A common lament we hear from private equity executives is about the deal they didn’t see, or at least didn’t see until they read their competitor’s tombstone. Given the current state of the private equity industry, participating only in broad auctions is a tough row to hoe. Why not dig a little deeper? Working with NAS is easy: all we require is good communication of investment interests and a willingness to compensate us for closed transactions.
Who are some of the buyers NAS has worked with that resulted in completed transactions?
Some of the buyers we have consummated deals with include American Securities, Andlinger & Compnay, Arbor Investments, Cortec Group, Danaher Corporation, Evolution Capital Partners, Goense & Company, Hammond, Kennedy, Whitney & Company, Inc., H.I.G. Capital, KRG Capital, Odyssey Investment Partners, Peppertree Capital, Pfingsten Partners, The Riverside Company, Summit Partners, Waste Management, and Waud Capital Partners.
Does NAS work on a retained basis or a non-retained basis?
Both. NAS is happy to discuss exclusive retained search work for potential buyer clients with well-defined acquisition parameters, although much of NAS’s work tends to be on a non-exclusive finder’s basis with middle-market private equity firms.
What type of fee structure does NAS utilize?
For retained work there are a number of potential fee structures utilizing retainers and success fees. Philosophically, NAS emphasizes success fees as we think this tends to best align the interests of NAS and our client. For non-exclusive finder’s work, NAS typically works on a contingent traditional Lehman formula success fee with no retainers or other charges.
What types of deals does NAS typically source?
NAS sources new portfolio company opportunities (both platforms and stand-alones) and add-on opportunities for existing portfolio companies. We are industry agnostic and have initiated deals in almost every broad industry sector as, when considered in aggregate, our buyer clients are very diverse in their interests. As such, it is much easier to say what we don’t typically source which includes relatively early stage companies, real estate oriented deals, and publicly traded companies. In terms of size, NAS typically sources new portfolio company opportunities with revenues between $10 and $100 million, and EBITDA between $2 and 15 million. Add-on acquisition targets can be of any size but typically will have EBITDA of at least $1 million. Geographically, NAS has no limitations but concentrates its efforts in North America.
How does NAS find investment opportunities for its buyers?
Our means of identifying targets are multi-faceted. Although we use traditional modes of prospecting, such as letter writing and phone calls, our most effective tool is our vast network of professionals, which includes accounting firms, attorneys, consultants, business brokers, sellside intermediaries, and investment bankers. Over time, our network has come to view NAS as a trusted ally able to quickly and discreetly present qualified buyers of only the highest caliber.
How long has NAS been around?
NAS was formed in 1989.
How can I best work with NAS?
Working with NAS is not highly structured, particularly on a non-exclusive finder’s basis. All we require is good communication of your present acquisition interests (both for new portfolio companies and for add-on targets) and a willingness to pay our finder’s fee in the event of a deal consummated as a result of our introduction. For new portfolio companies, we ask that you define your acquisition interests as narrowly as possible, particularly in terms of industry spaces, as this has proven to resonate much better in differentiating your firm from others with more generalized parameters.
Who should I talk to?
Matthew Lerner is the President of NAS and can be reached at (410) 423-4848 and via email at mlerner@nas1.com.