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April 25, 2024

Harnessing Marketing and Sales Across PE Deal Stages

Chief Outsiders Slade Kobran, Dawn Werry and Evan Eckman talk about how using proven marketing and sales strategies across various deal stages can amplify returns....

By Slade Kobran, Dawn Werry, Evan Eckman

April 4, 2024

The Rising Importance Of People In Driving Business Value In A Deal

SolomonEdwardsGroup's Laura Kellers Queen on the rising importance of people in driving business value in a deal....

By Adam Burroughs

April 4, 2024

How to Maximize PE Value Creation by Better Assessing Growth Potential in Due Diligence

Chief Outsiders Managing Partner, Private Equity, Slade Kobran outlines and approach to value creation that starts in due diligence....

By Slade Kobran

March 7, 2024

AI Trends for the Progressive CEO: Navigating the Transformative Landscape

Chief Outsiders' Ed Valdez and Angus Robertson rank the eight most important factors in the AI scene to pay attention to right now....

By Ed Valdez and Angus Robertson

February 29, 2024

Inside The Thought Process Of Sell Or Don't Sell

Osage Venture Partners' Emily Foote on how she came to the decision she made with Practice, a company she co-founded....

By Adam Burroughs

February 1, 2024

Knowledge Is Power For Sellers

Keith Lipman on the prep work that went into the sale of his company, Prosperoware...

By Adam Burroughs

January 18, 2024

Tune Your PE Growth Engine With These 4 Principles

Chief Outsiders columnist Jack Bowen outlines how to optimize portfolio-company performance and maximize growth opportunities....

By Jack Bowen

January 5, 2024

AgroFresh Solutions' Clinton Lewis, Jr. On Taking The Public Company Private

AgroFresh Solutions Inc. was spunoff into a stand-alone public company, listed on NASDAQ, after Dow Chemical acquired Rohm and Haas, of which it had originally been a part. Clinton A. Lewis, Jr....

By Adam Burroughs

December 1, 2023

To Thrive, A Family Business Needs Rules

Jim Jurgielewicz, of Joe Jurgielewicz & Son Ltd., on the rough couple years the business experienced and how the rules the family set help them keep it together. ...

By Adam Burroughs

November 3, 2023

Greater Diligence Means Greater Deal Prep

In the market today, there's been a change in availability of debt and the cost of that debt, says Mereo Capital Partners Managing Partner John O'Hare. There's also an issue of meeting seller...

By Adam Burroughs

September 29, 2023

Optimism For Better M&A Times Is On The Horizon

Headlines of articles covering the M&A market over the past couple of months and years have painted a challenging picture, says UBS Market Executive, Philadelphia & DC Market Julie Fox. However, they...

By Adam Burroughs

September 8, 2023

Philadelphia's 2023 Smart Business Network Dealmaker Award Winners: Trailblazers in Business and Innovation

The 2023 Smart Business Network Philadelphia Dealmaker Awards have recognized exceptional individuals who are shaping the landscape of business and innovation in the City of Brotherly Love. These...

By Dan Pender

July 28, 2023

Don't Force Family Into Taking Over The Business

When it comes to making a successful transition within a family business, education and communication are by far the most important factors. Waldron Private Wealth Partner & Chief Investment Officer...

By Adam Burroughs

June 23, 2023

Transition Options For Family Businesses

There comes a time for family businesses to make a transition. In some cases, the business is passed down to the family's next generation. But when that's not an option, there are other transitions...

By Adam Burroughs

May 19, 2023

Whether buying or selling, alignment is key

Investors have had a lot to process recently — COVID bumps in their portfolio companies, whether positive or negative; supply chain issues; inflation impacting working capital, to name a few. While...

By Adam Burroughs

April 21, 2023

The Importance Of A Good First Impression

Blank Rome's Louis Rappaport on best practices for gaining the upper hand in deals done in a highly competitive environment....

By Adam Burroughs

March 24, 2023

How Buyers Leverage Weaknesses In A Deal

Guardian Capital Partners Managing Partner Peter Haabestad on the ways buyers pick apart deals and how business owners can maximize the opportunity of a sale....

