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The sale of a family business marks a major transition: entrepreneurial wealth becomes family wealth that needs to be organised, preserved and transferred.
RSM’s experience highlights the importance of planning for this transition by aligning the objectives of the business, its shareholders and their families. Ideally, this preparation should begin several years before the transaction.
From business ownership to family wealth
Turning business interests into liquidity changes the tax, succession and governance considerations involved. Preparing the business for sale and planning the family’s private wealth should therefore progress in parallel.
At RSM Switzerland, this transition can be approached through three complementary stages.
1. Before the transaction: preparing the business and the shareholder
A structure that works well for operating a business is not necessarily the right structure for a sale. The preliminary analysis should consider, in particular:
- the tax consequences for the company and the shareholder;
- the ownership structure and the potential separation of certain assets or activities;
- the tax residence of shareholders and their families, as well as any international mobility plans;
- management equity participation, incentive arrangements, earn-outs and reinvestments;
- a potential transfer to the next generation.
For international families, this assessment also encompasses tax treaties, inheritance and gift taxes, as well as trusts, foundations and family holding structures. The objective is a coherent structure before, during and after the sale.
2. During the transaction: connecting corporate and shareholder taxation
Beyond the sale price, the central question is how much wealth will effectively remain available after tax.
Share deals and asset deals, pre-sale distributions, purchase price mechanisms, earn-outs, reinvestments and management incentive arrangements can have very different tax consequences.
Coordination between the Corporate Finance, Corporate Tax and Private Client Services teams, together with the international RSM network where required, allows the considerations affecting the business to be aligned with those of the shareholder.
3. After the sale: turning liquidity into a wealth strategy
Following the sale, liquidity needs to be organised, ownership structures reassessed and wealth transfer planned. This goes beyond investment decisions: it also encompasses taxation, succession and family governance.
Depending on each family’s specific circumstances, this may include:
- succession, gifts and matrimonial considerations in Switzerland and internationally;
- the ownership of assets and investments, including through family holding companies, trusts or foundations;
- international mobility and tax residence;
- philanthropic projects and family governance;
- coordination with banks, wealth managers, trustees, lawyers and other advisers;
- tax and reporting obligations across the relevant jurisdictions.
The objective is not to multiply structures, but to simplify the ownership, management and transfer of wealth.
Involving the next generation
Involving the next generation at an early stage helps clarify expectations, responsibilities and decision-making rules, whether the family intends to retain the business, sell it or manage the sale proceeds together.
A tax-efficient structure will only prove sustainable if it reflects the family’s objectives and the financial preparedness of future generations.
One family, one wealth strategy, one coordinated approach
At RSM Switzerland, the Private Client Services, Tax and Corporate Finance teams support entrepreneurs and their families from preparing the business for sale through to structuring and transferring their wealth.
By combining Swiss expertise with RSM’s international network, this approach coordinates tax, wealth and succession considerations with the family’s other advisers and in line with its objectives.
Planning ahead to preserve your options
Preparing for a sale does not mean deciding to sell. It means preserving the option to sell, transfer or retain the business when the time is right.
Anticipating restructuring and succession matters provides more options than addressing them under the pressure of an ongoing transaction. One question captures the challenge:
“If an opportunity arose tomorrow, would my business, my wealth and my family be ready?”
It is precisely at this intersection of business, taxation and family wealth that RSM Switzerland’s coordinated approach can make a difference.
