Partners in Growth

In addition to sponsoring acquisitions, StoneCreek will provide advisory services in select situations. StoneCreek’s Strategic Advisory Group works with business owners to create value. Our Strategic Advisory Group operates differently than traditional transaction and success-fee-based investment banks or consulting firms that are paid cash fees for time committed. We are primarily compensated on the value we can help to create over what is generally a several year period. We work with our clients in much the same way we work with portfolio companies.

Our approach is designed to maximize the value of the business at the time the owner decides to exit, typically several years out from the time of our engagement. We leverage our significant experience as buyers, owners and sellers to bring a unique value-added perspective to a company’s business strategy and potential transactions that a typical investment advisor would not.

Our Strategic Advisory Group’s process is based on the same fundamentals that we utilize with our portfolio companies. We start with helping owners prioritize their long-term personal and business goals. Once the goals are set, StoneCreek’s services are focused on achieving these objectives during the term of our engagement, including:

	Assessment of business and industry
	Detailed due diligence to confirm underlying strengths and opportunities
	Building a strategic plan and annual budget
	Helping to strengthen the basic processes and systems that management utilizes to run its business
	Upgrading internal and external financial reporting
	Helping to build strong relationships with the company’s lenders and financial partners (care and feeding of all key stakeholders)
	Building a detailed financial modeling tool that incorporates operating and financial metrics, equity valuation analysis and five year projections
	Proposing strategies for transferring ownership, including selling to the existing management team
	Developing an exit strategy
	Identifying financial and/or strategic buyers who meet the owner’s financial and personal objectives

Our compensation is primarily performance based and is tied to the company’s increase in equity value from the time of our engagement. The business owner preserves cash, retains a committed and motivated advisor on a long-term basis and primarily compensates us for helping to grow value. Specific transactions such as raising capital or a sell or buy side transaction would either compensate StoneCreek separately or would utilize a traditional advisor that StoneCreek could help manage throughout the life of the transaction. Our approach is designed to create a win-win outcome by rewarding both parties for maximizing the value of the business and positioning the company for exit.