Buying and Selling a Business – Value Drivers and Detractors

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Selling a Privately Held Business or Buying One?

Hear from our panel — which includes notably two CFE members who were recent sellers and two seasoned business transaction professionals — about the real-life process and the value-drivers and detractors.

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About the Panel Moderator:

‍John K. Lane is CEO/Managing Director of Inglewood Associates LLC (www.ingw.com), a Great Lakes regional business consulting firm.  John has had forty-five years of broad financial, management, operational, technical and international experiences with middle market and entrepreneurial companies, including both companies experiencing troubled times and those pursuing growth. Has run numerous companies as either a CEO, crisis manager or receiver and have participated in all facets of business, including strategy, sales and marketing, operations, mergers and acquisitions, financing, accounting, legal, tax, information systems, performance measurement, employee benefit and other incentive plans.  John has led and/or participated in all aspects of the sale of a business, including leading the sale process itself, holding or supporting auctions, preparing for a sale, due diligence and integration of an acquisition.

While at Inglewood, John served as the Interim CFO of Quaker Steak & Lube and was instrumental in finding the buyer for that business and in structuring the transaction.  That transaction won the Ohio Chapter of the Turnaround Management Association’s (TMA) Turnaround/Transaction of the Year.  Prior to Inglewood, John was the Managing Director of the Cleveland Office of The Revere Group, a business and technology consultancy; the Managing Director of Evergreen Partners Ltd., assisting firms with corporate strategy, capital structure, acquisitions and divestitures; and a Partner at Price Waterhouse (now PricewaterhouseCoopers). 

John is a Certified Turnaround Professional (CTP) and a past president of the Ohio Chapter of TMA.  He obtained a BBA at the University of Notre Dame.

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Panelists will include:

MIKE TRABERT of Marcum (formerly Skoda Minotti)

WAYNE FOLEY of Kyntronics (formerly President & CEO of Midwest Precision Holdings Inc, which recently sold to Tribus)

BRIAN JECKERING, former President and CEO at Polychem Corp., which sold to The Sterling Group in 2019

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Michael Trabert

Michael Trabert is a partner and a leader in the Value Acceleration/Exit Planning Services group and is also a leader in the Firm’s Transaction Advisory Services group. Mr. Trabert understands the diverse goals and objectives of privately held businesses owners and helps them build, develop, and eventually exit their businesses, and was recognized with the Exit Planner of the Year award from the Exit Planning Institute (2017). Mr. Trabert has worked extensively with clients ranging from startups to multinational organizations with over $1.5 billion in annual sales.

A few of Mike’s accolades include:

-2017 Exit Planner of the Year by the Exit Planning Institute
-National Register’s Who’s Who in Executives and Professionals
-Nominated for Leader of the Year by the Exit Planning Institute

As a Certified Valuation Analyst (CVA), he understands the intrinsic value of the elements of a business and assists clients in maximizing their value. Mike regularly hosts Owners’ Roundtable workshops – a full-day, interactive workshop designed for business owners who want to maximize the value of their businesses and exit on their terms.

Mike received his Bachelor of Business Administration from our very own Kent State University.

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Wayne Foley

Wayne Foley currently serves as President & CEO of Kyntronics Inc., a manufacturer of precision servo-controlled actuators used in automated production equipment.

He has held leadership roles for over 25 years in middle market companies that provide engineered products to the industrial and aerospace markets. Wayne has extensive experience in General Management including building value through organic growth, acquisitions, integration, due diligence and exits.

Prior to Kyntronics, Wayne was CEO of Midwest Precision Holdings, a northeast Ohio-based precision machined components manufacturing company serving Aerospace, Defense, Energy, and Fluid Power markets.  Wayne has also served as Global President/CEO at both privately held and public corporations including nine years as President of Cleveland Motion Controls / ITT Corporation, and four years as President of Stanley Air Tools, a Division of Stanley/Black and Decker.

Wayne has been the “operational point-person” having done several acquisitions and divestitures with both public and privately-owned businesses and both strategic and Private Equity parties.

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Brian Jeckering

From 1998 Brian has been one of the  driving forces behind Polychem’s success.  From Management Training to Plant Management to VP of Operations, EVP, President and now CEO, Brian is uniquely positioned to contribute to this panel.

Some of Brian’s experience at Polychem that will contribute to the perspective he offers our the CFE audience include:

– Defined and executed the strategy to reengineer Polychem’s value proposition from consumables-only to a full-service securement systems provider.
– Initiated and negotiated 9 separate, strategic transactions from preliminary agreement to close involving foreign investments, start-ups, various acquistions structures, and an acquisition from bankruptcy.
– Lead team through a strategic process which resulted in sale of Polychem Corporation in March, 2019 to The Sterling Group, a private equity firm in Houston, TX.
– Served on the board and acted as a strategic advisor to two companies in which Polychem invested in Italy.
– Start-Up Management: Oversaw the growth and development of strategy and practices which resulted in growing a series of start-up businesses by more than 500% since its inception.

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