Here are case summaries of some of StoneBridge Business Partners’ other M&A engagements:

M&A due diligence services

• Hired by a private equity client to perform comprehensive financial and accounting due diligence related to its proposed acquisition of a wood products manufacturer. We uncovered risks associated with the target company’s classification of workers (i.e. employees vs. contractors) that needed to be addressed prior to the closing.
• Retained by a long-time client to assist with negotiating a purchase agreement and obtaining bank financing to consummate the acquisition of a business. We also organized and led the accounting and financial due diligence which uncovered business risks that resulted in the buyer withdrawing its offer.
• Hired by a private equity firm to perform specific financial and accounting due diligence related to projected costs savings for a proposed acquisition. Our reviews determined that the company had conservatively estimated its cost savings. The client later closed on the purchase transaction.
• Performed comprehensive business, financial and accounting due diligence related to its proposed acquisition of a manufacturer of precision-machined specialty metals. We discovered serious inventory valuation issues during the accounting due diligence. The client later withdrew its purchase offer.
• Hired by an existing client to perform financial and accounting due diligence services related to the proposed acquisition of a real estate company.
• Assisted in the strategic acquisition of a printing company by another printing company. We helped determine a range of values for the target company and performed accounting acquisition due diligence.

M&A advisory services

• Engaged by a long-time client as M&A advisor related to the potential sale of their business. In partnership with a local investment banking firm, we performed a full range of merger & acquisition advisory services. Over the course of several months, we helped prepare and distribute a confidential offering memorandum, developed a buyer list, negotiated with several potential buyers to obtain letters of intent, organized a “data room” for buyer due diligence and assisted with the negotiation of definitive agreements and the closing process.
• Retained by a long-time client as M&A advisor when the company was approached with an unsolicited offer from a strategic buyer. We provided the buyer with a forecast for the client’s business as well as historical financial statements that were adjusted for non-recurring items. We also organized a “data room” containing client documentation to help facilitate the buyer’s due diligence.
• Provided merger and acquisition advisory services to a manufacturer of electromagnetic components that purchased a division of a publicly held British holding company. Also provided a range of values calculation and advisory services for the same company when it was approached by a strategic buyer that was backed by a private equity fund.
• Provided various merger and acquisition advisory services to an architectural firm when the company was approached with an unsolicited offer.
• Valued, assisted in negotiating a purchase price, and obtained bank financing for a management-led buyout of a company that provides standardized and customized market research studies. Also, conducted a valuation of another research company considered as an acquisition target.
• Retained by a shareholder group to represent them in the sale of their shares to a proposed Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP). We assisted the shareholder group in restructuring the sale as a stock repurchase by the company, which was more advantageous for them. We helped negotiate a price and terms of the deal.
• Consulted with management, when an unsolicited offer was received for the sale of a Mequiladora manufacturing operation in Mexico. A range of values calculation was completed using publicly traded guideline company comparisons and transaction data.