Interim Management/Company Sale

The situation

A privately owned family business was involved in heavy manufacturing. Its aging (and ailing) founders had handed over the day-to-day management of the company to the next generation’s only son. Sales slid. Inventories swelled. Payables mushroomed. And with bank lines fully drawn, covenants broken, and with the personal guarantees of a respected family on the line, the bankers wanted out. And a large workforce expected a loss of jobs.

Our professionals were brought on board to help.

How our professionals helped

Our professionals immediately went to work to fill our client’s management gap, providing daily direction and decision-making support to the CEO and taking control of financial and cash management as interim CFO. Our professionals then negotiated with the manufacturer’s bank for additional time to develop a workout plan. In the process, our professionals determined that the bank was deeply under secured. Our professionals uncovered rationale for a synergistic valuation gain through business combination and prepared a selling memorandum targeted to limited synergistic buyers.

Attracting substantial interest in the company, our professionals created a competitive bidding process while maintaining operations (despite its financial distress). Our professionals also installed a turn-around CEO as a going concern signal to likely buyers. Additionally, our professionals negotiated an up-front discount and release of personal guarantees with the bank as conditions of a potential sale.

In the end, our professionals were able to negotiate a successful sale of the company to a targeted synergistic multinational.

The result

The bank was paid. The company and its jobs were saved. The owners received meaningful structured payouts for non-competition and for consulting. Our professionals also negotiated a job for the son with the buyer. And all around, the family was able to preserve personal assets.