CPG Advisor participated in an energetic session at the 16th annual M&A Forum yesterday in Brookfield. The opening Keynote featured the acquisition journey of Palermo’s Pizza with a local Milwaukee firm, Funky Fresh Spring Rolls. Palermo’s CEO Giacomo Fallucca, deal leader Jasper Fallucca and visionary entrepreneur TrueMan McGee enlightened and entertained the crowd of over 200 deal professionals.
The value of transparency in the deal process, and ways to fight “deal fatigue” as a process goes on and on were key take-aways. And – as often happens – the personal relationship and trust between the principals was the glue that kept the deal process on track and led to a successful business venture. Despite TrueMan’s assertion that “the lawyers were the winners” (to a crowd with many attorneys), it’s clear that both firms (and their customers) are the real winners in this deal.
A second keynote focused on growth through acquisitions (both buy and sell side). Ann Hanna ably moderated the panel of Alex Lawton, Vince Shiely and Kate Westfall as they shared their insights. A great quotable was “It’s easy to do a bad deal, but hard to do a good one”, reflecting the time, effort and focus needed on both a strong deal thesis and the diligence to fully understand the value of the firm being purchased.
The human element was highlighted by all. Vince stated that the top attribute of a great business is a strong management team. Preparing a business for sale needs to start as early as a decade before an intent to sell – ensuring the team is right, the business has a defensible position and a strategy to pursue their opportunities. Kate stated that “deal fatigue” is a real thing, and to get to a successful close it helps to understand what matters to the seller –it’s usually more than purchase price alone.
A great discussion, and poignant reminder that the most critical element of any deal (and its successful integration post-close) is the people in the business!
A fascinating panel discussion on “Lessons from the journey” was ably moderated by Inge Platz and featured seasoned deal leaders Joe Gibson (veteran of 13 acquisitions), Terry Rowinski and Brian Adam. Echoing a keynote at yesterday’s 16th annual M&A Forum in Brookfield, WI, a strong management team was declared the biggest asset in a deal. A deep dive on functional leaders pays big dividends, but can be hard , as sellers often try to hide leaders below CEO during a deal process, for various reasons (none of them good for the buyer!) Persistent diligence pays off.
Joe shared that out of 13 deals, the biggest wins were add-ons that complemented his firm’s current products and expanded the total addressable market. Businesses within the core were helpful in acquiring market share but didn’t pay off as fully as the ones that extended the business. Terry and Brian illustrated points with stories from their deal experiences, including one where a Quality of Earnings analysis wasn’t done – only to discover the acquired firm didn’t know how to invoice or work with a purchase order (the deal worked out, but remedial help was required…).
Deal stories can be more shocking than fiction! However, hard work and M&A experience help lower the risks and create outsized opportunities for a firm to grow.
Overall, the event led to new contacts, stimulating conversation and renewal of old connections. Well worth the afternoon to reinvigorate ties into the Milwaukee M&A community.
