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Anchin's "robust, active, and diverse" M&A practice

From top to bottom. From inside-out. From start to finish. From A to Z.

Describe our services any way you want, but the merger and acquisition (M&A) professionals at Anchin Capital Advisors LLC provide a comprehensive menu of services to the individual or business looking to buy, sell or merge.

Take, for example, our client, a footwear manufacturer. They built a thriving business over the years, wanted to continue operating the business, yet reap some of the fruits of their labors.

The solution? Sell a percentage of the business - in this case, 40% -- to a venture capitalist. The family business owners remained in control of the company and received $65 million from a venture capital partner.

That's what Sol Lipshitz considers a win-win situation for the client. And that's what keeps Sol and his team members actively involved in the merger and acquisition process.

For this particular client, the M&A team negotiated the deal with the buyer, set-up the tax structure, assisted in securing financing, worked with the owner's attorney to develop the appropriate documentation for the transaction, and assisted in the closing process.

"We are a diversified firm with the resources to handle the varied, complex facets of the merger and acquisition process," says Lipshitz. "This is a very specialized expertise."

Lipshitz describes Anchin's merger and acquisition practice as "a robust, active, diverse practice with tremendous resources available. We have over 250 professionals with a wealth of resources to support the practice. Not too many firms can say that."

It is a practice that, over the last 10 years, has been involved in many transactions with values in the hundreds of millions of dollars. It is a practice that handles multiple merger and acquisition engagements simultaneously.

The practice provides a full-range of services that a buyer or seller will need through the closing process and beyond. Those services include:

• Preparing a preview book on the business that is to be sold.
• Negotiations.
• Development of the most appropriate tax structure.
• Review of documentation.
• Systems integration of both the operations and technology of both companies.
• Coordination with legal, insurance and other professionals
• Assistance in arranging financing for the acquisition and needs thereafter.
• Support through the closing process.
• Post-closing consultation.

There are any number of reasons that might prompt the business owner to contemplate selling, Lipshitz says:

• Age. He/she may be of retirement age and simply ready to get away from the daily pressure.
• Industry pressure. The industry may be at an all-time high or all-time low, both situations which can prompt the desire to sell.
• Cash off the table. The desire to cash out on a big asset at a time when the market is ripe.
• Lack of children or other family members to continue operating the business.
• Lack of the next level of management needed to keep the company going.

Helping the owner through the process of buying or selling provides what Lipshitz calls the "ultimate value" to a client who is able to cash out on a lifetime of work: "It's very challenging work that includes tremendous dynamics and varied tax and business issues."

Joining Lipshitz on the merger and acquisition team are partners Marc Federbush, James Gammello, Gene Greenfest, Upen Saraiya, and KD Acharya. They are assisted at each stage of the engagement by members of Anchin's tax professionals and accounting staff. Anchin typically has a group of professionals who specialize in the industry of the business and who can add business know-how not available to other merger and acquisition groups.

"I think the merger and acquisition practice is Anchin's best-kept secret," Lipshitz says. "It's important for our clients and friends of the firm to understand the scope of our practice and the breadth of our resources."

(For more information regarding merger and acquisition services through Anchin, contact Sol Lipshitz at 212.840.3456.)