Mergers & Acquisitions
Integrated M&A Advisory for Founder-Owned Businesses
Middle market acquirers complete hundreds of acquisitions each year. Most founders sell once. We close that gap with institutional processes integrated with our wealth practice, so what you keep is planned alongside the price you negotiate.
Our Services
What We Do
Three ways we work with owners, depending on whether you want to sell, take liquidity without selling or get advice on a specific decision. Our clients are founder- and family-owned businesses in the lower middle market, in transactions of $5 million to $100 million.
I
Sell-Side Advisory
Full sale processes for founder- and family-owned businesses, including majority sales, partial sales and management buyouts: process design, positioning, buyer identification and outreach, diligence management and negotiation through closing.
II
Alternative Structures
Minority and majority recapitalizations for owners who want liquidity without a full exit. Structures that take capital off the table while preserving operating control and a second liquidity event later.
III
Buy-Side and Transaction Support
Add-on acquisitions for founder-owned companies and sponsor platforms: sourcing, valuation, negotiation and diligence. Plus valuation, capital structure and deal structuring advice for owners and boards.
Sector Focus
Sectors We Advise
We advise across the lower middle market, with particular depth in the service, industrial and energy businesses that anchor the Gulf Coast economy.
Industrial Services
Commercial & Residential Services
Energy Exploration & Production
Transportation & Logistics
Consumer Services
Specialty Manufacturing
Healthcare Services
Alternative Structures
Liquidity Without Selling
Most owners assume the only way to take money off the table is to sell the company. It is not, and for many founders there are strong alternatives.
Minority Recapitalization
An investor buys a minority stake. You keep control of the board, the strategy and the day-to-day. A meaningful amount comes off the table now, and you keep most of the upside for a second sale later, often the larger of the two.
Dividend Recapitalization
The company borrows against its own cash flow and pays the proceeds to you. You retain one hundred percent of the equity. This puts debt on the balance sheet, so it suits businesses with durable, predictable cash flow, and we will tell you plainly if yours is not one.
Structured and Preferred Capital
Preferred equity, subordinated debt and hybrid instruments that create liquidity without transferring ownership or board control. Useful for funding a partner buyout, an estate need or diversification without a sale.
Process
How We Run a Sale Process
Most of what determines an outcome happens before a buyer is contacted. Below is the whole sequence: what we run, what it produces and what it asks of you. Every step is run in confidence: a blind teaser before any NDA, a buyer list you approve and a data room we control.
Phase
What we provide
What we need from you
Preparation
6 – 10 weeks
Normalized earnings and adjustment schedules with the workpapers behind them.
Third-party quality of earnings, engaged and managed by us.
Confidential information memorandum, financial model, teaser and other supporting documents.
Secure virtual data room, built and populated before any buyer is admitted.
Access to records, a handful of working sessions and decisions on positioning and adjustments.
Positioning and Outreach
4 – 6 weeks
A buyer list built for the business and vetted before anyone is called: strategics, sponsors with a relevant thesis and sponsor-backed platforms seeking add-ons.
Outreach under NDA on a schedule designed so that participants move at the same time.
Approval of the buyer list, including anyone you want excluded.
Management Meetings and Bids
6 – 8 weeks
Meeting preparation, scheduling and delivery.
Post-meeting buyer management, including written bid instructions and side-by-side comparison of LOI submissions.
Guidance on final buyer selection and transaction terms.
Three to six meetings, each prepared with us in advance.
Exclusivity and Confirmatory Diligence
6 – 10 weeks
Diligence run through us: every request logged, routed and answered, with the data room under our control throughout.
Legal, tax and accounting workstreams coordinated.
Negotiation and documentation of the definitive purchase agreement alongside your counsel.
Answers to specific questions, routed through us rather than directly to the buyer.
Signing and Closing
4 – 5 weeks
Closing mechanics: working capital true-up, escrow, funds flow and disclosure schedules.
Sequencing of announcements you decide on.
Assistance with operational transition and key responsibility handovers.
Your signature and a decision on how and when the news travels.