By Adam Burroughs

March 10, 2023

Data, Transparency Play Large Roles In A Deal

Highwood USA CEO and Founder John Quarmley talks through the company's recent sale process....

By Adam Burroughs

February 24, 2023

Borrowing Against IP

Mark Fox, managing partner at Ghost Tree Partners, and Joseph Rossi, AVP, Aon Intellectual Property Solutions at Aon, on methods for lending against a company's IP....

By Adam Burroughs

February 10, 2023

Cohen & Company Acquires BBD's Investment Management Group

Cohen & Company, one of the country's top tax and accounting firms featuring a nationally recognized Investment Industry Services Group, announced it will acquire BBD's Investment Management Group...

By Dan Pender

February 10, 2023

Bill Yoh On Adding Structure To The Family Business

Day & Zimmerman Co-Owner Bill Yoh on how to have the tough conversations necessary to have a thriving family business for generations. ...

By Adam Burroughs

January 27, 2023

The Impact Of Tax Structuring On A Deal

There have been times when tax issues had significant implications on deals for David Bovenizer, CEO of Lionheart Industrial Group LLC. Recently, he says, his company was trying to acquire a strategic target in the aerospace and defense sector. It was a good strategic match for the business, but the company had a lot of the hallmarks of a smaller company, including a lack of tax planning. It was a single individual owner C-corp, which meant there were fewer structuring options for a deal. And they also had issues such as a history expensing all their purchases and no inventory accounted for on the books. ...

By Adam Burroughs

January 13, 2023

Preparing For A Sale When You're A Social Entrepreneur

Founder and former CEO of Union Packaging Michael K. Pearson on selling his company and preparing for life after a sale....

By Adam Burroughs

December 16, 2022

The Importance To Buyers Of High Probability Of Close

Mereo Capital Partners Co-Founder Leo Helmers on the indicators of a high probability to close and why those matter to buyers. ...

By Adam Burroughs

December 1, 2022

Michael Schreiber On Launching Playfly Sports

Playfly Sports Founder and CEO Michael Schreiber on launching Playfly, making acquisitions as well as advice for those leading disruptive forces into the market. ...

By Adam Burroughs

November 18, 2022

Revolutionary Security's Race To The Finish Line

Former Revolutionary Security CEO Rich Mahler on the sale of the company to Accenture — the period leading up to the deal, COVID's effect and more....

By Adam Burroughs

November 4, 2022

Chain.io Investing in Supply Chain Platform Partnerships

As supply chain issues continue to wreak havoc for businesses both large and small, Chain.io Founder and CEO Brian Glick hopes to alleviate the problems with its cloud-based integration platform, which lets all the different entities in the chain share data between all their systems. ...

By Dan Pender

October 21, 2022

Refine Your Growth Strategy

Wolf Organization's Joe Person, Guardian Capital Partners' Peter Haabestad, RKL's Bryan Redding and JPMorgan Chase's Lisa Kopff, share their keys to developing and unlocking an acquisition plan that works....

By Adam Burroughs

October 7, 2022

From funder to fundraiser

MOBILion's Dr. Melissa Sherman on growing the company and how she's adapted to the fundraising process....

By Adam Burroughs

September 15, 2022

Finding alignment in a family business

AchieveNEXT's Christin Cardone McClave, and UBS’s Bianca Benedetti-Fang and Julie Fox on how McClave’s family managed through being business partners over the years, why they ultimately decided a full sale was a path they wanted to pursue, and how they have adjusted back to being a family, after the transaction. ...

By Adam Burroughs

August 26, 2022

Pre-transaction must-dos for sellers

Kreischer Miller's Brian Kitchen on maximizing your deal success with pre-transaction tax structuring....

By Adam Burroughs

August 25, 2022

Blue Highway Capital Invests In Western Composites

Blue Highway Capital has made a growth equity investment in Western Composites, LLC....

By Adam Burroughs

August 11, 2022

Archetype Solutions Pursues A Unique Approach To Investing

Archetype Solutions Group CEO Chetan Bagga on launching Archetype Solutions and its unique approach to investing....

