{"id":146210,"date":"2026-03-16T14:36:54","date_gmt":"2026-03-16T22:36:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2026\/03\/16\/ralph-dileone-ma-advisor-for-family-businesses\/"},"modified":"2026-03-16T14:36:54","modified_gmt":"2026-03-16T22:36:54","slug":"ralph-dileone-ma-advisor-for-family-businesses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2026\/03\/16\/ralph-dileone-ma-advisor-for-family-businesses\/","title":{"rendered":"Ralph DiLeone: M&A Advisor for Family Businesses"},"content":{"rendered":"

Phelps Dunbar business attorney Ralph DiLeone is a lifelong fan of the Cleveland Guardians (formerly the Indians) and the Cleveland Browns \u2026 so patience is a virtue. It\u2019s also a virtue when representing closely held family entities considering a sale, merger or acquisition.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverybody\u2019s opinion is important because I can\u2019t help them structure a deal if I don\u2019t know what everybody\u2019s concerns are,\u201d said DiLeone. \u201cInitially, a couple of people in the room won\u2019t say anything. So, I\u2019d better work the room. We need to be able to talk amongst each other. Then I\u2019m going to help you get there.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI have a lot more fun with the closely held family businesses. The decisions have a bigger impact on their pocketbook. They\u2019re always a little more concerned about what to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

DiLeone works primarily with businesses that have $50-100 million in annual revenues in industries including services, technology, manufacturing, construction and real estate.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything but crypto and blockchain,\u201d he laughs. His client base extends regionally, nationally and internationally.<\/p>\n

Is it Right for the Seller?<\/h2>\n

DiLeone is not a fan of valuations when putting a price tag on a business. \u201cIn my mind, valuations aren\u2019t critical. It\u2019s really what does the seller need in order to leave this business? And if it\u2019s $5 million, and the business is truly only worth $3 million, now\u2019s not the right time to sell. We need to ratchet up the business to get to that number.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI consider myself a trusted advisor,\u201d explained DiLeone. \u201cI don\u2019t have a hidden agenda. I\u2019m not an employee, a fellow owner, or a fellow officer. I\u2019ve got no skin in the game other than to help you get to where you want to be. The moment we walk out, we need to make sure we are a unified front, because that\u2019s what the buyer\u2019s going to see.\u201d<\/p>\n

Is it Right for the Buyer?<\/h2>\n

\u201cI\u2019m very conscious of what\u2019s happening on the other side. The buyer and the seller will likely be doing something together for at least the next year or three. And if they\u2019re at odds when they start, it\u2019s not a good idea. There are a lot of things that we need to look at to make sure it\u2019s right for the buyer. We want to make sure the numbers and the documentation are all squared, and everything\u2019s copacetic.\u201d<\/p>\n

DiLeone recalled working with a client for several years on documentation to plan for an eventual sale. \u201cA broker came in and told my client, \u2018I\u2019m going to get you way more than your asking price because the buyer can trust and believe what you\u2019re telling them, and they won\u2019t have clauses in documents that are going to hurt them.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Taxes are a crucial part of most deals. DiLeone spent five years working as a tax accountant at one of the \u201cBig Eight\u201d accounting firms. \u201cI know enough tax to structure my deals, but what I don\u2019t know is what your CPA has been doing with the rest of your tax stuff. I always want the whole team involved, and bringing somebody in after everything is done is a disaster.\u201d<\/p>\n

A Good Deal<\/h2>\n

DiLeone owned a law practice for more than 20 years before joining the Raleigh office of New Orleans-based Phelps Dunbar this year. The firm has 435 lawyers in 16 offices in the United States and one in London. \u201cWe have offices in regions where I have clients. It\u2019s nice to have all that capacity in-house so everybody\u2019s on the same page, rowing in the same direction to get what\u2019s best for the client.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been my experience that a good deal is when the buyer thinks they paid too much, and the seller thought they got too little. Because they figured out a way to work it out, and they both got a good deal.\u201d<\/p>\n

The post Ralph DiLeone: M&A Advisor for Family Businesses<\/a> appeared first on Attorney at Law Magazine<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Phelps Dunbar business attorney Ralph DiLeone is a lifelong fan of the Cleveland Guardians (formerly the Indians) and the Cleveland Browns \u2026 so patience is a virtue. It\u2019s also a virtue when representing closely held family entities considering a sale, merger or acquisition. \u201cEverybody\u2019s opinion is important because I can\u2019t help them structure a deal […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-146210","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-legal_matters"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146210","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=146210"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146210\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=146210"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=146210"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=146210"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}