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M&A And The Construction Drilling Industry

The construction drilling industry is a very diverse market that handles various private and public contracts that include infrastructure expansion, excavation, road boring, poly piping, trench work, geotechnical drilling, and foundation drilling.

M&A Drivers

The key drivers for mergers and acquisitions in the construction drilling industry for most companies include:

  • The objective to grow and diversify the businesses
  • Expansion of services and capabilities
  • The need to address qualified labor shortages in an industry where talent is increasingly difficult to find

At the same time, labor shortages can also be a reason that some drilling businesses may hesitate to make a major acquisition, as they do not have enough young leader talent to make it work in their favor.

The sectors that continue to be ripe for acquisition activity are civil infrastructure and industrial. Organic growth and access to labor is challenging for both of these areas.

Consolidation is also driven by a customer demand for large companies that offer integrated, single-source solutions. This includes the collaboration by design and construction firms looking to vertically integrate and expand their delivery capabilities. Additionally, strategies are about more than the creation of better solutions for clients in the construction drilling industry. They are also motivated to create a better platform for employees. In what is a very competitive labor environment, offering a solid growth platform is just as crucial to employee retention as it is to customer satisfaction and shareholder value. Employees can benefit from the advantages and growth possibilities that come with being part of a larger infrastructure company.

 

Ready to explore your exit and growth options?

 

Buyer Interest

The interest of buyers in the drilling sector is partially driven by the need to remain competitive by adding capabilities and scale in a market where competitors are acquisitively expanding their own capabilities and scale. With a divide between large integrated firms and smaller niche providers, those that are not growing at the same rate as their competitors risk getting lost somewhere in the gap.

Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD)

Horizontal Directional Drilling is a trenchless procedure that is utilized to install underground pipes, cables and conduits along a pre-determined route by using a surface-launched drilling rig. It has gained great popularity in the industry because it causes minor damage to the topography of the adjacent areas.

The opportunities for growth in the HDD market are strong because of the high demand that comes from the telecommunications sector. As telecom companies take action to expand broadband service availability, it increases the demand for the installation of cellular towers. As digitization is steadfast in both developed and developing countries worldwide, cable, broadband and fiber companies are expanding networks to serve the growing demand. The growth of the HDD market is also heavily supported by the steady demand from utilities such as electric, water and natural gas distribution. Utilities account for more than half of the overall revenue in this market.

Some of the unique challenges this industry faces are related to a lack of contractor review for construction assessment prior to starting projects, and the hiring of unqualified engineers and consultants with no prior experience.

The HDD market sees significant activity in North America, with telecommunication and energy amassing a major share of the revenue. Other major markets that have a high demand for utility installations and broadband access include China, India, Australia, and Japan.

Contact Us

The world is full of opportunities and Benchmark International has the connections to help you effectively grow your business or sell your company whether it is domestically or across borders. Set up a call with one of our M&A experts and we can begin to delve into what how we can maximize your value and make the markets work for you.

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M&A Mistakes to Avoid

The merger and acquisition (M&A) process requires careful planning, professional support, and an understanding of the deal dynamics involved in the negotiations. Completing a transaction is not easy. Many sellers only do a transaction only once in a life time. Companies that have not been engaged in many M&A transactions frequently make mistakes that can result in a less favorable price or terms. They can even potentially destroy the deal.

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Take some chips off the Table with an Elevator Deal

Many business owners come to a point where they are ready to “take some chips off the table,” and continue to run their business on a day to day basis while cashing in on some of their hard-earned growth.  In these deals a business owner sells equity in the company while staying on and maintaining a salary.  These deals are known as elevator deals.  An elevator deal consists of a buyer taking a stake in the business for an agreed amount of cash while leaving day to day management to the current owner.

Perhaps your children have reached college age and you now have tuition bills coming in twice a year. Perhaps you’re not quite ready to retire, but would like to cash-in on some of your business’ current market value, and invest that money in your retirement fund.  Or, perhaps you’re simply ready to take some chips off the table while continuing to earn a salary.  In these cases, an elevator deal would be the right fit for you.

Elevator Deals include the owner selling part of their business in exchange for partial ownership. In this manner of exchange, the business owner(s) will maintain a minority equity stake in their company, while new ownership takes on the majority position.  These deals often include prior owners staying on, working on their business in a day-to-day capacity, while earning a salary, with a percentage of the business’ bottom line passing through to new ownership.  In some cases, owners are able to step outside of their prior managerial roles while maintaining a stake in the company and its profits. 

