FOCUS in the Media
February 18, 2011 -- There are several sectors that may not recover from the recession, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Technology, however, is not one of them. Many economists suggest that technology deal making, particularly in the lower-middle-market, has provided a silver lining in the economic recovery. Read more...
Middle Market Investment Banking Firm FOCUS LLC Represents ClearCarbon Consulting, Inc. in Acquisition by Deloitte LLP
January 7, 2011 -- ClearCarbon has been dedicated to enhancing competitive advantage and increasing profitability through improved carbon and energy management. ClearCarbon has been recognized as a sustainability industry leader because of the accuracy, transparency and completeness of its analyses and its record of saving money for its clients. Read more...
January 3, 2011 -- FOCUS LLC, a national middle market investment banking firm providing merger, acquisition, divestiture and corporate finance services announced that ClearCarbon Consulting, Inc., of Arlington Virginia, has been acquired by Deloitte LLP. FOCUS represented ClearCarbon in the transaction. Read more...
January 3, 2011 -- "I have participated in several sell side transactions and was most impressed with the thoroughness of the auction process and the large number of interested suitors FOCUS generated. This transaction, and our merger with Deloitte, exceeded our expectations and has resulted in the most beneficial outcome for the ClearCarbon team going forward," said Les Rosenthal, board member and investor in ClearCarbon. Read more...
November 11, 2010 -- Tribridge, an IT services and business consulting firm, plans to use its first-ever round of private equity financing to grow existing operations, particularly those focused on cloud computing, or providing software and other resources on demand over the Internet, said Tony DiBenedetto, chairman and CEO. LLR also committed to providing funds to help Tribridge buy other firms. Read more...
November 8, 2010 -- "The Tribridge transaction is typical of deal activity in 2010. We have seen enormous interest from private equity groups with a specific focus in IT industry growth areas, such as cloud-based solutions and payment systems," said George Shea, partner and team leader of the Software and IT Services Group at Focus. "Also, after running lean the past few years, large corporations now have strong balance sheets to execute acquisition strategies." Read more...
November 5, 2010-- "Tribridge is a natural fit for LLR Partners. Because of their past investment history, LLR Partners is very familiar with IT services companies," said Manan Shah, partner and co-leader of the Software and IT Services Group at FOCUS. "Their strategic partnership will provide the necessary human capital and financial capital to continue Tribridge's acquisition program." Read more...
Middle Market Investment Banking Firm FOCUS LLC Completes Growth Financing for Tribridge from LLR Partners
November 3, 2010 -- FOCUS represented Tribridge in the transaction. The funds will be used for organic growth and other corporate purposes; LLR has also committed acquisition financing as part of the transaction. Read more...
Middle Market Investment Banking Firm FOCUS LLC Completes Growth Financing for Tribridge from LLR Partners
November 3, 2010 -- FOCUS LLC, a national middle market investment banking firm providing merger, acquisition, divestiture and corporate finance services, today announced that Tribridge has received growth capital from LLR Partners, a leading private equity firm with more than $1.4 billion under management. Read more...
April 16, 2010 -- If you want to figure out the meat and potatoes of what a company is about, look at its exit strategy, says H. Montgomery Martin, owner and CEO of Montgomery Martin Contractors LLC. Read more...
November 23, 2009 -- Nextek, which is a manufacturing specialty company with about 125 employees, received the loan from Cole Taylor Bank through Focus, a national middle market investment banking firm. Focus initiated the transaction, acted as financial adviser and helped in the negotiations between Nextek and the bank.
Read more...
November 18, 2009 -- "The electronic manufacturing services industry was significantly impacted in the past year, but FOCUS helped us present our business and financial results to highlight our strong track record even in this difficult recessionary environment," said Jim Trummer, co-founder, president and CEO of Nextek. "In today's extremely difficult lending environment, FOCUS' assistance was critical in closing this loan."
Read more...
November 18, 2009 -- "This refinancing was a win-win for Nextek," said Manan K. Shah, partner and government, aerospace and defense team leader at FOCUS. "The banking services provided by Cole Taylor Bank will help Nextek to continue to grow, and will save a significant amount of operating expense by taking advantage of the favorable financing terms as compared with its prior financing arrangements."
Read more...
November 18, 2009 -- “In the current environment, many companies like Nextek are facing the need for financial alternatives, arising from tightened lending standards and reduced credit availability in the banking industry and from the ongoing needs of businesses to fund growth or business transitions such as family buyouts,” said John Slater, partner and financial alternatives team leader at FOCUS. Read more...
September 17, 2009 -- George Shea and Manan Shah of Focus Investment Banking were first-time attendees of the venture fair. Focus helped close two deals in the Pittsburgh region in 2009, including the sale of Allin to Dell and Pepperweed Advisors to Cognizant.
Read more...
Jonathan Wilfong, Southeast regional managing partner for FOCUS LLC -- whose company helps structure exit strategies by business owners, but also is increasingly engaged by "retired" professionals to get them back up and running -- said many boomers find it difficult to stay retired. Read more...
‘Bucket’ savings accounts make it easier to diversify into other currencies and away from weak U.S. dollar
Fred Rock, a financial adviser with Focus LLC, Downtown, said he didn't believe that the average consumer was thinking about currency diversification because it is a more sophisticated investing strategy as opposed to more traditional assets such as mutual funds and individual stocks. Read more...
“Now in their 50s, and with the company poised to expand beyond its facility, they decide to sell,” said David Roberts, senior adviser at the San Francisco office of Focus LLC, which brokered the deal.