By Adam Burroughs

August 2, 2022

The Essential First Question CEOs Must Ask Before Partnering with a PE Firm

Private equity dealmaking was busier than ever in 2021, with more than $3.5 trillion in capital deployed throughout the year. Fundraising also increased nearly 20% last year – a record high – which...

By Andrew Panzo

July 29, 2022

Breaking down the complexities of succession planning

Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young Partner Steven Scolari on succession planning and how to break the complex process down into something more manageable....

By Adam Burroughs

July 6, 2022

Revolutionary Security struck while the iron was hot

Revolutionary Security's Rich Mahler discusses the company's 2020 sale to Accenture....

By Adam Burroughs

June 29, 2022

Liquidity Lessons From Selling a Fourth-Generation Family Business

Lewisburg Printing Company's Kirk Kelso, Troutman Pepper's Daniel McDonough, and BNY Mellon's Bryan McGrath and Marty Babitz on the preparation and exit phases of a well-structured transaction....

By Adam Burroughs

June 17, 2022

Argo Fresh's Clint Lewis: Running A Public Company With A PE Partner

In AgroFresh, Clint Lewis is leading a public company that has a private equity investor. 'It's a unique dynamic," Lewis says....

By Adam Burroughs

June 2, 2022

The Battle For Seller Attention

Candid Partners' John Peak and Merrick Olives, along with LLR Partners' Michael Pantilione, Citizens' David Dunstan and Blank Rome's Louis Rappaport, on preparing for a transaction. ...

By Adam Burroughs

May 19, 2022

Unexpected snags that can trip up sellers' deals

BDO's Scott Balestrier and Eureka Equity Partners' Jonathan Chou, along with Murphy McCormack Capital Advisors' Bob McCormack and BDO USA's Eric Fahr, on the many issues sellers should consider before heading to market. ...

By Adam Burroughs

May 6, 2022

Airline Hydraulics Corp. stays in its acquisitional lane

Airline Hydraulics Corp.'s Mark Steffens talks about the company's acquisition strategy....

By Adam Burroughs

April 14, 2022

Tim Wallace On Making Raising Capital Part of The Job

Tim Wallace talks about his vast experience founding companies and growing them into wildly successful businesses. ...

By Adam Burroughs

March 23, 2022

Gerri Henwood on public vs private funding

Serial entrepreneur Gerri Henwood talks about her entrepreneurial experience as well as the differences — the pros and cons — of public and private funding....

By Adam Burroughs

February 4, 2022

Duck Donuts' Betsy Hamm, Russ DiGilio, on their capital raise process

Duck Donuts' Betsy Hamm and Russ DiGilio on what they learned through the process of selling their business to NewSpring Capital....

By Adam Burroughs

December 2, 2021

How Chris Molaro launched NeuroFlow

NeuroFlow co-founder Chris Molaro on changing the way mental health care is delivered, his most recent M&A deal, and the company’s future. ...

By Adam Burroughs

November 5, 2021

Addressing the structural barriers facing minority owned businesses

Della Clark, CEO of The Enterprise Center, talks about ways to create better access to capital for minority entrepreneurs and her newest project, an SBIC fund aimed at mature minority owned companies....

By Adam Burroughs

October 15, 2021

Recapitalizing to stay ahead of the competition

PDC Machines' Kareem Afzal talks about the company’s evolution into the market and how he expects the Arcline investment will help his business capitalize on the opportunity. ...

By Adam Burroughs

September 9, 2021

Financial Materiality Of ESG

The 2021 Philadelphia Smart Business Dealmakers Conference opens with a discussion of ESG issues and how they might play out in the M&A market....

By Adam Burroughs

August 19, 2021

Look deeper for deal value

William Wennberg, today the CEO of Tactical Medical Solutions LLC, says when people become too focused on trying to get the best price for the company, they can lose sight of what value actually is....

By Adam Burroughs

July 21, 2021

Why Rich Dougherty bought LabRepCo twice

Rich Dougherty, president of LabRepCo; Michelle Rondinelli, president of Kitchen Kettle Foods; Steven Staugaitis, director of auditing and accounting at Kreischer Miller; and John Reed, partner at Barley Snyder; offer advice on figuring out the plan for a family business’s future....

By Adam Burroughs