Selling a Business and the Real Estate under it - What to do next

[Matthew Rembish]

So a friend mine was approached to sell his auto body business along with the property and building. He has owned it for about 32 years and the offer is very attractive so he has been considering it as he had previously considered retiring within the next 3 years anyway. I've been trying to help him figure out his next move but I don't think I've been very helpful as my knowledge of these kinds of transactions is slim. Any recommendations on shielding him from the inevitably large tax burden? Do they have anything like a 1031 like-kind exchange for this kind of stuff? I'm just trying to help him figure out the best possible game plan, whether that be rolling the money into another business, investment, retirement account, etc. We're going to consult some other professionals but figured it couldn't hurt to cast out the question to the creative minds of the BP community.

Any suggestions or insight? Thanks!!!