M&A, Capital and Strategic Advisory Services for Middle Market Building Products and Construction Service Companies.
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Clients

Our principals have deep experience in meeting the needs of the diverse group of stakeholders that take part in building products transactions. The following discussion highlights the ways in which our services are tailored to meet the needs of these respective groups.

Building Products Entrepreneurs

Given our singular focus on the building products industry, we have an unmatched understanding of the transaction needs of building products manufacturers and distributors. We have learned that there is a distinct capital life cycle through which companies move over time. Our services are designed to address the capital needs of building products companies at each of these stages.

Early Growth Stage – Companies that have achieved profitability and a measure of initial success often find that they have outgrown their initial investors and lenders. We are able to help these companies refinance their current capital arrangements and secure capital from lenders and equity providers that will help them propel their company to the next stage of success.

Later Growth Stage – Entrepreneurs whose companies have entered the later stages of growth often learn that their success brings with it increased capital challenges. We are able to help meet the unique needs of mature, growing companies. These include securing more significant amounts of debt, equity and mezzanine capital from capital providers that will serve as true partners to our clients. Other companies retain us to undertake acquisition searches for them. These searches draw upon our extensive network of contacts in the industry and our turnkey methodologies for ensuring that the search does not tax our clients’ management teams. Such searches are an excellent way for companies to generate the kind of proprietary deal flow that makes the goal of growing through acquisitions a profitable reality.

Partial Liquidity – Many entrepreneurs find it preferable to phase in an ownership change over time by taking partial liquidity in a sale of a portion of their company. The decision to sell a company is seldom an easy one. For most entrepreneurs, there is an emotional connection to the company they’ve built and grown over time that is deeply important to them. Selling a minority stake in a company is a way to achieve liquidity that is needed for diversification, estate planning and other needs. Our professionals are in touch with numerous capital providers that prefer to make such minority investments, since the founding entrepreneur leaves a meaningful portion of their net worth in the company.

Real Estate Sale Leaseback – Another way to take partial liquidity in a company without selling a controlling ownership in it is to take advantage of a sale-leaseback of the company’s real estate. These transactions can be achieved relatively quickly and can result in a source of liquidity that places fewer restrictions on the company than other forms of capital.

Full Liquidity – The final stage in building the value of a company typically consummates in the sale of the business. Business owners that wish to achieve liquidity through the sale of their company find that Building Industry Advisors utilizes a thorough, consistent and highly detailed approach to the execution of successful transactions.

Management Buyouts – A management buyout is a particular type of liquidity event, in which a capital provider backs the non-owning or minority ownership members of the management team in acquiring the company from the minority owners. Financial investors favor these transactions because their interests are closely aligned with those of the experienced management team, who remain with the company following the transaction. Entrepreneurs benefit from these transactions because they are able to achieve a meaningful liquidity event, while leaving the company in the hands of the executive team that helped build and grow the company.

Debt Restructuring – When a company secures debt capital from a lender, it is always the mutual assumption on both sides that the debt will be fully repaid with interest. However, in times when the market softens, a company often finds itself burdened by a larger debt than it can reasonably repay from cash flow in the foreseeable future. In such cases, it is often mutually agreeable for the business to refinance and restructure the existing debt with a new lender. This usually involves a reduction in the total amount of principal owed by the company. While this is never the intended outcome, restructuring usually leads to a better economic result for both the borrower and the lender than a foreclosure or similar proceeding.

Special Projects – Given the complicated financial decisions that face entrepreneurs in the building products industry, we offer a variety of services designed to address special situations that arise. These include financial advisory services, assisting companies in making overall strategic decisions that will be heavily driven by financial and market analysis. Our professionals can assist companies in completing valuations for partnership buyouts, estate planning or other events. Companies searching for strategic joint venture partners to enter new geographies or product areas call on Building Industry Advisors to locate an ideal strategic partner for them. Other companies take advantage of our ability to conduct highly specialized industry research, to help in making important strategic decisions.

