IBA (International Business Associates), commonly recognized in the business community as a market leader for knowledge & experience, maintains a blog featuring content from our professional team and industry colleagues as a library resource.   Information published in the venue is focused on selling and buying privately held companies and family businesses, plus topics relevant to successful entrepreneurship in the Pacific Northwest. The president of IBA, Gregory Kovsky, frequently provides content for the blog.  Mr. Kovsky has over 30 years of experience in mergers & acquisitions, business brokerage, and commercial real estate. He has personally completed over 300 transactions involving manufacturing, distribution, industrial, marine, education, retail, service, and technology companies.

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.  Video and audio content from IBA is available on the video page of this website: Videos – IBA Business Brokers.  IBA is recognized as one of the best business brokerage firms in the nation in terms of successfully negotiating transactions that are “win-win” in an environment of full disclosure while employing “best practices” between the parties.

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Blog article submissions are welcome from the accounting, legal, banking, financial planning, and other industries affiliated with the sale or purchase of businesses and real estate.

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POSIWID Analysis of Mergers & Acquisitions Firms

POSIWID or the Purpose of a System is What it Does (https://thebasics.guide/posiwid/) is a methodology of assessing systems where the productivity of a system is evaluated based on the outcomes generated and not on its theoretical objectives. This analysis provides the ability to grade the functionality of a system and identify opportunities for improvement. The…

Engaging Landlords in the Sale of a Privately Held Business:

IBA, as the premier business brokerage firm in the Pacific Northwest, is firmly established as a respected professional service firm in the legal, accounting, banking, mergers & acquisitions, real estate, and financial planning communities.  Periodically, we will post guest blogs from professionals with knowledge to share for the good of owners of privately held companies…

Due Diligence – Necessary, Valuable, and Beneficial to Both Sides

IBA has an approximately fifty-year reputation in the business brokerage industry for facilitating transactions in environments of full disclosure with transparency employing best practices.  This reputation is why attorneys, accountants, wealth advisors, and bankers find comfort when their clients select IBA for sell side representation or identify an IBA represented company for acquisition. A comprehensive…

Buy a Business Articles

Why You Should Engage a M&A Intermediary with a Real Estate License in Your State(s) of Operation

IBA was recognized in the August 9, 2024 issue of the Puget Sound Business Journal (https://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/subscriber-only/2024/08/09/seattle-area-cre-brokerages.html) among its peers in the commercial real estate industry operating from Bellingham to Olympia for continuing to be one of the top 20 firms in the area in terms of licensed real estate professionals affiliation.  This year IBA ranked…

Buying a Franchise from a Foundation of Knowledge with Confidence

IBA, as the premier business brokerage firm in the Pacific Northwest, is firmly established as a respected professional service firm in the legal, accounting, banking, mergers & acquisitions, real estate, and financial planning communities.  Periodically, we will post guest blogs from professionals with knowledge to share for the good of owners of privately held companies…

Mergers & Acquisitions in the Technology Sector

IBA was founded in Portland, Oregon in 1975 and expanded to the Seattle metropolitan area in 1991 based on regional demand for our business brokerage services. One year prior in 1974 to IBA’s formation under the leadership of G. William Ososke, Intel (https://youtu.be/yJrFLKUYx9E?si=bl1uO7ggXhLMYQTm) established operations in Oregon. Today, Intel’s largest corporate operation in terms of…

Entrepreneurship Articles

How to Take Your Company from 7 Figures to 8 Figures in Revenue as an Entrepreneur

IBA, as the premier business brokerage firm in the Pacific Northwest, is firmly established as a respected professional service firm in the legal, accounting, banking, mergers & acquisitions, real estate, and financial planning communities.  Periodically, we will post guest blogs from professionals with knowledge to share for the good of owners of privately held companies…

M&A Intellectual Property Assessment: Is Fabrication of a Product Innovation, Replication, Emulation, Enhancement, or Duplication?

Mergers & Acquisitions transaction facilitation in the manufacturing sector of the economy has been a foundational component of the representation services provided by IBA in the Pacific Northwest since 1975 and one of my personal areas of professional focus for over thirty years.  One element associated with due diligence, negotiation, and legal documentation of manufacturing…

The Story of Alan Regala of ShelfGenie

American Dream Achieved IBA, as an approximately fifty-year old business brokerage firm serving the entrepreneurial community of the Pacific Northwest, has been uniquely positioned since before the American Bicentennial celebration of 1976 to witness and hear the stories of thousands of people who have lived the American dream through entrepreneurship creating beloved businesses by employees,…

Business Brokerage Articles

Q1 2024 IBA Activity Update

The calendar year 2024 started approximately seven weeks ago.  The year of the Wood Dragon started February 10, 2024, according to the Chinese Lunar calendar. The Year of the Dragon (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/why-is-the-year-of-the-dragon-considered-so-lucky-180983764/) according to Chinese astrology is about action, dynamism, and taking concrete steps to manifest the reality we want for our lives.  I am not…

Should a LOI Include a Breakup Fee in a M&A Transaction

As a mergers and acquisitions intermediary who has facilitated transactions in the technology sector for over twenty-five years, I have been watching the potential acquisition by Adobe of Figma with interest for over a year.  The potential $20 billion dollar deal recently fell apart due to regulatory issues in the United Kingdom and European Union. …

No One Ever Listened Themselves Out Of A Deal

My cousin, Linda Wolff, and a partner, Joyce Burk Brown, recently wrote a children’s book, The Magic in Listening (https://www.amazon.com/Magic-Listening-Adventures/dp/B09PMKNDN9). The targeted audience for the book is children, but like many works of children’s literature, the lessons conveyed are valuable for incorporation into life and business. I had a client that made all his employees…

Information Resources

Why AI Can’t Replace Lawyers

IBA, as the premier business brokerage firm in the Pacific Northwest, is firmly established as a respected professional service firm in the legal, accounting, banking, mergers & acquisitions, real estate, and financial planning communities.  Periodically, we will post guest blogs from professionals with knowledge to share for the good of owners of privately held companies…

What’s the Ideal Business Structure for Your Startup

IBA, as the premier business brokerage firm in the Pacific Northwest, is firmly established as a respected professional service firm in the legal, accounting, banking, mergers & acquisitions, real estate, and financial planning communities.  Periodically, we will post guest blogs from professionals with knowledge to share for the good of owners of privately held companies…

Working Capital is about to get more flexible with a NEW SBA Pilot Program

IBA, as the premier business brokerage firm in the Pacific Northwest, is firmly established as a respected professional service firm in the legal, accounting, banking, mergers & acquisitions, real estate, and financial planning communities.  Periodically, we will post guest blogs from professionals with knowledge to share for the good of owners of privately held companies…

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