As we all look forward to the possibilities of 2021, it’s tempting not to look back on 2020 at all, happy for it to disappear in the rearview mirror. But sometimes a review can hold helpful lessons.
We found that the turmoil of the last year provided opportunities to help business owners in new and creative ways. If the stories of these deals might be helpful to you or someone you know, please call us.
The Oaklyn Consulting team served 34 businesses as they navigated mergers, acquisitions and other capital-related decisions in 2020:
Capital-raising, investor relations and recapitalization projects
- Three medical devices companies
- Healthcare IT company
- Manufacturing company
- Battery technology company
- Consumer goods label/company
- Restaurant concept
Responding to unexpected M&A or investment opportunities
- Marketing agency
- Engineering firm
- Manufacturing company
- Commercial catering company
- Payments processing company
- E-commerce services company
- Nonprofit social services organization (resulting in a transaction that closed in February)
- Healthcare staffing company (resulting in a transaction that closed in December)
- Market research company (resulting in a transaction that closed in March)
Reorganization-driven mergers or divestitures
- Hotel investment group selling its captive management company
- Medical devices company merging with its captive supplier/manufacturer
Hybrid capital-raising / company sale projects
- Venture-backed software company serving the retail sector
- Venture-backed software company serving the real estate sector (resulting in a transaction that closed in December)
Company sales for venture capital investors
- Software company serving the education sector
- Software company serving the hospitality sector
- Tech-enabled healthcare device/services company
- Mobility company (resulting in a transaction that closed in June)
Company sales for founder-owned businesses
- Tech-enabled services business
- Medical practice
- Real estate operating company
Comparing company sales to non-M&A options
- Medical devices company
- Owners of a manufacturing company
- Marketing agency (resulting in a transaction that closed in April)
Creating “corporate development” processes to grow by acquiring companies
- Employee benefits consultant
- Wealth advisor
- U.S. division of a European manufacturing company
And as always, we strived to serve the business communities where we operate. We are grateful to the bankers, investors, lawyers and wealth advisors who are our referral partners, and hope that we have made them proud with each introduction.
Our contribution to the business community is providing high quality investment banking advice for small, complex or uncertain situations that are hard for traditional advisors to serve.
In the coming year, we hope to earn continued trust from middle-market and lower-middle-market owners, investors and service providers to help with the corporate finance issues that keep people up nights.