Ltd. ("NEMC"), one of the largest band and orchestra musical instrument rental companies in the United States.

A recent study of M&A Advisors by John Warrilow, undertaken August 1-2, 2011, revealed five key attributes that professional dealmakers believe make a company saleable and enhance its value.

A total of seventy seven intermediaries completed the survey. Of the participants, the broad range of intermediary client size focus included main street brokers who specialize in selling very small businesses, going right up to mid market mergers and acquisitions professionals with an average deal size of one hundred million dollars or more. Interestingly though, although the range of participant focus was broad, the consensus remained the same regardless of the size of the transaction.