Testimonials
“The expertise and guidance that we received from FOCUS and John Bradshaw throughout the entire process of our first acquisition was invaluable to me and NAVIS.
Not only did John help maximize our results, he was able to streamline the process and help us avoid the land mines. Without his careful monitoring, I doubt the acquisition would have been as successful as it was.”
Kyle Buehner, CEO
NAVIS
“Embee, Inc. is a leader in the commercial aerospace metal finishing industry, so when I decided to sell Embee I knew that I needed top notch investment bankers to help me navigate the sale process. FOCUS was the ideal firm to find the best acquirer for Embee.
"Brent Costello and Paul Richey, Managing Directors at FOCUS, were instrumental in the execution and closing of the recent sale of Embee to Triumph Group, Inc. They followed a strategic sale methodology and guided the Embee management team throughout the entire process. I was most impressed with the thoroughness of the auction process that FOCUS conducted and the large number of interested suitors that FOCUS found. Brent and Paul are seasoned investment bankers that know the market well. They set aggressive yet realistic expectations throughout the process of selling my company. Their depth of experience, tenacity and active management of the sale process led to an exceptional result for Embee.
"FOCUS receives my highest endorsement.”
John Dahlberg, Owner
Embee, Inc.
“SBC had been in business for over thirty years. When it came time for us to sell we interviewed a number of bankers. We selected FOCUS to represent SBC because we connected with their partners. Jonathan Wilfong and John Bradshaw provided invaluable advice as we worked through all of the issues. They helped us navigate each stage of the sales process and completed our transaction in just 7 months. I would highly recommend FOCUS.”
Peggy Horn,
President
SBC Systems
“This is an exciting time for us. We are looking forward to the prospects ahead and feel grateful for the ongoing advice we received from FOCUS. We interviewed a number of investment banks before selecting FOCUS, and we never regretted our decision. George Shea and Manan Shah did everything possible to maximize value for our shareholders and bring us the best strategic partner in Emtec. Their intimate knowledge of our marketplace and depth of experience was the key to achieving our overall objectives from this transaction. The FOCUS IT Team is top notch, and we recommend them wholeheartedly.”
Don Sweeney, Co-CEO
Emerging Solutions
“Clear Carbon is a leading edge company in the sustainability marketplace and we needed an investment banker who understood this. Not only did FOCUS demonstrate thoughtful analysis of our industry but they followed a strategic methodology and guided our management team throughout the process. I have participated in several sell side transaction and was most impressed with the thoroughness of the auction process and the large number of interested suitors, including international buyers, that 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.”
Les Rosenthal, Board Member and Investor
"As a company founder who has built a bioscience business over 18 years, I selected FOCUS as our investment bank because of their biotechnology expertise and because of their understanding of the needs of an entrepreneur owner embarking on his first company sale. I was attracted to the fact that FOCUS offers a step-by-step process and worked closely with me every step of the way."
Marco Calzavara, CEO
Bioline
"When we decided to re-enter the federal contracting market by acquiring a platform company, we sought to find the right investment banker with the reach, depth and breadth of knowledge of the market we were pursuing. After interviewing several bankers that were highly qualified, we met the good folks at FOCUS Investment Banking LLC. Eric Oganesoff, Managing Director and lead on our transaction, was both knowledgeable of the market and sensitive to what we were trying to accomplish. He, along with Marshall Graham, another Managing Director, initially profiled over 200 companies in their search and worked with us to narrow the scope to a more workable number. They interviewed 90 plus CEOs before short listing 15 quality companies that met our criteria. In addition, they facilitated the development of strategic relationships that will be beneficial to us for years to come. After careful review and many spirited discussions, FOCUS was instrumental in helping us close the acquisition of A-TEK, Inc. With A-TEK as our platform company, we will use its capabilities coupled with our past experience to leverage and build a company of significant size with both science and technology capability. Thanks to Team FOCUS the journey has gotten off to a great start."
Kathryn Freeland, President and CEO
A-TEK, Inc.
“We faced a critical make or buy decision regarding the technology that is the foundation for NextTrack. FOCUS found numerous opportunities for us, and helped us select the very best alternative. We shaved at least 24 months off our time to market, and the result is a much stronger product at the initial release. This is the second transaction I have completed with George Shea, who sold my first company. George and his research group found a real needle in the haystack for us—we’re all very excited about NextTrack’s potential.”
David Dickson, Principal
Crossroads RMC
“It is never easy getting a deal to the closing table, especially one that takes two years to complete! Jonathan Wilfong, Regional Managing Partner at FOCUS LLC, was instrumental in the execution and closing of our recent complex healthcare M&A transaction. Mr. Wilfong’s tenacity and active management of the process, as well as a full array of financial, tax, and accounting expertise, led to an exceptional result for our client (the seller) while fulfilling a strategic need for a diligent buyer. Focus receives our highest endorsement.”
