Capstone’s survey of middle market executives shows 53% likely to pursue mergers and acquisitions in 2016 compared to 41% when last surveyed. Capstone surveyed middle market executives from multiple industries on their growth and M&A experience in 2015 and their outlook for 2016. The survey was conducted in December 2015, and followed a previous survey in 2014. …
Tag: David Braun
Verso Files for Chapter 11– What Went Wrong?
Capstone CEO David Braun’s Analysis in the Memphis Business Journal Verso Paper, after acquiring NewPage Holdings for $1.4 billion in January 2014, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Verso, which manufactures coated paper used in products like magazines, is struggling in a declining market. With its new acquisition, the company failed to realize desired economies …
4 Reasons Why Focusing on Small Acquisitions is Best
In light of recent FTC rulings against market domination, Sysco has changed its M&A strategy to focus on smaller, strategic deals rather than large transformative deals. Although Sysco’s change is motivated by regulatory obstacles to larger acquisitions, using strategic, smaller deals is an excellent approach from a strategic perspective. We have long recommended that our …
The Best Advice for M&A Success
In my over 20 years of pursing strategic, not-for-sale acquisitions for clients, the most important piece of advice I have is: be prepared. It may sound simple, but I cannot stress enough how critical preparation is to M&A success. This applies to every stage of the Roadmap to Acquisitions, our M&A process, from initial strategy …
Keys to Successful Minority Investment
On yesterday’s M&A Express videocast, The Hidden Power of Minority Ownership, I mentioned Marcus Lemonis, a businessman who turns around struggling businesses in the CNBC show, the Profit. I’ve written about Lemonis before on the blog, and how he really prefers to use minority ownership so that the founders or original owners of the business continue to …
Successful Acquisitions Blog — New Look
If you’re reading this post, you’ve probably noticed the Successful Acquisitions Blog has a new look. You can still find the latest on middle-market M&A at our redesigned site. This mobile-friendly site features a fresh design that’s easy to read on all your devices. So now you can follow middle-market M&A whether you’re in the office …
“Why Did You Sell Your Not-for-Sale Business?” – A CEO Explains
CEO Paul Villella of HireStrategy recently shared why he sold his company ─ despite not actively looking to sell ─ and the results one year after the acquisition. Paul addressed a packed room of CEOs, CFOs and senior-level executives from the Washington-DC area at “Grow or Die: A Panel Discussion on Middle Market M&A” hosted …
How Much Should You Budget for Mergers and Acquisitions?
This is a difficult question to answer. Of course your budget (in both human resources and dollars) will vary depending on your capabilities and the size of the transaction. Acquisition is a substantial task to take on so ideally you would have at least one person that is 100% dedicated to running the M&A project …
“Where To Start Your Search for M&A Targets” — New M&A Express Videocast
How do you go about finding companies to buy? Do you begin your search by contacting a list of usual suspects? Rather than falling back on the usual suspects, consider using a truly strategic approach to finding the right company to buy. A demand-driven approach to picking acquisition targets will help increase your chances of successful M&A. …
Credit Unions Embrace Strategic Mergers and Acquisitions
Credit unions have in the past year or so embraced strategic mergers and acquisitions with fervor. This was especially evident at the CUES Execu/Summit I spoke at last week. While strategic M&A in the credit union industry is not new, I’m excited about the enthusiasm that now surrounds the topic. Capstone has been active in …
