Management Buyout

A management-led purchase can represent an attractive liquidity option for a business owner. The process can be completed in a confidential and timely manner; the transition is seamless; company independence and legacy are preserved; and a valued management team is rewarded with a meaningful opportunity. However most executives at middle market companies have neither the financial resources nor transaction expertise required to structure and underwrite a purchase of the business they are running. Bulkley Capital fills these gaps.

Key Deliverables

Led the entire process from evaluation through closing to meet the goals of the seller and management with minimal disruption

Leveraged our experience and broad base of relationships nationally to pair management with the right financial partner

Represented management in negotiations with their employer and future financial partner, protecting those critical relationships and ensuring business continuity

Structured significant equity participation for management to reward them for past and future growth

Situation Summary

When the founder of a successful local company decided to sell his business, his senior executive team wondered how they might themselves step into ownership, continue managing the company they loved and benefit from the growth opportunities they saw ahead.

After being introduced through a trusted advisor, we worked with management to plan and execute all steps of the buyout process to achieve their goals. This included confirming the viability of such a transaction; developing a customized financing plan consistent with the company’s profile, capital market parameters and the founder’s value expectations; and handling sensitive negotiations on management’s behalf with both their long time employer and their prospective capital partner.

Having helped secure a period of exclusivity with the seller, we ran a process to secure a compatible equity sponsor to lead the funding of the deal. Selecting a private equity partner is a critical decision for management; beyond money, the right group brings valuable guidance and experience, and personality fit is essential for a team contemplating a several year relationship.

At the end of a ninety day period management was able to present a fully funded purchase proposal to the company’s founder, confident that they had partnered with a private equity sponsor that would get to the finish line and that was strategically and culturally aligned. Further, they had finalized the terms of their own participation in the transaction, maximizing their opportunity for economic upside. Upon the founder’s acceptance of the offer, we worked alongside management and the private equity sponsor to complete the diligence, legal documentation and debt financing processes, and successfully closed on the transaction.