MJBizMag November-December 2021 - 88

BestPracticesInRetail | Solomon Israel
we told them (about the acquisition),
we told them how it would potentially
affect them, " he explained. " We gave
them all the information that we
could ... and then we made ourselves
available individually for anyone who
wanted to talk to us about it. "
Lynn said he prioritized maintaining
High Fidelity employees' benefits and
pay as he negotiated the deal with
Slang Worldwide. When the deal was
announced, he said, workers were
particularly concerned about their
benefits.
Beyond keeping their jobs, Lynn said
that High Fidelity employees potentially
have more opportunities for career
advancement after the acquisition by
Slang Worldwide.
Post-acquisition Opportunities
Selling a business doesn't mean that
the seller can't stay involved, as Lynn's
experience shows. He is now president
of Slang Vermont and sits on Slang
Worldwide's board of directors.
" I'm looking forward to that
partnership and building something
together in the end that's bigger than
what (High Fidelity) could have done
alone. "
Aside from a job for Meghan and
a consulting contract for Matt, the
Walstatters negotiated another
opportunity when they sold Pure Green
to C21: The store was supposed to buy
a minimum amount of flower from their
Siren cultivation business every month,
as were any other stores C21 opened
in Oregon.
Unfortunately, said Walstatter, C21
ultimately changed its business model,
never acquired any more stores in
Oregon and ultimately closed the Pure
Green store.
" I would definitely caution people
that if it's a situation where you're
staying involved and continuing to work
for the business-going to work for the
other company, taking stock-then you
really need to be mindful of who these
people are, " Walstatter said.
Consumers, above, look at products at the former Pure Green store sold by Meghan and Matt
Walstatter, below.
Walstatter's advice for coping with
those emotions? " Get paid enough that
you can just pay attention to that. "
Having the business you founded
get acquired can be " emotional, you
definitely have attachment, " Lynn said.
He said sellers should recognize
that " 'I have to let go of that
attachment. And there are going to be
other things I can focus on, that I have
to share this now.' "
Lynn said some of the leaders of
Letting Go
Selling your business can take an
emotional toll. For his part, Matt
Walstatter compares Pure Green to
having a child.
" It's just like being a parent: You
raise your kid, and then you send them
off into the world and hope that they
call you once in a while, " he said.
Walstatter still drives by the old Pure
Green location, which he said has " a
boarded-up window and a bunch of
graffiti all over the building. "
" It's sad, because there was so
much value in that brand, and it got
squandered, " he said.
88 MJBizMagazine | November-December 2021
Slang Worldwide had been through
mergers and acquisitions themselves,
and they understood his emotional
response.
Now that the deal is done, he said,
he feels better.
" I think it's better now that we've
closed, actually. ... I'm ready to move
forward and start working on things
versus looking at merger documents
for half the day. "
Solomon Israel is a
reporter for MJBizDaily
and MJBizMagazine.
You can reach him
at solomon.israel@
mjbizdaily.com.
MJBizMag November-December 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of MJBizMag November-December 2021
