What Is Life Like Under Private Equity Ownership?

02/13/20 • 16 min

How does life at a family business change after being acquired by a private equity firm? We were recently joined by Marc Calcaterra, CEO of Torsion Group Corp, a manufacturer and distributor of garage door parts and accessories. In this interview, Marc discusses his discuss his experience working with a private equity partner since being acquired in 2016. Among other things, Mark covers:

What caused Torsion Group Corp to seek a transaction
Why the company chose private equity over other deal options
Fears associated with partnering with private equity
Benefits and challenges of working with private equity partner
Reporting requirements under private equity ownership
Decision to retain equity in the business
Advice for owners looking to sell their businesses
Biggest difference between being family owned and private equity owned

What caused Torsion Group Corp to seek a transaction
Why the company chose private equity over other deal options
Fears associated with partnering with private equity
Benefits and challenges of working with private equity partner
Reporting requirements under private equity ownership
Decision to retain equity in the business
Advice for owners looking to sell their businesses
Biggest difference between being family owned and private equity owned

Previous Episode

COO Discusses First Few Months Under Private Equity Ownership

We sat down with Mike Tiner, COO of Andover Corporation, to discuss his recent experience in the private equity acquisition process. Just four months removed from Andover's sale, Mike covers the following topics, among others, from management's perspective:

Whether to sell to management, a strategic, or a private equity firm
What Andover was looking for in a partner
What to expect from due diligence
Communication with employees during the sale process
Preserving company culture post-acquisition
Advice for owners considering a private equity exit strategy

Next Episode

What To Expect From Financial And Tax Due Diligence

Financial and tax due diligence are a few of the many moving parts involved with selling a business. Most of the time, sellers provide buyers with plenty of financial data long before due diligence even begins. All the additional requests for information can seem repetitive, but financial and tax diligence is critical for both sides of a deal. We were joined by Justin Thomas, Partner in Charge of Transaction Services at Cohen & Company, to the financial and tax due diligence process and the purpose it serves for buyers and sellers of businesses. Among other topics, Justin covers:

What information is requested during due diligence?
What if a seller doesn't have the answers to financial due diligence requests?
How long does financial M&A diligence take?
What is a quality of earnings?
How much does a sell side quality of earnings cost?
What tax issues could delay a closing?

I hope you find the interview useful and informative. If you have any follow up questions, or have a topic idea for a future podcast, please reach out to Chris Hren at [email protected]

Well Capitalized - What Is Life Like Under Private Equity Ownership?

Transcript

00:00:00.029

hello and welcome to well-capitalized where we provide private equity education and business owners share their unique and candid experiences after exiting their business I'm your host Bobby Kingsbury managing director at MCM Capital today we have mark Calcutta CEO of torsion Group Corp mark thanks for joining me today I appreciate you being here thanks Bobby thanks for having me no problem first and foremost I would have appreciated if you could provide a little bit