Buying and selling a website online is something that will take a team of professionals to accomplish. Especially if your business has a high valuation. It is important that you have people working with you that know what they are doing. With FE international you will get a team of people with a combined 50 years of experience.
If you think you might be ready to talk about a business exit strategy they might be the company for you. You will have the chance to read this FE International review and decide for yourself.
UPDATED: June 2023
Our Overall Rating
Overview of FE International
FE International is a brokerage firm that has its hand on the pulse of the international market. They help owners and investors buy and sell website businesses.
Their desire is to help those that want to exit their business to do so making the largest profit possible. They also want to take as much of the stress off of them as possible.
FE International does not deal in brick and mortar businesses. They are strictly website sales.
The business specializes in mergers and acquisitions.
People Behind the Business
The team of people behind FE International is nothing less than impressive. The team claims to have a combined 50 years of experience in the markets of investment banking, consulting, and entrepreneurship.
This experience has served the company well as they continue to grow by leaps and bounds.
The founder of the company is Thomas Smale and is still actively involved in the company. He and the CEO, Ismael Wrixen co-lead the company.
Both of them hold expertise in the field of internet entrepreneurship and strategy. As well as keeping their eyes on the global market.
They have an amazing team of experienced and hard-working professionals behind them spurring the company towards greater success.
Years in Business
FE International is not the newest company in the market but they aren’t the oldest either.
Founded in 2010 as the website sales market started to boom. Since then they have grown exponentially.
They work with clients from all over the world and even have offices in the UK and Asia. This has led to their longevity in this market.
Awards
FE International has received some awards during the life of the company. While a company doesn’t have to win awards to be a reputable company, it does matter.
- In 2015 and 2016 FE International won the Deal Maker of the Year from the IBBA. They also are the 2018 Honoree of the National Association of Certified Valuators and Analysts.
- FE International is a two time Inc. 5000 company. This was awarded in both 2018 and 2019.
- They are also the 8th fastest-growing Financial Services company in America for 2020. This ranking was given by the Financial Times.
- FE International is also a member of the Better Business Bureau.
Types of Businesses FE International Sells
FE International does sell many different types of internet businesses. However, they don’t operate in main street businesses.
Otherwise known as businesses valued at less than one million dollars.
But if you have a mid-market business that is either SaaS, e-commerce, or content business then you can sell with FE International.
FE International Valuation Process
Like many of the website sales firms out there, FE International does offer a free valuation for interested sellers.
However, their process to complete this valuation does differ slightly from some of the other top companies.
If you go to some other sites that sell website businesses you can input information and get a valuation without having contact with a person.
With FE International, you will give some preliminary information but they will then have someone contact you. This will complete the valuation process.
The upside of doing the valuation process this way is that you will have a fairly accurate valuation.
There is a downside of doing it this way though. If you just want a cursory valuation to help you decide if you want to sell or not this may not be the way to do it.
It is a little more in-depth and you are in contact with a broker during the process. That does seem to put a little bit more pressure on the owner.
It is important to note that it is a no-obligation valuation. You don’t have to sell or even list with FE International if you choose not to.
Sales Process
When making the decision of who you want to list your business with, it is important to understand their sales process.
Most companies have a pretty similar process, however, there can be some slight differences.
FE International does have a rather standard sales process.
Assessment and Valuation
The first step of the process is to have an assessment and evaluation of the business. If you get a free valuation to help you make your sales decision then that will become part of this step.
However, once the valuation is done there is a deeper part of this first step.
That is the assessment of the business. The assessment is a chance for your broker to really get to know you and your business.
This is where it becomes more personal. They want to know what drives your business, why you started your business, and why you want to exit your business.
FE International knows that a business is more than numbers and shows that in their process.
If you decide to sign an agreement with FE International to start the process of selling they will give you all of the information you need.
This includes the fee that you will pay at the end and what is included in that fee. All that is included in the process is included in the fee.
If you have any specific questions about the fee or the process, this is the step to ask those questions.
Acquisition Preparation
The next step in the sales process is when your broker prepares for the acquisition. This is when FE International prepares a prospectus on your business.
Basically this is your business on paper. Your broker needs to tell potential buyers everything they would want and need to know.
The information in your website’s prospectus will help potential buyers make an informed offer.
During this step, your FE International broker is probably going to ask for several different documents and reports. This could include any of the following.
- 12 months of profit and loss statements. These will need to be detailed.
- Answers to a custom questionnaire about your particular website.
- Google analytics
- Access to third-party platforms that did metrics for your website
- Financial and business documentation that supports all of the things you say about your business.