Read more...
Read more...
Exit Strategies: A Tale of 3 Business Owners
“If you’re
on the fence about when to exit your small- to medium-sized
company — any business valued between $250,000
and $75 million — you might want to consider
selling now,” says Marshall Graham, founder and
chairman of FOCUS LLC.
Paging for Cash
Alpharetta-based software
company Agentek, Inc. raised $8 million in working
capital, according to an April 18 Securities and Exchange
Commission filing…Local investment bank FOCUS
LLC brokered the deal.
“The seller wanted to close quickly to avoid a
5% to 10% rise in capital gains tax,” said Manan
Shah, who brokered the deal for Washington, D.C.-based
investment bank Focus LLC.
Read more...
Movers & Shakers: Gold and Nielsen
In Chicago, middle market investment bank Focus LLC hired
W. Robert Gold and Walter Nielsen as managing directors.
FOCUS LLC, a national middle market investment banking firm providing merger, acquisition, divestiture and corporate finance services, announced W. Robert Gold and Walter W. Nielsen have joined the firm's Chicago office as managing directors, and Robert A. Wagner has joined the Los Angeles office as a managing director.
Read more...
FOCUS LLC, a mid-market investment bank based in the nation’s capital, announced Wednesday that it has brought two additional directors into the fold for its Chicago office. W. Robert Gold and Walter Nielsen will join FOCUS’ Chicago branch.
Read more...
FOCUS, a national middle market investment banking firm providing merger, acquisition, divestiture and corporate finance services, announced today that Avialec International has been acquired by KAPCO|VALTEC, an aerospace supply chain management company, based in Brea, Calif. Read more...
Focus LLC, investment banking service provider, has announced the acquisition of U.K. based Avialec by Kapco-Valtec, in a move aimed in part at expanding Kapco-Vatec’s marketing base.
Read more...
Focus LLC, investment banking service provider, has announced the acquisition of U.K. based Avialec by Kapco-Valtec, in a move aimed in part at expanding Kapco-Vatec’s marketing base.
Read more...
Focus LLC, investment banking service provider, has announced the acquisition of U.K. based Avialec by Kapco-Valtec, in a move aimed in part at expanding Kapco-Vatec’s marketing base.
Read more...
Focus LLC in D.C. named Frank Slacik chief financial officer. Read more...
Focus LLC of Washington has hired Jim Millar, 45, and Jim Pursiano, 47.
Read more...
Today, FOCUS LLC, a national
investment banking firm providing merger, acquisition
and corporate finance services to middle market companies,
announces its title sponsorship of DealCast, a M&A
advisory podcast series. Read more...
FOCUS LLC, a national
middle market investment banking firm providing merger,
acquisition, divestiture and corporate finance services,
announces Agentek, Inc. has been recapitalized with
$8 million in a Series A Participating Preferred Stock
investment round. Read more...
Middle-market investment firm Focus LLC has named Frank Slacik as its new chief financial officer.
Read more...
FOCUS LLC, a Washington, D.C., mid-market investment bank, named Frank Slacik as its new chief financial officer. The bank also announced the appointment of Jim Pursiano to a managing director slot in its San Francisco office.
Read more...
"Increasingly, there
is more and more international work," said George
M. Shea, Southeast regional manager of Focus Bank, a
25-year-old investment bank based in Washington, D.C.
Shea says nine of the11 deals the Atlanta branch handled
in the past year involved international buyers. Read more...
M&A Chicago asked Fred
Floberg, a regional managing director at
middle-market investment banking firm FOCUS for
his thoughts. “I think you’re going to
continue to see flats or declining levels. The middle
market doesn’t have the volatility of the larger
markets. We have lower highs and higher lows. Remember,
we’re working from very high levels,” Floberg
said. Read more...
FOCUS LLC, a national
middle market investment banking firm providing merger,
acquisition, divestiture and corporate finance services,
said that India-based Pradot Technologies has acquired
GroupOne Healthsource, a full-service healthcare billing,
technology and consulting company based in St. Louis,
MO. Read more...
Pradot Technologies announces acquisition of U.S.-based Groupone Healthsource
"That may revitalize
the economy – a win-win, ‘dual-shore’ strategy,” said
Doug Rodgers, CEO of the investment bank Focus. "Marginal
deals won’t get done. Deals that make sense will
still get done. This is especially so for smaller deals,
in the sub-$300 million area.”
Read more...
Read more...
Today, FOCUS, LLC, a national investment banking firm providing merger, acquisition and corporate finance services to middle market companies, released its predictions for the 2008 middle market merger and acquisition (M&A) industry. Read more...
Commentary: Has the strike changed your viewing habits?
“We’re watching more public broadcasting and, of course, election news.” - Paul Richey, Southwest Region Managing Director, FOCUS Investment Bankers
Feature Newsmaker: Banking & Finance
Focus LLC, a national middle-market investment banking firm, has named Paul Rich southwest regional managing director at its Los Angeles office.
Despite recession rumors, we predict the U.S. middle market will continue to thrive, thanks to private equity firms offsetting the subprime credit meltdown, changing demographics and increasing foreign investments.
Read more...
Some Americans express
concern that foreign acquisitions could threaten national
security. However, middle-market companies should embrace,
not fear, international investors in 2008. Read more...
In my own firm, eight out
of our last 11 transactions in 2007 involved Western
European buyers and one involved an Indian company. Some
Americans express concern that foreign acquisitions could
threaten national security. However, middle-market companies
should embrace, not fear, international investors in
2008. Read
more...
What's driving middle market growth? Foreign deals, according to a 2008 forecast from middle market investment bank Focus LLC.
Read
more...
In my own firm, eight out
of our last 11 transactions in 2007 involved Western
European buyers and one involved an Indian company. Some
Americans express concern that foreign acquisitions could
threaten national security. However, middle-market companies
should embrace, not fear, international investors in
2008. Read
more...