Billy Ching, Chair of the Private Equity Practice Group
Nelson Mullins
“After five years in business providing “dependent eligibility” services to employers, it was time to merge our start-up operation into a larger organization to take advantage of operational synergies and growth opportunities. We interviewed a number of investment banking firms and Jonathan Wilfong stood out as the most experienced and professional. We later learned that the professionalism and commitment to high quality service were consistent across the entire FOCUS team. We were also delighted when Jonathan’s research identified HMS, a public company operating in a related field, who had an interest in entering our service line. Jonathan provided invaluable wisdom and assistance throughout the due diligence process and right through to the closing day. We cannot recommend FOCUS highly enough.”
Alan Rose, Co-Founder and Principal, Verify Solutions, LLC
“TestPlant’s appointment of Spectrum Systems as our US distributor followed an extensive review of government resellers by FOCUS’ Managing Directors Gerald Turner and Eric Oganesoff. Being based in London made it difficult for us to select the right distributor on our own. FOCUS was always available and quick to respond; they led a team which began by researching the technical market into which TestPlant wanted to sell its product. From a long list of resellers, a short list was prepared based on email and telephone dialogues and supported by FOCUS’ corporate due diligence. The FOCUS team then arranged a series of face-to-face meetings between the top candidate firms and TestPlant’s management. At the end of a five month process, Spectrum was judged as best positioned in experience and quality of service to partner with TestPlant. FOCUS was hugely helpful. They were wise counsellors and sounding boards. It made financial sense for us to engage FOCUS.”
George Mackintosh, Chief Executive, TestPlant
“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. In today’s extremely difficult lending environment, FOCUS’ assistance was critical in closing this loan.”
Jim Trummer, President and CEO of Nextek, Inc.
“By bringing multiple offers from well qualified strategic buyers, FOCUS created some interesting alternatives for us. Due to their clear understanding of the IT services industry, we were able to close this transaction very quickly.”
Patrick Stewart, CEO Pepperweed Consulting
“After 29 years of building a successful business, we were ready to retire and pursue personal interests. We wanted to put GeoCentral under the wing of a larger organization with the financial resources required to realize the opportunities of our strong brand and reputation in the industry. Given their proven M&A expertise, FOCUS was the ideal firm to help us find the best acquirer and negotiate excellent terms that met our expectations.”
Elizabeth Bush, President and
Ken Niehaus, Co-founder of GeoCentral
“I had decided it was time to put Avialec under the wing of a larger progressive organization with financial firepower to realize the many opportunities before us. Given their cross border transaction
experience and their broad U.S. coverage, FOCUS was the
perfect firm to help us realize our goals. The transaction was managed
in a timely manner with little disruption to our business. I could
not have done it without them.”
Barrie Prescott, CEO of Avialec
“FOCUS’ familiarity working with entrepreneurs and its ability
to tap into a seasoned Senior Advisor network were essential
in assisting Agentek on its journey from a great technology
to a great business model that was attractive to numerous
investors. In this transaction, the lead banker for FOCUS
invited a Senior Advisor, who was the retired CEO of
Mapics, Inc. and a senior executive with IBM to help
consult with the Company. This investment validates Agentek’s
vision and we appreciate FOCUS’ assistance.”
Jeff Jarvis, CEO of Agentek
“We
spent more than a decade building our business and
knew how to run it at a level of performance well above
others in our industry, but we had no experience selling
a company. For that depth of expertise, we partnered
with FOCUS because of their skilled team and track
record of middle market M&A successes.”
Ray Daly, President and Co-Founder, Vertex Solutions
“This acquisition
will allow Pradot to grow in ways never before possible. By
purchasing GroupOne HealthSource, Pradot now has a strong
U.S. presence, and we are increasing our service offering
and revenue in both countries. We will continue
to pursue both organic and acquisitive growth strategies.”
Arun Murali, President of Pradot Technologies
"When I first considered recapitalizing Integrity,
I thought of Jonathan Wilfong at FOCUS LLC. I have
had a relationship with Jonathan for almost 20 years
and knew he understood our firm's mission and business,
as well as the media industry. Even during this time
of troubled markets, FOCUS was able to secure a credit
facility for Integrity with far better terms, and at
a substantial savings in debt service costs. I am very
pleased with the transaction and our new relationship
with JP Morgan/Chase."
Mike Coleman, Chairman and CEO of Integrity Media
“The FOCUS team
did a highly professional job in representing ACS in
the sale of our business. From their Confidential Information
Memorandum on our firm, which was well received by buyers,
to successfully managing the entire sales process with
numerous interested parties from all over the world,
FOCUS became an invaluable partner to ACS in this important
initiative.”
