In 1975, a group of senior, successful business brokers led by G. William Ososke, created IBA in an effort to offer the state of Oregon superior representation in the sale of privately held companies and family businesses than was currently being offered in the marketplace. From that humble beginning, the company has grown to represent the entire Pacific Northwest out of seven offices in Washington (Bellingham, Everett, Bellevue, Federal Way, Olympia, Wenatchee, and Spokane) and two in Oregon (Portland & Bend). Business brokerage is a unique business model. It is similar to athletics. Frankly, no one cares what you did last year and last year’s clients will not be this years. The Michigan Wolverines were college football champions in 2024. They did not even make the twelve team playoff in 2025. The Boston Celtics, the most successful team in NBA history won another championship in 2024, time will tell if they can stay on top in 2025.
IBA put in a strong performance again in 2024. The firm successfully sold more businesses than anyone else in the region. IBA was ranked the 21st fastest growing company in Washington by the Puget Sound Business Journal. The company continued its effort to mirror the demographics of the region in its team of business sale intermediaries when adding new talent.
Which generates the questions why have so many entrepreneurs hired IBA in the past to sell their privately held companies and family businesses and why should the firm be retained in 2025? I am happy to answer that question.
Performance – Philosophically, IBA does not like to tell its clients what it can do, it prefers to communicate what we have done. IBA has sold more businesses than any other business brokerage firm in the region over the last fifty years, at present the count is over 4300. The number is anticipated to move to the 4400 platform in 2025.
Knowledge – IBA has a culture that emphasizes and values education. Internally, we hold monthly educational events where professionals are brought in as guest speakers from the legal, accounting, real estate, wealth management, insurance, finance, succession planning/business coaching, and other relevant disciplines to keep our business brokers current on changes in SBA loan policies & procedures; tax law changes; legal precedents; executive and legislative branch law & regulation modifications; and a full spectrum of additional subjects appropriate for mergers & acquisitions. This April we will hold our annual offsite educational retreat where our large team will spend multiple days learning from each other and experts. I am not aware of another business brokerage firm in the United States that devotes more time & resources toward making sure their clients have the information and professional resources necessary for making decisions from a comprehensive foundation of knowledge. Further evidence, of IBA’s knowledge culture can be found on our blog (https://ibainc.com/blog/) where almost a 1000 articles have been published by over 150 authors in its history for the benefit of the entrepreneurial community.
Industry Engagement – Many business brokers like to wear the “generalist hat”. It is true that when you cut away the outer shell, all companies are built on sound marketing, sales, product quality, operations, personnel, accounting, and finance strategies and an experienced, knowledgeable, highly skilled business broker can likely successfully sell most companies. However, given the choice, it is frequently preferred by business owners to employ a M&A intermediary who knows an industry and the market conditions associated with recent transactions in the sector. IBA has industry specialists able to serve clients in approximately 20 industries. These professionals sell companies obtaining firsthand knowledge about products, services, operations and market conditions. They also are active participants, frequently in leadership roles, in trade organizations. IBA has representatives involved in associations supporting the manufacturing, aerospace, construction, hospitality, cannabis, and many other industries. A list of our industries served can be found on this page of our website: https://ibainc.com/industries-served/
Geographic Presence – Different market conditions exist in different geographic areas. The price achievable in the sale of two different companies doing the same revenue and profit employing substantially similar business models will be different depending on the location based on the tax environment, employee base, community infrastructure, market size, and a range of other factors. IBA has the ability to facilitate confidential meetings in private conference rooms throughout the Pacific Northwest in close proximity to our client’s businesses. Virtual meetings are an option at IBA, but often not best practice or a requirement. We also have a network of local attorneys, accountants, bankers, and other professionals we can refer to buyers and sellers.
Experience – The transactional experience gained from successfully facilitating over 4300 transactions cannot be bought, it has to be earned through performance. IBA intermediaries take great pride in sharing knowledge and helping to problem solve through situations in transactions by providing a menu of options learned through dealmaking and listening to solutions provided by legal, accounting, and banking collaborative partners in prior transactions.
