By Cheryl Long
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O
ver the next 15 years, the owners of more than 25,000 mid-
sized Canadian businesses will reach retirement age, a pace
that began to accelerate in 2011 when the first baby boom-
ers turned 65.
When the owners step away, one of three things could happen to
their businesses: a family member or the current management team
could take over the reins and provide effective leadership, the busi-
ness could be successfully sold and the wealth safely invested for
retirement income and family inheritance or the business could suf-
fer from the absence of a comprehensive succession plan. Company
owners don’t always foresee the complexity of a business transition
MAY/JUNE 2015
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