M&A Masters

Our guest for this week’s episode of M&A Masters is Scott MacLaren, Partner of The Sterling Group in Houston. The Sterling Group is a private equity firm, one of the oldest in the country, and currently has $4 billion of assets under management.  Scott did not start off in private equity – he studied at the United States Military Academy at West Point, started business school after serving in...

Our special guest on this week’s episode of the M&A Masters Podcast is Grant Jackson. Grant is the Managing General Partner of Council Capital, a middle market private equity firm based in Nashville, Tennessee. Their mission is to be the best healthcare private equity firm, with their focus on investing in the right side of healthcare change. We chat about the underlying goal of improving the...

Our special guest on this week’s episode of M&A Masters is Dena Jalbert. Dena is the Founder and CEO of Align Business Advisory Services, a team of former business owners, operators, and executives in offices throughout the US who bring Wall Street resources to the lower middle market. She was also recently named on Mergers and Acquisitions Magazine's list of the Top 25 Most Influential Women...

Our special guest on this week’s episode of M&A Masters is James Darnell. James is the Managing Partner of KLH Capital, a private equity firm based in Tampa, Florida, that focuses on serving family and founder-owned, lower middle-market companies throughout the US. KLH Capital was recently recognized as Private Equity Firm of the Year by M&A Source. “We're always thinking, ‘How do we add v...

On this week’s episode of M&A Masters, we speak with Emily Holdman. Emily is the Managing Director of Permanent Equity, a lower middle market private equity firm based in Columbia, Missouri, that focuses on investments for the very long term. Emily is also named as one of Axial’s thought leaders for the lower middle market. We chat about growing organically with lead generation, as well as: En...

Our special guest on this week’s episode of M&A Masters is John Warrillow, the Founder and President of The Value Builder System™. He is also the host of Built To Sell Radio, and the author of the bestselling books, Built to Sell: Creating a Business That Can Thrive Without You , The Automatic Customer: Creating a Subscription Business in Any Industry , and The Art of Selling Your Business: Wi...

On this week’s episode of M&A Masters, we speak with Dan Phelps, Founder and Managing Director of Salt Creek Capital, based in Silicon Valley. Salt Creek Capital is a lower middle-market private equity firm that partners with talented executives to acquire profitable small businesses across the United States. Dan earned his MBA at the University of Chicago and spent time in both venture and sm...

On this week’s episode of M&A Masters, we speak with Ed Bryant, President and CEO of Sampford Advisors. Sampford Advisors is the most active investment banking firm in Canada, focusing on the lower middle market tech sector, specifically software M&A. Sampford now has offices here in Austin, Texas, and was recently named by Axial as a member of the Top 20 Thought Leaders in the lower middl...

Our special guest on this week’s episode of M&A Masters is Brett Hickey, the Founder & CEO of Star Mountain Capital, LLC, a specialized U.S. lower middle-market investment firm. Star Mountain employs a data-driven approach to provide value-added debt and equity capital to established small and medium-sized private companies, leveraging its scale-driven resources and longstanding relationsh...

On this week’s episode of M&A Masters, we speak with Peter Lehrman. Peter serves lower middle market owners, acquirers, and advisors as CEO of Axial, the largest trusted online platform used for safely buying, selling, and financing private companies. Over the last 10 years, Axial has established a single well-known platform that business owners and deal professionals alike trust to discover a...

On this week’s episode of M&A Masters, we’re joined by return guest, Codie Sanchez. Codie is the managing director of Entourage Effect Capital Partners and one of the most sought out speakers in the cannabis business. She also co-leads Unconventional Acquisitions, an educational resource making the buying of businesses accessible to anyone willing to put in the work. Codie says, “If you have t...

On this week’s episode of M&A Masters, we speak with Jessica Ginsberg, Director of Business Development for LFM Capital. Leaders for Manufacturing Capital, or LFM, is a Nashville-based private equity firm founded by operators and engineers, investing in manufacturing companies in the US and Canada. Jessica manages business development and investment sourcing activities, and brings over 13 year...

On this week’s episode of M&A Masters, we speak with Sean Edmondson and Adam Deutsch. Sean is Vice President at Tecum Capital, a middle market multi-strategy private equity investment platform, and Adam Deutsch is the Director, Co-founder, and CFO of NewHold Investment Corporation, a holding company and private investment firm.  Sean says, “Let's buy companies that truly fit the mold of what w...

