RCI Painting, Inc. is a commercial painting contractor serving primarily Maryland and Washington D.C. The company had long standing relationships developed by the owners with owners and landlords of large apartment buildings in the area which resulted in substantial repeat business. The company also held a license in Maryland to do renovation work. The buyer, an individual investor, had hired a local real estate broker to help him find a business doing renovation work in the area. The broker saw our listing on BizBuySell and brought him to our attention. His vision was to expand the business in Virginia where he resided.

RCI signed an engagement agreement in May of 2006 and we started working on the marketing campaign immediately. We got very little response to our mailer as the market was flooded with contractors. Our client agreed to allow us to run local print advertising which also had marginal results. In late 2006 we proposed to the client to go off the market until 2006 numbers were complete and re-look at the market at that time. We put the deal on hold. We did an update in March of 2007 and the client wanted to remain in the market. We identified a handful of strategic buyers in the surrounding area for our campaign. We got one interested party that came to the table with a reasonable first offer. Negotiations continued and an LOI was signed 10/2/07 contingent on the buyer obtaining financing. The financing fell through late October and we were back to square one. Again we went on hold until now 2007 numbers were complete.

We updated the profile in March 2008 and again posted the business on several internet sites. A local realtor brought us the potential buyer who produced a strong first offer on 4/2/08. The LOI was negotiated and signed April 18, 2008 and closing was projected for early June. Due diligence went smoothly, but the buyers bank was moving very slowly. The purchase docs were ready for signature in early June but we waited on the bank. The bank finally approved financing, but asked that the seller try to obtain a Virginia license. We modified the agreement to make a best efforts attempt but the buyer objected and the deal apparently would die. We had an all hands meeting on 7/8 to resolve the final issue. All parties agreed to modify language and the deal closed and funded July 11, 2008.”