John Muench, Chairman & Founder of Advanced Control Systems
“FOCUS has been a wonderful partner. We are looking forward
to working with Focus through a series of planned global
acquisitions and expansions in the months ahead.”
Steven Bederman, CEO of TouchStar
"With the award of a major new contract that will more than double our
company size, our investor group and management
team decided to look for a large acquisition partner. At
the time of our decision, we knew of several candidates,
but we needed help identifying additional acquisition
partners in order to maximize shareholder value.
We turned to Marshall Graham at FOCUS Investment Banking
for help. Within four months we completed the sale transaction
with the best partner for our company and at the best
price and terms."
Leonard Metheny, Jr., President and CEO of AY Recruiting
"LSSI was founded in 1981; since
that time, our firm has been providing total library
management services to government and public libraries. Today,
we are the industry leader in providing outsourced library
management. Our initial market was the U.S.Federal
Government where we managed multiple agency library
locations. In the late 1980s, we were introduced to Marshall
Graham, the founder of FOCUS. Based, in part, on his
guidance, our firm accepted the challenge of extending
our total library management concept into the public
library sector. By early 2006, our firm had a client
list of more than 45 public libraries as well
as numerous government agency clients including the Library
of Congress, Smithsonian Institution, US Department
of Veterans Affairs, and the Overseas Private
Investment Corporation. As my wife and I
approached retirement age, we once again called on
Marshall to represent us in acquiring outside investors.
We needed a financial partner who would acquire
a significant stake in LSSI while providing the increased
working capital needed to fuel our company's
growth. Marshall introduced us to Islington Capital
Partners, a Boston-based private equity firm that made
the investment. The professional approach, deep
research capability, and our long relationship
with Marshall Graham of FOCUS proved to be a winning
combination, resulting in a very successful
transaction."
Frank A. Pezzanite
CEO and Co-Founder, LSSI
Judy Pezzanite
COO, Chairman of the Board and Co-Founder, LSSI
"We are very thankful to FOCUS and Managing Director, Eric Oganesoff
for his expertise in executing our sales transaction.
It was a complicated sale to orchestrate, dealing with
a family run business and a minority shareholder in a
small niche market. This deal would not have come together
without Eric's high level knowledge of business management,
manufacturing, accounting and finance. He took special
care to make certain that all partners were kept informed
at all stages of the transaction process. He dealt professionally
with the group as a whole and handled individual issues
as needed. He was always available to answer questions
and offer professional advice. Eric kept our outside
costs to a minimum by bringing in outside legal and accounting
counsel only as required. He always had each party's
best interests in mind. I can't imagine anyone more qualified
to handle a sale or acquisition than Eric Oganesoff."
Robert Bohn, Founder and Former President of AGC Engineering
"FOCUS partners Manan Shah and George Shea were instrumental in finding us the right partner when I decided to look for strategic alternatives for my IT services company. We were primarily looking for a larger partner to help us grow to the next level while creating liquidity for our shareholders. We received several offers from the domestic buyers but it turned out that our best partner was in the International market. In FOCUS, we found a partner with an exceptional capability to find candidates not confined to geographical boundaries."
William Dunn, CEO of Dunn Solutions Group
"The acquisition of Benefits Marketing Solutions was very important to the future of Alliance and was too important not to involve professionals who could ensure that the acquisition closed. From initial negotiation of the transaction terms to the deal closing, FOCUS professionals were there to assist us. They ensured that all of the necessary steps, from LOI to due diligence to agreement execution, were completed and successfully managed. The value FOCUS added was significant."
Robert Garces, Chairman of Alliance HealthCard
"I decided to sell my company to a larger organization
to keep pace with industry research and development.
I needed an investment banking partner to help me find
a buyer who would allow me to stay involved after the
close. John Bradshaw at FOCUS held my hand
throughout every phase of our 8 month transaction.
The end result of John’s strategic advisory services
was more money than I had anticipated and a position
as the CFO of the combined company."
Dave Steil, former CEO of SigmaWorx and current CFO of Touchstar Software Corporation
"FOCUS brought me 7 potential buyersfor my
holdings in Western Shower Door. Ultimately,
they helped me negotiate the best opportunity, a sale
to the minority shareholder in the firm. And
they helped find the financing for the buyer. I
consider them a full service firm, indeed."
Craig McCarty, former CEO, Western Shower Door, Inc.
“FOCUS has seasoned
investment bankers that know the market. They
set aggressive yet realistic expectations throughout
the process of selling our company. They suggested
a price range and timeline within which our company
should sell, and as a result of the FOCUS process the
company sold on schedule and at the top end of the
price range. I am happy to recommend FOCUS to business
owners seeking a transaction.”
Paul Kaub, Former CEO and Owner of Intelex Corporation