Auction block movers & shakers
FOCUS LLC promoted Paul Richey to southwest regional managing director, based in Los Angeles.

Believe the Hype: Investors See Green in Clean Tech
“Renewable suggests
we use something with an infinite supply for energy – wind,
solar, waves, etc. – whereas green could even
involve the use of petroleum,” says Rodgers,
CEO of FOCUS LLC, a private equity investment firm
based in Washington, D.C.

Focused Sale
Atlanta-based Advanced Control System Inc.’s sale to Portugal’s largest energy company was brokered by FOCUS, LLC’s local office.

Banking & Finance
Napa investment banker John Simpson has been tapped by the Washington, D.C.-based firm Focus LLC to be a managing director. Mr. Simpson said he will work initially out of an office in San Francisco, but the company will likely open an office in Napa.
"Ultimately, the
market will decide what a client is worth," says
George Shea, regional managing partner of Focus
LLC, a national investment banking firm. Read more...

Banking & Finance
Napa investment banker John Simpson has been tapped by the Washington, D.C.-based firm Focus LLC to be a managing director. Mr. Simpson said he will work initially out of an office in San Francisco, but the company will likely open an office in Napa.
The transaction was handled by law firm King and Spalding LLP and FOCUS Investment Banking Inc.
Read more...
ACS was advised in the transaction by FOCUS Investment Banking and Thompson Hine LLP. EFACEC was advised by King & Spalding LLP.
Read more...
Coming into Focus
"L.A. is just a wonderful area for manufacturing, distribution and business services," Richey said. "In this market, the subprime crunch has not affected our activity too much."

Movers and Shakers
Investment bank Focus LLC opened a Los Angeles office and added managing director Paul Richey to it, concentrating on manufacturing, distribution and business services.
Focus LLC, a middle market investment bank, is expanding its West Coast operations with the opening of a Los Angeles office and the hiring of two managing directors in California.
Read more...
Investment bank Focus
LLC has acquired merger and acquisition
advisory services firms in Illinois and North Carolina
to go along with its purchase last month of a Northern
Virginia company. Read
more...
George Shea, Focus' Southeast
managing director, said the move is important for Focus
to move into "the financial hub of the Southeast." Read
more...
George Shea, Focus' Southeast
managing director, said the move is important for Focus
to move into "the financial hub of the Southeast." Read
more...
The combination allows
Education Capital of Alexandria, Va. And FOCUS, a Washington-based
company that handles investment banking for middle-market
companies, to combine their forces to help growing
educational companies with business and transaction
strategies.
Read more...
Read more...
Bringing these two businesses
together is in line with FOCUS’ strategy of structural
growth designed to ensure we are meeting the needs of
mid-market companies,” said Doug Rodgers, CEO of
FOCUS.
Read more...
Read more...
Investment bank Focus
LLC has bought an Alexandria company and plans
to announce three more acquisitions in the coming weeks.
Read more...
Read more...