On this week’s episode of M&A Masters, we’re joined by special guest, Sean Alford, Senior Vice President of Corporate Development at J2 Global, an internet information and services company that includes IGN, Mashable, Humble Bundle, and more across digital media and cloud services segments.  Sean says, “It's pretty systematized when you handle the volume of transactions that we handle, you fig...

On this week’s episode of M&A Masters, we speak with Suzanne Yoon, Founder and Managing Partner of Kinzie Capital Partners, a private equity firm based in Chicago. Chicago Mergers and Acquisitions Magazine named Suzanne 2020’s most influential woman in mid-market M&A, and she’s also been recognized by The Wall Street Journal as a top female dealmaker, shaping private equities both present...

On this week’s episode of M&A Masters, we’re joined by special guest, Peter Lyall, Group Director of Strategy at Fifth Ring, a marketing communications, or marcomm, company with locations in the Americas, Europe, and Asia. They promote the ultra-simple message of helping B2B companies sell more stuff and build better brands. Peter’s goal during this episode is to shed some light on the role of...

On this week’s episode of M&A Masters, we’re joined by special guest Heather Hubbard, Managing Partner of Valesco Industries, a lower-middle market firm based in Dallas, Texas. This past May, Heather was named D CEO’s Private Equity Investment Professional of the Year, and in a market like Texas, that’s no small achievement.  “I think, coming in, we represent what we're oftentimes looking at i...

On this week’s episode of M&A Masters, we speak with Adam Cook, managing partner and Chief Investment Officer of Culper Capital Partners. Based in Norwood, New Jersey, Culper Capital Partners invests debt and equity in middle-market companies that seek true partnership solutions that go well beyond the capital deployed. Culper Capital Partners is also a newly minted private equity firm, which...

What motivates Mark Addison, CEO of X Rocket.io? He’s seen too many entrepreneurs, especially first-timers leave money on the table when they exit.    His firm helps optimize key valuation drivers during M&A negotiations to maximize the money owners and founders take home.   In one case, he and his team were able to reengineer a $30 million offer… into a $100 million offer. We talk about the t...

Mark Gartner is head of investment development at private equity firm ClearLight Partners LLC, which is dedicated to the lower middle market.    Over his years in the industry, he’s seen a sea change in how PE firms go after potential targets, from “smiling and dialing” to using CRMs and data to guide their strategy.   He talks about other elements of his approach to potential acquisitions, includ...

Back in May, Sander Zagzebski maintained that COVID-19 was not a black swan. He even saw a silver lining in the pandemic in the form of opportunity for savvy players in the M&A world to make significant gains.   In this episode we talk about his original prediction and how it has manifested today.   Sander, of Greenspoon Marder LLP,  says the current economic crisis is similar to what happened...

As a veteran M&A lawyer in the Bay Area, Louis Lehot has advised many public and private companies, VCs, investors, and more on forming, financing, governing, and buying and selling companies.   Formerly with DLA Piper, Louis founded his boutique law firm, L2 Counsel, to serve the unique needs of entrepreneurs and investors, specifically those young founders in the early startup phase.   He ta...

On this week’s episode of M&A Masters, we speak with special guest, Laura Simms. Laura handles Business Development at Strait Capital, a fund solutions provider offering a full range of financial solutions to hedge funds, private equity, family offices, and alternative asset managers. From their Dallas headquarters, Strait delivers fund administration, middle office operations, CFO suite servi...

Asset-based lending is one of the best ways for mid-sized companies to get to the next level.  And the role of credit insurance, which has vastly improved since the days of the Great Recession, is often overlooked… yet will be vital to recovery after countries – and the companies in them – exit lockdown.   Jo Bennett-Coles, managing director of FGI Finance, a global leader in domestic and internat...

Communication is vital during an M&A transaction, on both sides, externally and internally. Clarity is a PR firm that works to help companies get through the deal, from media relations to crisis management.   It can be a stressful process… and certainly not the time to “wing it.”   As Alex explains, they use a change management model called ADKAR to shepherd organizations and people through ti...