Transactional Advice

Other

While a sale or a purchase of the majority of the equity of an investment manager is the typical outcome of our buy- or sell-side assignments, occasionally this is not the desired or optimal result for our client.

• Sometimes, a client seeking additional distribution channels for its products is simply not ready to cede control, now or on a predetermined basis in the future. On the other side, there may be an institution seeking access to highly specialized products (or markets) without the need to have immediate control – or even the need to assure itself of future control. A minority interest linked to a purposeful business alliance may be the answer.
• A firm’s founding principals are ready to transition ownership and management to a younger generation, but not at a large discount from a fair market value. The firm, for its own reasons, is opposed at this time to selling an interest to a third party who might “interfere” with the business. The financial community and capital markets have presented an increasing array of “financial solutions” that can help reconcile these apparently conflicting goals.
• Two firms in proximate markets feel that they can combine forces to increase scale, professional resources and competitiveness. Neither has the capital or desire to buy the other. A friendly merger “refereed” by one experienced advisor may be the answer.
• A buyer has agreed to a transaction with a target, and does not need the full range of m&a advice typically involved in a buy-side assignment. The client requires support in the area of business due diligence (to supplement its accounting, tax legal, and compliance team) and an independent validation of its valuation and form of transaction structure.
• A client has been approached by several securities houses with the prospect of an IPO, either in the US or the UK. The valuations sound compelling. The questions: Are the valuations real? How do they compare to current alternatives? What are the risks (e.g. client reactions) if those valuation levels cannot be achieved and the IPO does not proceed? The client wants a trusted financial advisor to join the initial exploration and provide an independent view of the feasibility and impact of this proposition.

Cambridge is in a position to offer customized solutions and advice to clients for whom the conventional full range of m&a advisory services exceeds the present need, or where a sale or purchase is not necessarily the best or desired answer.