The goal for new investors is to grow the business and the value of their stake in the company. These owners may have the goal of a resale several years down the road, and growing your business and its place in your community, be it regional or national, just as you have done is their goal. In maintaining the high standard you have set for the quality of your products or services, equity investors are growing the value of their investment.

Many business owners worry about selling part or most of their company.  They worry that the buyer’s intent is to take as much cash out of the business as possible and leave prior owners, those people who built the business from scratch, with a company they love left in tatters.  Benchmark International will secure equity investors in your business are the right fit.  Ensuring that they intend to increase the value of your company while maintaining its true identity.

In engaging Benchmark International, our team will diligently craft marketing materials to accurately reflect your business to the market.  Once you approve of those marketing materials, our transaction team will take over and begin marketing your company to potential investors.  At this point, many business owners begin to feel as though they are pressured to sell to individuals who don’t understand the heart and values of their company.  Benchmark International will work tirelessly to ensure you never feel those emotions.  We will work for you until we find the right fit, in order to ensure that as you continue to manage your company you’re not hand-tied to investors who are simply concerned with how much they can take out of your business’ profits each year.

If you are interested in selling a portion of your business to help grow your company while maintaining a portion of your business, please reach out to us and let us help you take the
next step.

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Benchmark International successfully facilitated the acquisition of Bean, Whitaker, Lutz & Kareh, Inc. to CES inc.

Benchmark International has successfully facilitated the acquisition of Bean, Whitaker, Lutz & Kareh, Inc.Bean, Whitaker, Lutz & Kareh, Inc. (BWLK) by CES, Inc. BWLK provides land surveying, mapping, civil engineering, and land planning services in Florida.

BWLK has been in the land surveying, planning, and engineering services business since 1987. The company’s proven track record, commitment to high-quality, professional work, combined with its advanced engineering and surveying technology has enabled BWLK to establish a solid reputation and build long-lasting client relationships.

CES, Inc., a Maine-based firm of engineers, environmental scientists, and land surveyors is expanding its footprint to the Southeast. Denis St. Peter, President and CEO of CES, commented, “CES, Inc. has been utilizing M&A as one of our strategies to help achieve our growth goals over the past several years. By working with Sunny Garten, Leo Vanderschuur, and their team at Benchmark International to acquire Bean, Whitaker, Lutz & Kareh, Inc., we were able to identify and perform preliminary evaluations of several companies quickly and accurately within our targeted geographic area. Benchmark represented several prospective sellers that fit our criteria, and the responsiveness and quality of their initial teaser summaries and more detailed confidential information memorandums allowed us to optimize our search efforts to end up with the best company for CES, Inc. Their significant knowledge of the acquisition process, the sophistication of their systems (e.g., online data exchange), and their willingness to communicate deal structures based on their past experiences were all valuable to the success of our acquisition.”  

 

Ready to explore your exit and growth options?

 

Scott Whitaker, president and one of BWLK’s owners stated, “On behalf of everyone at BWLK, we are delighted to join the CES team. The more we learned about CES’ approach to its employees and clients, including its Best Places to Work recognition and past project awards, the more we grew excited about our partnership. By joining our professionals with theirs, we will offer new opportunities to our employees and continue our dedication to our clients and provide them the same high-quality services they enjoy.”

“I am honored to join CES as a Shareholder and to help be the link between Maine and Florida,” said Ahmad Kareh, also an owner of BWLK. “CES’ depth of engineering and environmental experts means that we will be able to collaborate with shared expertise to provide our clients with additional capabilities to reach their project’s goals.”

Regarding the deal, Transaction Director Leo VanderSchuur at Benchmark International stated, “It was a pleasure to represent BWLK in this strategic transaction. On behalf of Benchmark International, we wish both companies continued success.” Senior Associate, Sunny Garten, added, “Scott, Ahmad and their team were wonderful to work with. They were engaging and always responsive to diligence requests. We’re excited to see that their legacy will be preserved and enhanced through this transaction with CES.”

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How Much Do I Need to Sell My Business For, So I Can Retire?

So, you are a business owner who is thinking of moving toward retirement. How do you do that? What are your options? How much money do you need to sell your business for, so you can retire? These are all questions you need to fully explore when you’re ready to make this transition.

What Are My Options?

You have a couple options if you are looking to retire. First, you need to decide what your ultimate goal is. Do you want to completely exit the business? Or do you just want to take a step back and pin the majority of the responsibility on someone else? It’s up to you how you want your money to work for you and how much free time you want to have.

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