Prince & Izant
Family business realignment and investing for the future
Prince & Izant (PI) has been in the business of adjoining metals (brazing solutions) since 1927. After successfully navigating decades of growth and maintaining harmony within the family, the company was at a cross-roads. The company leadership was incredibly driven, competent, and certainly had an attractive culture enabling a talented team. The company needed to infuse capital and talent to propel the company to its lofty goals.
The almost 100-year-old business had built a world class portfolio of mission critical products for their sophisticated industrial clients. The company’s operational excellence and financial systems were unique assets that were built to scale the business.
The second-generation owner and other partners were comfortable with the past successes but were not fully invested in the significant growth plans of the CEO. The misalignment of goals and risk tolerance were signs that a capital realignment was needed. The company sought to achieve two goals with one transaction: create liquidity to satisfy family estate planning needs and find a strategic partner to help them facilitate growth. They turned to EdgePoint to help them get it done.
The transition journey
Like many entrepreneurs, ownership thought they could bring in an outside partner without transactional assistance. After many months of discussion and discovery, it was clear that the buyer was not fully committed to buying on the terms and price that were negotiated. The re-trading from the buyer and the disruption was too much for the business and the family. They determined that they needed a sophisticated investment banking partner to provide both process and leverage. They turned to EdgePoint as their guide on this important journey.
The ability to convey their market leading brazing solutions to potential partners required an industry centered banker. The marketing materials and list of potential investor partners were carefully curated by EdgePoint. We advised them to hire an outside firm to perform a quality-of-earnings analysis in preparation. At the same time, we performed due diligence and prepared marketing materials. With our M&A experience and knowledge of metals industry, we were able to tailor the process to the company’s needs and preemptively address any family and business concerns.
The auction process was competitive and fast. Ultimately, San Francisco-based Industrial Growth Partners invested in the vision of Prince & Izant and its leadership team. The terms and price exceeded the owners’ valuation and liquidity goal, while also aligning them with a new partner that could facilitate growth through additional investment. The CEO, family members, and employees are excited about the ability to fulfill the future vision as the company rolls into its next century.
The best decision that I made when my family wanted to divest from our manufacturing business, was to find the right partner to get us across the finish line, EdgePoint was that partner. We were originally working on a deal without representation that was extremely time consuming, distracting, and ultimately did not come to fruition. That experience let us know that the right way to get a deal done is to have a professional banker that can bring the right groups with stellar reputations to the table. After closing our extremely complex deal, I consider the EdgePoint team my friends and I will continue to recommend them to others looking to exit their business.
Matt Brandenburg, CEO Prince & Izant