Most processes run six to nine months from kickoff to close. Preparation is the phase owners are most tempted to compress, and the one that decides the rest.
One Firm
Before, During and After the Sale
Most advisors are paid at closing and gone the next day. We are involved before the process starts and for decades after it ends.
Before the Sale
Entity structure, basis and an indicative valuation, set years ahead while there is still room to change them.
During the Sale
A process run by our bankers, with a tax-loss harvesting strategy sized to the gain in the sale year.
After the Sale
The proceeds managed by the same firm, and a family office if that becomes the right container.
FAQ
Questions Owners Ask
How is the value of my business determined?
Most businesses are valued as a multiple of their earnings, usually adjusted EBITDA. The multiple depends on how dependable those earnings are: growth, customer concentration, the depth of the management team and the quality of the financials. We start with a valuation assessment, so you know the likely range and what would move it before you decide to go to market.
How long does a sale process usually take?
Most processes run six to nine months from preparation to closing. The preparation phase most often decides the result, and it’s the part owners are most tempted to rush.
How much of my time will a sale take?
Less than most owners expect. We run the process: we prepare the materials, manage buyers and coordinate the lawyers and accountants. Your time is concentrated in a few places: gathering information early, meeting serious buyers and answering diligence questions. The most important thing you can do is keep running the business well, because buyers watch results all the way to closing.
How do you keep a sale process confidential?
Buyers see an anonymous summary of the business before signing a nondisclosure agreement. You approve every name on the buyer list, and we control and monitor access to the data room. Employees, customers and suppliers hear about a sale when you decide they should.
Can I stay on after the sale, and what happens to my team?
Often, yes. Many buyers want the owner involved through a transition, sometimes with rolled-over equity or an earnout tied to future results. Buyers usually value the team they’re acquiring, and we negotiate retention and transition terms as part of the deal.
What if I don’t want to accept any of the offers?
You are not obligated to accept any offer. If bids fall short of your goals, we’ll tell you why and what would change them. A minority recapitalization, a partial sale or a later process may still get you where you want to be.
How can I reduce my taxes when I sell?
Much of what you keep is decided before a buyer is involved. That includes how your company is structured, whether the deal is an asset or stock sale, how the price is allocated and whether interests are moved to trusts or family members ahead of time. Our wealth practice works through these with your CPA and attorney well before closing, while there’s still time to act on them.
How can I set myself up for success after the sale?
Start planning for life after the sale before you sign. That means knowing what the proceeds need to do for you and your family, and having an investment, tax and estate plan ready the day the money arrives. Because our wealth practice is part of the same firm, that plan is built alongside the deal, not after it.
Capital Formation
Solutions Across the Capital Stack
Equity, debt and fund placements for private companies, sponsors and founders. A raise is not an auction: it is a short list of investors who already want the exposure, approached in a sequence the client controls.
Our Services
What We Raise
Capital for private companies, sponsors and founders, across equity, debt and fund placements.
I
Growth Equity
Structured and common equity for expansion and shareholder liquidity, including project equity for energy and infrastructure. Valuation and governance negotiated with the client’s control in mind.
II
Debt and Structured Capital
Senior and subordinated placements, unitranche, mezzanine and hybrid instruments. Refinancing and balance-sheet optimization where the existing facility is the constraint.
III
Funds and Secondaries
GP-led and LP-led placements, LP portfolio sales and investor targeting and coverage for sponsors raising institutional capital.
Process
How We Raise Capital
A raise is prepared the way we prepare a sale: before anyone is approached, with the client deciding the sequence.
Preparation
Financial model, investor materials and a data room built before the first conversation.
Investor Targeting
A short list of investors who already want the exposure, chosen for fit as much as for capital.
Outreach and Terms
Approaches sequenced on the client’s schedule, with term sheets compared side by side.
Closing
Documentation and closing coordinated with your counsel, through funding.
Long-Term Value
Building a Company Worth More
The companies that sell for the most are usually the ones that prepared years in advance. The right capital, raised at the right time, is often how they got there.
