Recent headlines read, “Elon Musk has a super bad feeling about the economy,” and “Jamie Dimon predicts an economic hurricane this year” meanwhile companies are freezing new hires and cutting their existing workforce. Buyers and banks are acting conservatively, bracing for rising prices and tampering down revenue projections. Investments are being put on hold due to uncertainty and buyers are questioning if now is the right time to pursue an acquisition. If we have learned anything about entering an economic contraction, it is that change presents enormous opportunities for those ready to act. American entrepreneurship thrives in tough times and the strong survive. Think back to the 2008 housing market crash where ready buyers pounced on discount price real estate acquisitions. While times seem dire, the economy will recover, the stock market will hit new record highs, and interest rates will settle and likely even reverse course. The bottom line is that now is the time to act. How are you finding a distressed business for sale? More sellers are coming out of the woodworks than ever before. The data proves this – as a firm Calder has already engaged more sellers in 2022 than we have in any other […]
May’s Off-Market Sellers
The question everyone is asking is, “Are we heading into a recession?” Sellers are asking the same question and are hesitating to come to market. This isn’t just a feeling. Compared to 2021, Calder’s conversion rate on valuation presentations/pitches has dropped. While our number of new clients is up vs. 2021 during the same period, we have had to grind a lot harder. So how should buyers and sellers be thinking about the market right now? Take a gander at Calder’s M&A market prediction. With many sellers reluctant to list their business at the present moment, we are having even more success with our buy-side outreach. We set a new record in May by generating 57 new off-market sellers, which led to 42 conversations and 10 LOIs issued! Our buy-side team can help buyers circumvent many of these challenges and get them connected with sellers who do not want to go through a limited auction process. Contact us and we can discuss how our team can show you the universe of prospects you’re looking for. Select Seller Leads Developed in May Interested in Working With Us? Calder works with clients on a guaranteed basis, so if we don’t deliver our clients […]
April’s Off-Market Sellers
The Fed is hiking interest rates, inflation is eating away at debt capital investments, and stock markets are down (the S&P is off to its worst start since 1939 – down 13.3% YTD). Where should investors be looking to deploy capital? According to the 2022 Private Capital Markets Report (published last week), 30% of respondents answered “Direct [Business Ownership] Investments” when asked what are the assets with the best risk/return trade-off currently. Calder is seeing that buyer sentiment prove to be true as the interest and competition in our listed opportunities remains sky-high. Our buy-side team can help buyers circumvent many of these challenges and get them connected with sellers who do not want to go through a limited auction process. Take a look at the “Select Seller Leads” below, these are all companies we sourced in April that are engaged in one-on-one conversations with a Calder buyer! Contact us and we can discuss how our team can show you the universe of prospects you’re looking for. Select Seller Leads Developed in April Interested in Working With Us? Calder works with clients on a guaranteed basis, so if we don’t deliver our clients don’t pay. Check out some of our current clients here. Alternatively, […]
March’s Off-Market Sellers
In which direction is the lower middle market moving in 2022? In the midst of inflation, war, rate hikes, burnout, and labor shortage, the consensus at Calder is that sellers appear somewhat reluctant to come to market. Amid the uncertainty, many are skeptical of engaging an M&A firm to run a private auction process. Calder’s sell-side team has felt this sentiment. The sell-side tracks prospects closely and despite record Q1 valuation engagements, Calder is experiencing a lower than historical client conversion rate so far in 2022. Our buy-side team has found that these reluctant sellers are very receptive to targeted outreach, especially when we paint our client as the ideal buyer and show that we understand the emotions of selling. As an example, a recent buy-side closing (announcement coming soon!) occurred with an owner that had been talking to our sell-side for almost a year. The owner had worked very hard to scale the business and was starting to feel burned out. This seller was reluctant to go through an intense sell-side process, even if it may have yielded numerous potential buyers and potentially a higher price. When we launched our buy-side mandate to our network, this owner responded to […]
January’s Off-Market Sellers
We hope that January was a fruitful start to the year for you! Last month, our buy-side team generated 44 proprietary leads, resulting in 30 conference calls and site visits and 5 IOIs/LOIs submitted. It was a good start to 2022 and we’re looking to build on our momentum. How do we do this? It’s 90% elbow grease combined with 10% data science. We combine a personal touch, marketing automation, and data analytics to hone best practices with the tedious work that no one wants to do – lots of research, telephone calls, and email outreach. A question our team gets asked regularly is, “is it a good time to buy?” While there is always uncertainty about the economy, inflation, interest rates, politics, etc., it is almost always the right time for a buyer that has a solid strategy and sticks to it. Our team has found that in most cases it’s the approach rather than the attempt to time the market that leads to a successful acquisition. Don’t sit on the sidelines waiting for it to be the “right time.” That time may never come. Are you curious to see how many potential sellers match your criteria? Let us […]
2021 Off-Market Sellers: Recap
Before jumping headstrong into 2022, let’s reflect on our accomplishments in 2021. Calder’s buy-side team generated 360 proprietary leads, resulting in 215 conference calls and site visits and over 37 IOIs/LOIs. That is a hair under one proprietary lead per day! How do we do this? It’s 90% elbow grease combined with 10% data science. We combine a personal touch, marketing automation, and data analytics to hone best practices with the tedious work that no one wants to do – lots of research, telephone calls, and email outreach. We are proud to generate so many leads for our clients, but even more gratified that our clients are taking these opportunities seriously as they pursued a call or meeting with 59.7% of them. In order to beat our records in 2022, the Calder buy-side team has recently welcomed new Director Hannah Nabhan and Associate Parker Schaap! We are thrilled to have both of these young studs join our team and lead the way this year! There is undoubtedly a wave of sellers building as more owners reach retirement age and experience severe burnout. While not all of these sellers are ready to admit this and go to the market, they are remain very receptive to […]