Mergers & Acquisitions
At Chaffe, we listen to business owners to understand their goals and the specific issues facing their companies. Every client and business have unique needs and goals, requiring a customized approach. Whether you are looking to sell your company, buy or invest in a company, expand your business through a strategic acquisition, or plan your exit strategy, we are uniquely qualified to help you. Our professional services are designed to find the right transaction partner for you, including outright sales, growth capital, recapitalizations, corporate divestitures, acquisition financing, and management buyouts.
Seller Advisory Services
Company Sales
Chaffe recognizes that deciding when to sell a company is one of the most important decisions a business owner will ever face. An outright sale for the enterprise as a whole to a strategic buyer is a good solution for owners looking for an exit from the daily risks and obligations of their business. An outright sale provides immediate liquidity and diversification of wealth for business owners with limited or no participation in the continued growth of the business. Some private equity investors will consider an outright purchase, especially as an add-on to an existing platform investment, but some degree of management transition is typically required.
The success of a sale transaction depends largely on how professionally it is conducted. Chaffe helps clients evaluate exit options and navigate the entire sales process, which starts with an initial business valuation to define expectations and concludes with negotiations and close. Our structured sales process helps to create the competitive tension necessary to maximize price and negotiate the best deal terms for a transaction.
For more on what our sales process includes, click here.
Recapitalizations
A recapitalization gives business owners the opportunity to sell a portion of their company while maintaining a meaningful ownership stake. Owners receive current liquidity and diversify their risk by using an outside investor’s money for growth, acquisitions, research, and development. As the business grows, the owner’s equity interest grows accordingly, setting the stage for a second sale, usually occurring three to five years after the recapitalization. Recapitalization is different from a complete sale of the company. Controlling shareholders continue as partners and managers of the company. Our process helps to find a private equity investor or family office that shares the ownership’s culture and vision for the future of the business.
Majority Recapitalizations Debt Recapitalizations Management Buyouts
Minority Equity-led Recapitalizations Balance Sheet Restructuring
Corporate Carve Outs
Competitive market dynamics and an owner’s preferred business models are sometimes subject to change. New opportunities to grow in other business segments or regions may require that capital be raised through the divestment of less productive assets. We work with business owners to analyze, identify and value assets that are candidates for divestment. We design and execute value-maximizing sale processes that accomplish the owner’s business objectives.
Buyer Advisory Services
Buy-Side Advisory
One of the cornerstones of corporate growth is M&A. It enables companies to expand, diversify and stay competitive. We represent companies and private equity groups that are looking to acquire add-on businesses for an existing platform or to extend their geographic reach. We help formulate acquisition strategies, identify prospective targets, initiate contact, negotiate terms of the agreement, and advise on acquisition financing.
Management Buyouts
A management buyout (“MBO”) is an opportunity for a management team to own an established and familiar business, either in its entirety or partially, and continue its growth and success. In an MBO, a management team pools resources to acquire the business they manage, usually financed with a combination of debt and equity by the current management team. Often, managers are supported by an outside equity investor with the capital resources to facilitate a transaction. In a leveraged MBO, buyers use company assets as collateral to secure financing. Chaffe can assist management and owners with structuring and negotiation of a transaction and help identify likely capital sources, if needed.
Sometimes buyout teams and sellers spend considerable time agreeing on a transaction before the feasibility of price and structure is analyzed. Having Chaffe evaluate the viability of a management buyout is an important first step to assure owners and management that the price and structure can be funded, and the company can reasonably expect to pay its debt in a leveraged transaction.
Chaffe’s Management Buyout Feasibility Study is designed to give management teams and/or exiting shareholders a detailed analysis of what terms, pricing and structure is achievable before starting down the MBO path. Additionally, if a satisfactory structure is not feasible, Chaffe can provide alternative recommendations to owners if they remain interested in pursuing a liquidity event.
