Latest Podcast Episode
Peter Cook | Why Transparency is the Key to Success
In this episode, I’m joined by Peter Cook of Everingham & Kerr, a mergers and acquisitions advisory firm that specializes in providing intermediary services for lower-middle market companies and entrepreneurs. Peter will share his philosophy around transparency and will also discuss: Mentioned in this episode: Transcript Patrick Stroth: Hello there. I’m Patrick Stroth, trusted authority in executive and transactional liability and founder of Rubicon M&A Insurance Services, now a proud member of the Liberty Company Insurance Broker Network. Welcome to M&A Masters where I speak with the leading experts in mergers and acquisitions, and we’re all about one thing here. That’s a clean exit for owners, founders and their investors. Today I’m joined by Peter Cook, Director of Everingham & Kerr. Founded in 1988, Everingham & Kerr is a merger and acquisition advisory firm that specializes in providing intermediary services for lower-middle market companies and entrepreneurs. And if anybody has been lucky enough to be on Everingham & Kerr’s feed showing their activity, they are prolifically active in the lower middle market M&A space. So it’s a real treat to have you. Peter, thanks for joining me today. Peter Cook: Thanks so much, Patrick. Appreciate it. Patrick: Now, before we get into Everingham & Kerr and just this voluminous amount of work that you guys are doing, let’s start with you. How did you get to this point in your career? Peter: Well, it’s been an interesting ride, Patrick. I started out as an attorney, way back when, and practiced for about five years. Was a member of the New Jersey Bar, and really was disenchanted with what I was doing. It wasn’t very exciting for me. And lo and behold, went to a Christmas party met somebody that was a big investor in a startup company in the mid 90s. And very shortly
Latest Articles
Notable M&A Trends to Watch Out for in 2023
When the world’s largest transactional insurance broker talks… you listen. I’m talking about Marsh McLennan, a Fortune 500 firm with a global reach that wrote more than 1,000 Representation and Warranty (R&W) insurance policies in 2022. Their Transactional Risk Insurance 2022: Year in Review report is an excellent resource for anyone involved in M&A, as well as the specialized insurance products like R&W that have become essential to deal-making. It’s a report worth taking a close look at…because in addition to reporting on trends from the past year… they are also looking ahead and forecasting what they believe will happen
The Biggest Danger to M&A Sellers – and How to Avoid it
I got a call earlier today… one that I wasn’t exactly happy to receive. But I feel like I should share the situation that I learned about because it showcases the importance of transactional liability insurance to cover M&A transactions. Here’s the situation… The caller had sold their industrial supply company in the Midwest for just about $3.5M. But, as the deal neared close, additional inventory, not initially part of the deal, was discovered. Buyer and Seller agreed that this inventory was worth $150,000. And the Buyer suggested that they would pay the Seller in installments of $10,000 over 15
Latest Podcasts
Peter Cook | Why Transparency is the Key to Success
In this episode, I’m joined by Peter Cook of Everingham & Kerr, a mergers and acquisitions advisory firm that specializes in providing intermediary services for lower-middle market companies and entrepreneurs. Peter will share his philosophy around transparency and will also discuss: Mentioned in this episode: Transcript Patrick Stroth: Hello there. I’m Patrick Stroth, trusted authority in executive and transactional liability and founder of Rubicon M&A Insurance Services, now a proud member of the Liberty Company Insurance Broker Network. Welcome to M&A Masters where I speak with the leading experts in mergers and acquisitions, and we’re all about one thing here. That’s a clean exit for owners, founders and their investors. Today I’m joined by Peter Cook, Director of Everingham & Kerr. Founded in 1988, Everingham & Kerr is a merger and acquisition advisory firm that specializes in providing intermediary services for lower-middle market companies and entrepreneurs. And if anybody has been lucky enough to be on Everingham & Kerr’s feed showing their activity, they are prolifically active in the lower middle market M&A space. So it’s a real treat to have you. Peter, thanks for joining me today. Peter Cook: Thanks so much, Patrick. Appreciate it. Patrick: Now, before we get into Everingham & Kerr and just this voluminous amount of work that you guys are doing, let’s start with you. How did you get to this point in your career? Peter: Well, it’s been an interesting ride, Patrick. I started out as an attorney, way back when, and practiced for about five years. Was a member of the New Jersey Bar, and really was disenchanted with what I was doing. It wasn’t very exciting for me. And lo and behold, went to a Christmas party met somebody that was a big investor in a startup company in the mid 90s. And very shortly
Doug McCormick | How can M&A Masters tap into the power of human capital?
