Weekly Business Broker Wrap-Up – March 23, 2012
As a Dallas business broker, we want to congratulate Generational Equity of Dallas on the closing between its client, Paw Marketing Inc. of Brooklyn, Iowa and Straub Corp. of Des Moines Iowa. You can read the full story on MarketWatch.com
Why would this Mergers & Acquisitions story catch my eye?
A popular TV show This Old House will show us the answer. The program spotlights an old house during remolding.
What does an old house have to do with mergers or acquisition, Bill?
Who does the work on the old house? It’s seldom the homeowner. It’s a professional.
Homeowners with expertise know their business. When they don’t have expertise, they’re smart enough to hire a professional. That’s their secret.
Read my blog on the “5 mistakes business owners make” here:
A well-informed homeowner would never want an amateur installing new electrical wiring or new plumbing.
Mergers and acquisitions are rarely as simple as changing a light bulb, or installing a washer in a dripping faucet. When a business owner flips the sell switch or pushes the buy button, he wants the deal to work. Business broker sales and acquisitions are technical operations that need trained professionals.
LET’S HAVE A DRINK—
Dart Container Corporation and Solo Cup Company announced a Definitive Agreement under which Dart Container will acquire Solo in a transaction valued at approximately $1 billion. Both companies are in the consumer and food service disposable packaging business. Here is a link to the full story on BusinessWire.com.
I have never thought about a billion-dollar deal when having coffee from a foam cup, or while having a soda from a red plastic cup during my backyard barbecue.
Solo is majority-owned by the family of its founder, Leo J. Hulseman, and is also a portfolio company of Vestar Capital Partners IV, L.P.
Dart Container is a privately held company founded by William A. Dart.
This deal is a combination of family businesses that grew into consumer container giants. Who could have ever imagined such great success starting with something as simple as cups?
Now, look at who represented these companies.
Goldman, Sachs & Co. acted as lead financial adviser to Solo Cup Company. Evercore Partners also advised Solo Cup Company on the transaction. Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP acted as legal counsel to Solo. Ernst & Young Corporate Finance Inc. was lead financial adviser to Dart Container Corporation and Vinson & Elkins LLP served as Dart’s legal counsel on the transaction. Could we expect less on a billion-dollar deal?
Professionals hire professionals when they want to exit, acquire or merge with other businesses.
“The transaction is expected to close by the third quarter of this year.”
This deal is subject to regulatory approval. My, my, there’s something for us to think about, the ever popular, “regulatory approval.”
But for now, that’s a wrap.
B.W.