After less than six months of prospecting, Calder Capital announced that a supplies distribution buy-side client has purchased a packaging supply company in the Midwest region. Our client initially approached us in early Spring, with the goal of expanding their industrial and warehouse supplies business via acquisition. The client sought to penetrate deeper into their existing end markets, expand their product capabilities, and increase their customer base. As our Buy-Side team conducted this search, we communicated with the client at every step of the process to ensure that the transaction was conducted efficiently and for the mutual benefit of all parties involved.
Setting the Stage
As with every buy-side engagement, we started our advisory process beginning with a buyer profile filled out by our client. This served as the guiding document through which we were able to accurately determine search criteria and ensure that the proper businesses were targeted. Our client had a preference for finding businesses in the Midwest engaging in B2B distribution of packaging, safety, and janitorial supplies. We settled specifically on 45-mile radii surrounding several densely-populated metro areas.
Casting a Wide Net
Our Buy-Side team moved swiftly with preparing a prospect list prioritized in order of the client’s preferences. We were able to generate information on over 2,000 total packaging and industrial supply distribution businesses within our client’s criteria. Our team conducted detailed research to ensure that we found proper contact information, qualified leads accurately, and customized our outreach approach to each owner who fit within the buyer profile. We leveraged this tailored client research along with our network and database of 80,000+ buyers and sellers to discover companies that were a fit for our client.
Relentless and Customized Outreach
It was integral to build automation into our campaign sequences, as we were able to continuously reach out to prospects on a recurring basis while building a pipeline of past contacts that had either not responded or told us that now was not the right time. This ultimately allowed us to further meet our client’s goals by consistently presenting new off-market opportunities. Although securing dozens of presentable off-market leads may be a tall task to handle, Calder understands how to craft the proper narrative placing our client in the best light possible and our team’s process entails meticulously constructed tailored messaging and efficient points of outreach through which we are able to parse through thousands of companies in a matter of weeks.
The Results
Calder located an off-market (non-listed) packaging and paper supply distribution business in just the second month of our search. The business was over 50 years old and had become a well-established distributor located just outside of our client’s current market. With customers ranging from small manufacturers to Fortune 100 clients, the company that we brought to our client was secured specifically through Calder Capital’s proprietary outreach strategy, and otherwise may not have even been discovered as a potential lead if not for our outreach efforts. Calder facilitated a smooth introduction, and the packaging company was deemed a natural extension and ideal fit for our client’s growth strategy.
This culminated in becoming another successful transaction completed on behalf of a client advised through the Calder Buy-Side program. Within 45 days of presenting the business to our client, a letter of intent was signed. Through the next several months, our team conducted Due Diligence, directed Quality of Earnings, negotiated deal structure, and quarterbacked the deal process keeping everyone moving in the right direction.
Overall, by the time the transaction was complete, Calder had presented 41 unique proprietary leads to our client since the start of our search.
In summary, this case study presents one example of how Calder Capital was able to strategically assist a client looking to follow a growth-through-acquisition strategy. It demonstrates that a campaign with comprehensive research, customized automation, and meticulous outreach can yield dozens of off-market leads for a buyer working with our team.
Please contact us if you have any questions about buying or selling a company.