Other Opportunities for Entrepreneurs – After selling their company, entrepreneurs often find it challenging to adjust to the notion of leaving the building products industry. Many choose not to do so. For these executives, we are able to provide introductions to opportunities to co-invest in transactions or assume a chairman-level role in a company that would benefit from their many years of experience. We frequently encounter situations in which the help of a qualified executive is needed or in which an opportunity for an industry entrepreneur to co-invest exists.

Private Equity Funds

Investment Opportunities – Private equity funds are valuable partners in our work with building products companies. Funds or similar private investors that are interested in evaluating building products deals are encouraged to share with us their various deal parameters and areas of interest. This includes desired ranges of revenue and EBITDA, geographic areas, products segments and types of transactions, whether control, non-control, growth equity, buyout, etc.

Selling Portfolio Companies – Our professionals are experienced in working with private equity funds with an investment focus on the building products industry. We understand the need to achieve liquidity of a portfolio company in a timely and efficient manner. Our professionals undertake a highly detailed sale process that will have an optimal result for your fund. This includes requiring the minimum possible time commitment by members of your investment team and identifying a buyer with the highest willingness to pay and the least financing contingencies.

Add-on Acquisitions – Once a platform company has been established in the building products industry, there is no faster or better way to grow that company than through acquisitions. One of the reasons that the professionals at Building Industry Advisors chose the building products industry is that it is highly fragmented but consolidating. Thus, there are typically numerous potential acquisition targets within any given segment of the industry. Our professionals rely on their knowledge of the industry to reduce a large pool of prospective candidates to a small group of the ideal partners. In our retained searches, we are able to provide building products companies with interested, qualified candidates on a proprietary basis. Our search methodology is designed to minimize the time commitment of our client’s investment team, allowing them to spend their time adding value to existing investments.

Senior Debt Capital – Building products companies often find that their senior lender is not willing to see the lending relationship grow as quickly as the borrowing company is growing. When this happens, working with our team will allow your investment professionals to focus on the fundamental creators of value in your portfolio company. We will locate the best debt partner to take the company to the next level.

Mezzanine / Equity Capital – Whether your fund is fully committed or has reached its comfort level of investments in a single company or industry, we understand the decision to secure an external source of mezzanine debt or equity for your portfolio company. In such situations, we can locate a strong external capital partner. In this way, the management team can continue to grow the company as the time for your eventual liquidity approaches, rather than having to operate in a capital constrained environment.

Special Projects – Private equity funds that are interested in a detailed, market-based analysis of a portfolio company’s value would benefit from Building Industry Advisors’ thorough approach to valuing companies. In other situations where an important strategic decision must be made, private equity owners may wish to supplement their and the management team’s knowledge of the industry with an informed outside opinion. The professionals at Building Industry Advisors are adept at assessing the critical issues at hand and bringing to bear their knowledge and their extensive networks in arriving at an optimal solution for clients.

Lenders

Lending Opportunities – We frequently encounter opportunities to introduce our clients to providers of debt capital. When we are selling a client’s company, we endeavor to make arm’s length introductions between buyers and potential lenders. Lenders of mezzanine and senior debt are invited to share with us their deal parameters. This includes desired ranges of revenue and EBITDA, geographic areas, products segments and types of transactions, whether mezzanine or senior debt.

Troubled Assets / Special Situations – The professionals at Building Industry Advisors have a strong background in advising companies, lenders and other stakeholders in financially distressed situations. Our principals have represented both companies and senior lenders in asset foreclosure sales and similar proceedings. Our corporate restructuring services encompass the following areas: §363 sales and recapitalizations, out-of-court restructurings, financing (DIP, exit and alternative), lender negotiations and valuations. When a company becomes troubled and the lender wishes to resolve the situation through an asset foreclosure and sale or similar proceeding, our professionals understand the transaction from both sides. We endeavor to generate the maximum proceeds from the sale in order to minimize the losses of the entrepreneur and the lender, while preserving as many employee positions as possible.