Skill – In all professions, all providers are not equal in skill. A person needing heart surgery is not looking to hire a doctor who graduated from medical school last year to perform an operation where their life can hang in the balance. A person with a leaky roof is not likely to hire someone from the parking lot at Home Depot to fix the problem. The IBA team features many of the top talent M&A intermediaries in the nation. Members of our team have sold companies located from Seattle to New York, Portland to Boston, Anchorage to North Carolina, Spokane to Phoenix, and Bend to San Francisco. The following group has won our prestigious Broker of the Year Award (https://ibainc.com/about-iba/broker-of-the-year/). We recognize a business sale is often the sale of an entrepreneur’s life work or a fundamental component of their retirement. The purchase of a business is also often the most significant bet on themselves a person makes in their life.
Paid on Performance – IBA does not charge retainers, valuation fees, or consulting fees. 100% of our fees are performance based payable upon completion of a business sale project. It is not happenstance this item is listed after skill. It is IBA’s perspective that the best salespeople in the world do not need to collect upfront fees because they have confidence in their ability to perform successfully. A business broker with their hand out for payment at a start of a project should be asked the probability of project completion and when they anticipate finishing. IBA successfully sells 80 – 90% of our projects annually, traditionally in 3 – 9 months from when they first enter the market.
Real Estate Licensed – IBA is a licensed commercial real estate firm in both Washington & Oregon. All IBA intermediaries have the ability to comprehensively represent business owners in the sale of both their business and real estate assets. Even when real estate is not owned, it is a legal requirement throughout the Pacific Northwest that anyone facilitating negotiations related to a lease or lease assignment hold an active real estate license unless they are negotiating on their own behalf or an attorney. Using a business broker who does not have a real estate license is like electing to drive without a seatbelt.
Franchise Brokerage – It can be frustrating looking for a business to buy. Frequently, no opportunities are available in the community or industry desired. IBA has a franchise brokerage division to provide another option, the purchase of a proven business model with an established market identity. IBA’s franchise brokerage division also allows us to have in house knowledge and relationships with franchisors when selling established franchised locations for entrepreneurs.
Resources – The successful sale of a business requires resources. IBA has an abundance of resources at the disposal of our clients including a robust Rolodex of professionals able to address virtually any need from environmental inspections/remediation to insuring fleets of vehicles to counting & valuing inventory; a dedicated group focusing on women owned businesses staffed by the largest female M&A intermediary group in the region; the ability to communicate with parties in numerous foreign languages from Russian to Chinese; and the financial backbone to support a sale with advertising, collateral materials, and infrastructure, including live reception for incoming calls during business hours.
Integrity – The “Golden Rule” of do unto others as you would like them to do unto you is a major component of IBA’s corporate culture tapestry. The principle guides how IBA engages with clients, buyers, collaborative partners, and each other. If there is ever a situation where you feel IBA did not act with integrity I encourage you to bring it to my attention, as the President/CEO of the firm. I can be reached at (425) 454-3052 and gregory@ibainc.com.
Best Practices – Knowledge, experience, and trial & error have allowed IBA to develop an A-Z process of best practices for facilitating a business sale from determining an anticipated value that can be justified in the marketplace to marketing a business while protecting the confidential nature of the sale to negotiating comprehensive terms for sale addressing all relevant business issues to facilitating due diligence to ensure the buyer knows what they are buying and the seller mitigates post transaction liability to securing financing. Systems matter. There is no substitute for knowledge & experience in the creation of efficient effective processes.
2025 marks my 25th year at the helm of IBA. It has been an honor to guide this ship as a business owner for half of the company’s existence. We welcome the opportunity to serve the entrepreneurial community. We hope you will include us in your interview process when selecting professional representation for the sale of your privately held company or family business. If you are interested in buying a business or franchise, we hope you will look at our inventory
IBA, the Pacific Northwest’s premier business brokerage firm since 1975, is available as an information resource to the media, business brokerage, mergers & acquisitions, and real estate communities on subjects relevant to the purchase & sale of privately held companies and family businesses. IBA is recognized as one of the best business brokerage firms in the nation based on its long track record of successfully negotiating “win-win” business sale transactions in environments of full disclosure employing “best practices”.