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Case Study
WilliamsMarston Clears the Way for Private Equity Firm’s Successful Exit
Learn how WM enabled a private equity firm’s successful exit through the close of a large acquisition for a $250 million portfolio company while integrating prior acquisitions and supporting the annual audit.
The Challenge
Integrating multiple acquisitions and closing the largest deal to date was exacerbated by limited resources and audit deadlines.
Largely immersed in day-to-day operations, the company’s finance team faced limited resources and the expertise required to simultaneously manage the cross-functional impacts of integrating multiple acquisitions.
The pending acquisition was the largest deal the company’s finance team had seen – contingent on debt refinancing, which required the successful satisfaction of lender due diligence. The company’s priority was proving its multiple acquisitions’ success by achieving significant synergies, including cost reductions in SG&A, eliminating redundancies, streamlining processes and implementing best practices throughout the integrated organization. All of this faced a competing deadline – the company’s existing debt covenants required audited financial statements within 90 days of year-end.
The Solution
Interim leadership guided financial diligence, post-merger integration and compliance.
With many challenges hindering success, WM stepped in as the interim Director of Corporate Development to drive the initiatives forward. Essential training, guidance and oversight of all aspects of the financial due diligence initiatives was provided from the start. WM managed the company’s external advisors, including accounting, tax, legal and strategic due diligence teams, in tandem with supporting the private equity firm in lender due diligence and debt refinancing negotiations.
WM prioritized expediting the external audit to meet the debt covenant requirements by preparing numerous technical memos. The team also focused on enhancing the FP&A function for more robust management reporting and reviewed the year-end close processes to bolster the internal finance team’s readiness to report and for future audits.
WM coordinated post-merger integration efforts for multiple acquisitions, including managing external advisors to achieve operational synergies and other cost savings. As a culmination of the engagement, WM played a key role in the sell-side due diligence of the newly combined company.
The Result
WM’s leadership not only filled the gap, but provided transformational outcomes for both the portfolio company and the private equity sponsor.
The company completed its debt refinancing and large acquisition and issued its audited financial statements on schedule. Within a short time, the company was acquired by a strategic buyer, enabling a successful exit for the private equity sponsor.
THE TEAM RESPONSIBLE
Ready for clear guidance and partnership? Reach out to our Private Equity Services team today.
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Jonathan T. Marston
Co-Founder & Co-Chairman
As Co-Founder and Co-Chairman, Jon Marston shapes the strategic direction of WilliamsMarston while maintaining a hands-on approach to client service. His expertise spans mergers and acquisitions, finance effectiveness and process improvement.
In addition to driving value-added outcomes for many of the Firm’s private equity clients, Jon routinely advises the C-suite and investors at large private equity firms, private equity-backed companies, and public companies with revenues ranging from $200M to $10B.
Prior to founding WilliamsMarston, Jon was a Director in PwC’s Transaction Services Advisory practice, where he provided due diligence and related services on M&A transactions from $5M to over $20B.
Throughout his career, Jon has worked with SEC registrants, foreign public companies, private companies, private equity, and VC firms, advising on US GAAP, IFRS, SEC reporting, IPOs, Sarbanes-Oxley compliance, and other complex financial matters. His industry experience spans software, technology, telecommunications, healthcare, industrial products, and consumer retail across the US, Europe, Africa, and Asia.
Jon holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a concentration in Accounting from Boston College.
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