In 2023, we successfully completed the sale of a Herbal Tea manufacturing and wholesale business.
The business had been operated for many years by a local Australian owner. With an established structure covering production, wholesale distribution, and a stable customer base, the transaction was more complex than a typical small business sale.
This transaction mattered to us not for its size, but because it clearly showed our capability in handling manufacturing and wholesale business sales.
Honest and disciplined valuation is the starting point of complex transactions
In this transaction, trust was not built on price, but on whether the valuation logic could stand up to scrutiny.
The business experienced a temporary performance peak during the pandemic. Rather than relying on a single strong year to drive the sale, we broke down operating results across multiple years, analysed the context behind the exceptional period, and applied different weightings to arrive at a balanced valuation.
This valuation logic was fully disclosed to potential buyers from the early stages and was able to withstand repeated review by professional advisers.
As the process unfolded, we saw clear and consistent market feedback:
The seller, after being exposed to different valuation perspectives, felt this approach better reflected the true state of the business and was more realistic to execute.
An industry buyer familiar with the sector considered the valuation a fair representation of both risk and return.
A buyer with an M&A background noticeably accelerated their decision-making once the valuation logic was fully understood and proactively pushed the process forward.
These reactions came from parties with very different backgrounds, incentives, and experience—but they all pointed to the same conclusion:
Valuation is not about looking as high as possible. It exists to enable rational decision-making.
In manufacturing and wholesale transactions, honesty does not reduce the chance of a sale. On the contrary, it is often the key to avoiding repeated setbacks and keeping the process moving smoothly.
Maximising seller outcomes by actively managing multi-buyer complexity
In this transaction, we did not take the “lock in one buyer as quickly as possible” approach.
During the market phase, the business attracted several buyers with genuine capability. With the seller’s full understanding and explicit approval, we chose to progress multiple suitable buyers in parallel rather than granting exclusivity too early.
From the outset, all buyers were clearly informed that we were in serious and substantive discussions with other qualified parties.
From an execution standpoint, this meant managing different prices, deal structures, and settlement timelines simultaneously—and issuing contracts to buyers under a fully transparent framework. Importantly, this was not about simply comparing headline prices, but about assessing terms, structure, and the buyer’s ability to complete.
Throughout the process, we adhered to several non-negotiable principles:
All buyers received exactly the same information
No buyer was led to believe the deal was “already secured”
Each buyer clearly understood their position, stage, and timeline
This approach increased buyer seriousness and execution discipline, while placing the seller in a stronger negotiating position. The advantage came not from pressure or misinformation, but from a transparent, orderly, and controlled competitive environment.
By actively absorbing more execution complexity ourselves, the seller remained in a clear and empowered position with real choices.
Cross-cultural communication as a key control mechanism
The seller was a local Australian owner, while potential buyers came from different cultural and commercial backgrounds—including Australian buyers, as well as industry buyers of Indian and Chinese background.
In manufacturing and wholesale businesses, cultural background is not a secondary consideration. It directly affects communication style, decision-making processes, and transaction pace.
In this project, we worked simultaneously with buyers from multiple cultural backgrounds. This is not unusual—it is a recurring reality in similar transactions we handle.
Different buyers focus on different issues, involve different decision-makers, and move at very different speeds. Without experience, these differences can easily lead to delays, misunderstandings, or failed transactions.
With the seller fully informed at every stage, we maintained clear, professional, and consistent communication across all buyer groups. We actively managed information priorities and deal momentum to ensure alignment on the business, valuation, and transaction status.
Our role was not simply to “pass messages,” but to bridge expectations and manage pace across cultures—keeping the transaction firmly under control.
In the end, the buyer who best understood the business, matched the transaction rhythm, and demonstrated the strongest execution capability completed the deal.
Closing thoughts
The successful sale of this Herbal Tea manufacturing and wholesale business was not driven by any single factor, but by a consistent approach:
The seller’s interests were always prioritised, and complexity was managed rationally and continuously.
If you would like to understand why manufacturing and wholesale businesses often attract strong interest from Asian and Chinese buyers, we explore this in more detail in the following article:
Why Your Manufacturing Business Could Be a Perfect Match for Asian Investors – Sinosmart