In this episode, I’m joined by Doug McCormick, Managing Partner and Chief Investment Officer of HCI Equity Partners. He’ll give an inside look at his firm, which partners with family and founder-owned manufacturing, services, and distribution companies in the lower middle market. Doug will break down his firm’s unique strategy that transforms businesses through 3 initiatives. He’ll also share: Why human capital is a gamechanger How his firm’s history has shaped its strategy Why building a team is an art, not a science Insights about helping business owners build legacies And more Mentioned in this episode: https://www.hciequity.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/douglasmccormick/ Transcript Patrick Stroth: Hello there. I’m Patrick Stroth, trusted authority in executive and transactional liability and founder of Rubicon M&A Insurance Services. Now a proud member of the Liberty Company Insurance Broker Network. Welcome to M&A Masters where I speak with the leading experts in mergers and acquisitions. And we’re all about one thing here. That’s a clean exit for owners, founders and their investors. Today, I’m joined by Doug McCormick, managing partner and chief investment officer of HCI Equity Partners. Based in Washington, DC, HCI Equity Partners is a lower middle market private equity firm focused on partnering with family and founder-owned manufacturing services and distribution companies. And Doug it’s a great pleasure to have you. This is a much celebrated HCI Equity. Welcome to the podcast today. Doug McCormick: Hey, thanks so much, Patrick. I appreciate you having me on. And I look forward to the discussion. Patrick: Fantastic. Well, now, before we get into HCI Equity Partners, let’s set the table here with you. What brought you to this point in your career? Doug: Sure, sure. So first of all, I’ve been in the private equity industry for a little more than 20 years. I think, like many of your other guests, my
All Insights
Current Trends in M&A Add-Ons
Globally, M&A activity so far has declined 23% in 2022 compared to 2021. Yes, that is a significant drop. But, as I wrote in a previous article, you must consider that 2021 was a historic record-breaking year of deal-making. So, in a sense, 2022 has been somewhat of a return to normal. That said, while worldwide M&A activity has declined, what we’ve seen in the U.S. is little or no decline in deal-making. It’s essentially “flat.” This is largely because of the increasingly common practice of purchasing “add-ons” instead of platform companies.
Sly Buford | Strategies for the Lower Middle Market
How do you get owners to stop thinking like operators… And start thinking like investors? For the lower middle market, this mindset shift is crucial for a clean exit. In this episode, I talk to Sly Buford, founder, and CEO of Tenth Street Group, which specializes in helping lower middle market businesses grow, scale, and exit. Sly had an unconventional path to becoming an investor, and he’s here to share how he found M&A success.
Marty Fahncke | Finding Success in the Lower Middle Market
In this week’s episode of M&A Masters, we sit down with Marty Fahncke to talk about M&A for the lower middle market. Marty is a partner at Westbound Road, LLC and has over 30 years of experience in building and growing businesses.
Legal Diligence Reports and R&W Insurance
I’m helping a first-time client place Representations and Warranty (R&W) insurance, and it’s taking a bit of hand-holding on this first go-around as we get quotes from insurers and review other elements of the process. We should all keep in mind that the primary thing Underwriters want to see is thorough due diligence. Otherwise, they are going to be a lot of exclusions in the policy.
Alistair McBride | How to win your deal-by building trust
You might think of M&A as a zero-sum game… But that’s where many business owners go wrong. It might surprise you to hear that building trust with the opposing side is the key to securing your clean exit. This episode’s guest, Alistair McBride, coaches business owners in the fine art of negotiating M&A deals. Alistair has seen deals succeed when business owners treat their opponents like their ally. He calls this “the psychological edge of negotiation.” In today’s episode, we discuss how you can use this idea to win over the other side and sell them your vision—so you can
It’s Never Too Late for TLPE
It’s Never Too Late for TLPE I was at a conference recently talking with an M&A advisor. One of his clients sold his RV park for about $10M a few months prior. But, he was getting nervous that he has money withheld from the purchase price, in escrow, in case of a breach of the purchase and sale agreement.
Deborah Smith | Trends in Real Estate NOW
On this week’s episode of M&A Masters, we’re sitting down with Deborah Smith to talk about real estate, a first on this show! Deborah is the Co-Founder and CEO of The CenterCap Group. The CenterCap Group, LLC, is a boutique investment bank providing strategic advisory, capital-raising, and consulting-related services to public and private corporations, owners, operators, and investment managers. They are exclusively focused on the real estate sector, with a deep understanding of what drives the industry and the relationships to back that up. Deborah says, “We are all things real estate and we haven’t strayed from that. Our whole
Patrick Turner | Leveraging Financial and Industry Expertise to Drive Growth
In this week’s episode of M&A Masters, we sit down with Patrick Turner to talk about how his company is transforming good companies into great companies through their partnerships.