Sandy Bal

Who I Work With

We work with business owners across Ontario and beyond on the confidential sale of their businesses, bringing 37 years of professional experience to every engagement, spanning the legal profession, business and real estate, construction ownership, and nearly a decade working in the United States including cross-border and international matters. We bring the same M&A discipline, preparation, and personal commitment to every mandate we accept, regardless of sector or jurisdiction.

Beyond a Standard Brokerage

Solid Mergers operates as a licensed business brokerage, but the service we provide goes well beyond listing. We bring full M&A advisory discipline to every transaction, covering preparation, valuation analysis, deal structuring, buyer sourcing, negotiation, financing coordination, and regulatory management, from the first conversation through to closing.

Legal and Regulatory Background

As a former licensed member of the Law Society of Ontario, We bring a working understanding of contractual and regulatory matters to every transaction. We do not practice law, and qualified legal counsel remains essential to every deal. Understanding the legal framework of a transaction means I can anticipate issues before they become problems.

My legal background goes deeper than most people expect from an M&A advisor. Before entering real estate and mergers and acquisitions, our Broker of Record worked as a licensed paralegal in Ontario and was a registered member of the Immigration Consultants of Canada Regulatory Council (ICCRC), the predecessor to the present-day College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants (CICC). representing clients before the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, the Landlord and Tenant Board, the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario, the Ontario Court of Justice, and various municipal licensing and administrative tribunals. That work required researching and interpreting legislation, regulations, municipal bylaws, zoning provisions, and licensing requirements. It meant communicating and negotiating directly with municipal departments and government authorities, preparing written and oral submissions, and advocating for a client's best interests through every stage of a formal process.

Why It Matters Today

That experience is not background detail. It is a practical advantage we bring to every transaction today. When I write to a lawyer, a licensing adjudicator, a municipal authority, a bank, or any other party in a deal, I understand how those organizations think, what they respond to, and how to frame a communication that moves things forward. When a regulatory body raises a concern, we can read it, interpret it, and respond to it in a way that is informed, precise, and effective. That depth of understanding makes a real difference at the moments in a transaction when it matters most.

Professional Memberships

We maintain active membership in leading M&A and business brokerage professional organizations, reflecting a commitment to professional standards across every dimension of the work I do.

Construction and Hospitality

Before entering the M&A and real estate profession, Our Broker of Record spent nearly a decade as a licensed general contractor. That background means when I walk through any operating business, I am not just seeing the financials. I am seeing the physical asset behind it — construction quality, deferred maintenance, capital expenditure requirements, and the things a buyer's inspector will look for. These are the details that affect price and certainty of close, and understanding them from direct experience is an advantage I bring to every mandate.

Every engagement begins with your objectives. Whether you are planning a full sale, a partial recapitalization, or a phased exit, the preparation phase is where the price is made. I work through your financial statements in detail, including net operating income, EBITDA, normalized earnings, add-backs, and owner adjustments, so the most probable selling price for your business is grounded in defensible numbers, not guesswork. I cross-check value using capitalization rate analysis, comparable transactions, and EBITDA multiples, and I am transparent about every step of how we arrive at a number.

Once your business is ready for market, I prepare the teaser and Confidential Information Memorandum and run a confidential process reaching strategic buyers, financial buyers, and private equity. When a qualified buyer is identified, I lead negotiations and deal structuring, whether as an asset or share purchase, and stay fully involved through the Letter of Intent, due diligence, financing, and closing, including any earn-outs, vendor take-backs, or rollover equity arrangements.

The Central Point of Contact

We coordinate the full team your transaction requires, including lawyers, accountants, appraisers, and tax advisors, and work with the regulators and licensing authorities whose approval is required before any sale in this sector can close. I do not hand off complexity. I work through it.

In practice, this means We are personally involved in every conversation with the City, the County, the Canadian Mental Health Association, Community Homes for Opportunity, and any other regulatory or licensing body relevant to your specific community. We work through every step of the regulatory process alongside you, coordinating directly with your lawyers on all regulatory requirements and serving as the central point of contact between the regulators, your legal counsel, and you as the seller. You are never left navigating that alone, and nothing falls through the gap between one professional and another because I am the person holding all of it together.

What Drives This Work

Beyond the professional background, we want to be straightforward about something more personal. Compassion and integrity are not values we adopted for this work. They are simply part of how we operate. We understand that behind every business is a story, years of commitment, difficult decisions, and people who depend on what has been built. Whether those people are employees, clients, residents, or community members, their wellbeing matters to us beyond the closing date. When we sit across from an owner who is ready to exit, we are not thinking only about the transaction. We are thinking about what happens after it closes, about the business, the people connected to it, and the legacy the owner leaves behind. Every business represents a chapter in someone's life, and we treat that with the seriousness it deserves. That shapes every decision we make, from how we qualify buyers to how we structure a deal, because a well structured exit is not just a financial outcome. It is a legacy protected.

My Commitment

We remain personally engaged from the first conversation through to closing day. If you are considering a sale, reach out for a confidential conversation. There is no obligation and no pressure. Just a straightforward discussion about where you are and what your options look like.