Capital With a Purpose
Growth equity and debt raised against a plan, so each round moves the company toward the value a buyer will eventually pay for.
Built for Diligence
Reporting, management depth and customer mix strengthened early, using the same lens an acquirer will apply later.
Growth by Acquisition
Add-on acquisitions sourced and financed by the same team, building scale years ahead of any exit.
Founder Wealth, Planned Alongside
Entity structure and personal planning coordinated with our wealth practice, so more of the value you build stays with your family.
Who We Support
Founders, Sponsors and Families
Owner-operators funding growth without selling, sponsors raising a fund or a co-investment, and families putting capital to work directly rather than through a platform. Because our investment banking practice runs these processes, our wealth clients see these opportunities as Tier 1 opportunities.
Transactions
Our Track Record
Sales, restructurings, valuations and debt and equity financings for founder-owned, family-owned and growth companies across energy, renewables, healthcare, consumer and financial services.
Deal Team
Your Deal Team
Chase M. Robertson
Managing Partner
John H. Nghiem
Managing Director, Investment Banking
Holt Johnson
Investment Banking Associate
Thomas Richards
Operating Partner, Private Equity
Tom Guidish
Operating Partner, Natural Resources
Selected Transactions
Representative Transactions
A selection of engagements completed by members of our investment banking team, including transactions completed at prior firms.
Capital Formation
$318.9 Million
Project Debt Financing
Lead Arranger
Renewables
Capital Formation
$194.9 Million
Follow-On Offering
Co-Manager
Energy Exploration & Production
Capital Formation
$137.0 Million
Project Debt Financing
Lead Arranger
Renewables
Capital Formation
$120.0 Million
Project Equity Financing
Financial Advisor
Healthcare
Capital Formation
$73.0 Million
Acquisition Debt Financing
Financial Advisor
Energy Exploration & Production
Capital Formation
$50.0 Million
Private Equity Placement
Placement Agent
Energy Exploration & Production
Capital Formation
$50.0 Million
Project Equity Financing
Financial Advisor
Renewables
Capital Formation
$43.5 Million
Project Debt Financing
Lead Arranger
Renewables
Capital Formation
$41.0 Million
Project Debt Financing
Lead Arranger
Renewables
Capital Formation
$29.5 Million
Project Debt Financing
Financial Advisor
Healthcare
Capital Formation
$25.0 Million
Private Equity Placement
Placement Agent
Renewables
Capital Formation
$7.5 Million
Project Debt Financing
Financial Advisor
Energy Exploration & Production
Capital Formation
$6.2 Million
Acquisition Debt Financing
Financial Advisor
Energy Exploration & Production
Capital Formation
$5.7 Million
Project Debt Financing
Financial Advisor
Oil & Gas Equipment
Capital Formation
$5.0 Million
Expansion Debt Financing
Financial Advisor
Oil & Gas Equipment
Capital Formation
$5.0 Million
Corporate Debt Financing
Financial Advisor
Financial Services
Capital Formation
$2.5 Million
Corporate Debt Financing
Principal Investor
Industrial Manufacturing
Capital Formation
Corporate Debt Financing
Financial Advisor
Software Technology
Strategic Advisory
Corporate Valuation
Financial Advisor
Consumer Retail
Strategic Advisory
Private Restructuring
Financial Advisor
Telecommunications
Strategic Advisory
Corporate Valuation
Financial Advisor
Energy Services
Strategic Advisory
Corporate Valuation
Financial Advisor
Consumer Retail
Strategic Advisory
Corporate Valuation
Financial Advisor
Consumer Retail
Strategic Advisory
Portfolio Valuation
Financial Advisor
Financial Services
Transactions shown include engagements completed by current members of the Robertson investment banking team while at prior firms. Dollar amounts reflect total transaction size, not fees or investment returns. Past transactions are not indicative of future results. See Important Disclosures.
Contact
One Firm for Your Full Financial Picture
Whether you are planning for your family, growing your wealth or preparing to sell a business, it starts with a conversation.