Akin Bay’s merger and acquisition (“M&A”) advisory capabilities are one of the foundations of the firm’s history and success.  Akin Bay’s professionals have extensive backgrounds in representing both buyers and sellers of companies across a wide spectrum of industries.  Akin Bay has a strong track record of utilizing creatively providing buy or sell side advisory services tailored to our clients’ needs and goals.  Akin Bay has extensive domestic and international connections with a large number of active (public and private) strategic buyers and over 400 financial buyers.  We have consistently utilized these relationships in order to introduce our clients to the broadest range of potential buyers and sellers.  This in turn gives our clients multiple options for a merger partner, usually at an above market multiple valuation for our sell-side transactions.  We endeavor always to do this with an eye on the often delicate balance in any company among the interests of shareholders, management and clients.

Merger and Acquisition Advisory Services:

• Buy-side and sell-side assignments
• Corporate divestitures and leveraged buyouts (LBOs)
• Management buyouts (MBOs) and ESOP buyouts
• Advising clients on their strategic merger or acquisition strategy
• Formulating a valuation range
• Conducting acquisition searches for buyers
• Identifying potential buyers or acquisition candidates
• Constructing and writing a Confidential Information Memorandum and any associated selling documents
• Assisting in structuring and negotiations with all parties
• Coordinating all meetings
• Arranging any equity or debt financing
• Coordinating other advisors including: legal, accounting and other required closing activities

Analyzing Alternatives

We carefully analyze our client’s alternatives to determine when a sale, merger or acquisition meets our client’s objectives. Akin Bay always seeks to present to our client a full spectrum of alternatives, which can include: (1) a full or partial sale to current management, (2) a sale or merger with a public or private competitor, (3) an acquisition of a competing publicly held, private or family owned company, or (4) an acquisition by a private equity or hedge fund. We analyze both our client’s company as well as the acquirer or seller and evaluate both the financial and operational structure of both entities. In addition, we analyze in detail what result can be expected from a merger or acquisition transaction. This analysis allows our clients to fully understand the synergies (or the lack thereof) in a prospective merger long before it commits to a definitive strategy.

Creating and Increasing Value

Akin Bay seeks to create added value for our clients in any merger or acquisition. We believe that the process of doing so must begin with a careful analysis of the company’s financial, operational and market performance as well as its future potential. It is then essential to evaluate our client’s strengths and weaknesses in the context of the market in which it operates. Our goal is to create maximum shareholder value for our client in either a merger or acquisition and to produce a result which either meets or exceeds our client’s expectations. Our professional qualifications and decades of experience in the financial analysis, structuring and negotiation of complex transactions have produced outstanding results for our clients over many years.

International M&A

Europe / Canada/ China

Akin Bay’s experience in international M&A can be invaluable to our clients as they seek to adapt their businesses to the demands of globalization, the essential test of survival for many companies over the next five years.

In today’s global economy, international mergers and acquisitions are essential to the survival and continued growth of many US middle market companies. Akin Bay has acquired substantial experience in providing its clients merger and acquisition advisory services for transactions outside the US. Akin Bay has acted as financial advisor for both US and non-US clients, in both buy-side and sell-side assignments. Increasingly today, astute middle market companies look for acquisitions outside their home country, seeking access to new markets for new product lines, and looking for overseas markets which permit the realization of lower cost manufacturing and distribution opportunities. There are very few investment banks with the necessary experience and market expertise which Akin Bay has demonstrated. These services cover:

• Structuring and negotiating international M&A transactions
• Sourcing buyers and sellers in foreign markets
• Assembling and coordinating other advisors including legal and accounting
• Raising equity and debt financing internationally if required
• Coordinating and closing the transaction

We have completed transactions in Canada, Europe and China. We have spent over two years representing a Hong Kong based Chinese conglomerate in completing several acquisitions and exploring others covering a variety of businesses in China, Canada, the U.K. and the US. Our experience gained in international M&A advisory assignments for this and other companies based in Hong Kong, with manufacturing assets in the PRC, is an example of our constant focus on expanding our ability to perform complex international M&A assignments for our clients. In this process, the professionals at Akin Bay have gained an in-depth knowledge of foreign capital markets and a broad range of contacts and strategic relationships in these new emerging markets.