In this interview with CalvinAyre.com’s Becky Liggero, Better Collective M&A Head Michal Kopec shares some pieces of advice for affiliates who wish to sell their businesses.
Standing out in the affiliate world is tough. They always need to bring their A-game to get noticed by the operators. For some affiliates, however, it’s much tougher to attract potential buyers of their businesses.
Michal Kopec, head of M&A for Better Collective, pointed out that there are several possible ways for affiliates to make the heads of operators turn and take a look at their businesses. He said that the most important thing that an affiliate must do if they want their business sold is to list all the assets that they are selling.
Having a list makes the life of potential buyers easier and makes the whole process quicker, according to Kopec.
“If you have a number of websites, just make sure that the websites are on the list. If you have the number of affiliate accounts, make sure you list them all. Make sure that the data is there and that you have the history data for two to three years,” Kopec told CalvinAyre.com. “Make sure that you have the Google analytics data, which is quite easy in our case. But for example, if you have 100 affiliate accounts and you need a monthly data, it takes weeks to collect. If you don’t have it at the start, make sure that your finances are okay. Your numbers are backed with finances of your bank accounts.”
When window shopping for possible acquisitions, Kopec said Better Collective looks at several elements in the affiliates before buying the business. First, they want to know where the affiliate operates. Better Collective prioritizes affiliates that are operating in legal markets, according to Kopec. They also take into consideration the source of traffic and how the affiliate business is growing.
“When we started doing acquisitions, it was more of us going to the affiliates trying to talk to them. But after recent acquisitions, the trend is a bit different so we have lots of affiliates coming to us asking if we’re interested,” he said. “We are still looking for the right target on our own. But now it’s both of a mix. But it makes it easier for us to get approached by affiliates.”