How FE International prepares websites for sale is one of the things that contributes to the success of their firm.
Marketing The Business
As with many of the other websites for sale brokerage firms, the next step in the sales process is actually marketing the business.
One of the first things FE International does is identify the potential buyers that are already in their network.
Once they find these potential buyers they reach out and present the opportunity to buy your business.
In addition to using the network they already have, FE International will also aggressively market on different top sites and platforms.
They are committed to maintaining your privacy so everything is done in a confidential fashion.
If you are not one that wants to be hands-on in the sales process then you will like working with FE International.
The broker deals directly with potential buyers so you don’t have to. If there are other questions that they need you to answer the broker will ask you and then communicate with the client.
Acquisitions Negotiation
The negotiation step of the FE International sales process is one of the more intense steps. The owner will be more involved in this step.
It is not unusual, once the offers and the Letters of Intent come in, for there to be multiple conference calls.
The buyer and owner will be hosted by the FE International broker. While FE International does handle everything, buyers like to talk to the owner during this part of the process.
It gives them confidence in the acquisition.
Due Diligence
Due diligence is a part of the process that can not be overlooked. If you happen to come across a broker that does not value this step in the sales process, then find another broker.
FE International in a broker that sees this as an essential part of the sale. In fact, they might say it is the most important step.
Due diligence is when FE International verifies everything the owner has said about the business. This is an extra measure of confidence for the buyer.
FE International’s specific due diligence process deals with several specific areas.
- Traffic
- Financial
- Ownership
- Operational
- Technical
- Legal
Most of this information has already been checked. Very few surprises come up unless things have changed during the sales process.
This is also the time that FE International is drafting the Asset Purchase Agreement.
Closing
The closing is what everyone has been working towards in the process. With FE International the process has likely been smooth. At least if the website is accurate.
While they have an in-house legal team handling all of the contracts and paperwork, they do encourage owners and buyers to have their own legal counsel.
They also encourage this counsel to look over the documents before the final signing.
If everything goes well with the signing and the transfer then funds will be released.
At this point, FE International takes the agreed-upon fee and you get the rest.
If it was agreed in the documents, there may be some post-sale training by the former owner.
FE International Success Rate
FE International does appear to be one of the top website sales firms. They have the success rate to prove it.
With a running success rate of 94.1%, FE International is likely to close most of the deals they start.
This high rate of success is due to how much work they put in on the front end of the deal.
They verify and re-verify the information they are given by the owners. They also have a large network of potential buyers.
Both of these factors contribute to success. Another factor is to have the buyers pre-qualified.
Making sure those that want to purchase websites actually have the capital to purchase the websites is crucial.
Fees Charged by FE International to Sell a Business
If you are using a website broker to sell your website business then you are going to have to pay some fees.
Different brokerage firms charge fees differently. There are some that have listing fees as well as commission.
Others have commission only. We don’t know what FE International charges.
They do not explicitly say on the website. All they say is that the fees are discussed before the sales contract is signed to start listing your business.
They tell you the fee after you decide to work with them. But if you don’t like the fee and haven’t signed anything then you can change your mind and go somewhere else.
FE International does not charge up-front fees. They only collect if your business sells.
Pros and Cons of Using FE International
After writing out this FE International Review we are going to consolidate the high and low points.
This will make it easy for you to streamline the decision-making process.
Pros
- No up-front fees
- High success rate
- Ten years of experience
- Free valuation
Cons
- No clear fees disclosed on their website
- Only deal with mid-market businesses
- Do not respond to email requests
Conclusion And Verdict
While selling or buying a website business can be an overwhelming task, it will be easier if you find the right brokerage firm.
The point of this review was to give you the necessary information to make an informed decision.
There are many things that we like about FE International. We like how detailed they are with their sales process.
That level of transparency is something that puts a business on the top of our list. We like that they are truly a global business.
But there are some things that we saw on the FE International website that we didn’t like. Not giving a fee schedule is not something we like to see.
It is important for potential sellers to know what it will cost to sell with a company. We also would like FE International better if they served the main street business market.
Verdict
The big question is whether or not our verdict will be favorable for FE International.
We don’t see any glaring reasons why we would not personally use them to sell a website. It seems reasonable enough that the fee is disclosed after the valuation.
It is likely that they run on commission and want to give you as accurate a number as possible.
We do recommend FE International for mid-market website mergers and acquisitions. It is likely that anyone that uses them will sell their business.
However, our only drawback with this business broker is the fact that they do not respond to email requests. We tried to reach them but never received a response.
