Benchmark International is a finalist for an impressive 22 awards in the 22nd Annual M&A Advisor Awards. Our transactions and firm were among hundreds of entries from 450 participating companies that have successfully passed the initial evaluation stage. The process will continue as the independent panel of judges further evaluates and selects a winner from the finalists in each category. The judges are peers in the mergers and acquisitions transaction space, and it is quite an accomplishment to be recognized thus far as a finalist. 

Benchmark International is proud to be recognized again as one of the most active leaders in the M&A industry by Pitchbook, the leading resource for comprehensive data, research, and insights spanning global capital markets.

Mergermarket has released their global financial advisor rankings for the first half of 2023 and Benchmark International ranked prominently in several prestigious categories.

Benchmark International has been honored with a Gamechangers™ Progress Champion Award for diversity and fostering inclusion.

We are proud to announce that our very own Brittney Zoeller, Global Creative & Brand Strategy Director at Benchmark International, has been named among the Top 10 Inspiring Women Leaders of 2023 by Industry Era Women Leaders magazine.

Benchmark International is proud to have been honored with two new M&A Atlas Awards from the Global M&A Network:

• Industrial Services Deal of the Year as sell-side advisor for the sale of ARC Abatement to West Fork IP, an affiliate of Fernandez Holdings
• Consumer Services Deal of the Year as sell-side advisor for the sale of Classic Emporium, LLC, to Champion Xpress Car Wash

Refinitiv, previously known as Thomson Reuters, has released their League Tables for Q1 2023, and Benchmark International was revealed as the #1 privately held M&A Advisor Worldwide and in the United States for the Middle-Market and Small Cap Markets.

Our managing partner, Kendall Stafford, has been awarded the SHE for SHE Leader award by the Global M&A Network's Fifth Annual Top USA Women Dealmakers awards. The awards honor and celebrate brilliant, highly respected, and inspirational women from the United States deal communities, from boutique, middle-market firms to large-cap segments. The SHE for SHE Woman Leader award honors an influential woman from the private equity, venture capital, M&A, and restructuring transactional communities. 

The Association for Corporate Growth (ACG) Houston has announced the finalists for their 2022 Deal of the Year Awards, and Benchmark International is proud to be on the shortlist for two separate transactions.

Corporate America Today has named Benchmark International the Best Global Middle Market M&A Specialist 2023.

We proudly announce that Opus Connect has named two of Benchmark International's esteemed team members to 2023's Top 25 Women in M&A. Amy Alonso, Senior Transaction Director, and Kendall Stafford, Managing Partner, have both been awarded the outstanding honor.

Benchmark International has been awarded Best Global Middle Market M&A Specialists 2023 by the prestigious M&A Today Global Awards, which recognize excellence in business on a global scale.This honor is a testament to our achievements and places us among the best in the industry.

Benchmark International’s very own Kendall Stafford has been named to the Top 50 M&A Investment Bankers (Americas Dealmakers) by the Global M&A Network’sM&A Atlas Awards. Kendall is the managing partner of our Austin, Texas, office. You can learn more about her impressive background here.

Benchmark International’s Kayla Sullivan has been named one of America’s Rising Star Dealmakers by the Global M&A Network. Their 5^th Annual Networking Recognition Ceremony was held in New York City at a luncheon on January 19, 2023.

Benchmark International has been named Best Global Middle-Market M&A Specialists by the Global 100 for 2023. We are proud to say that we also won this award in 2022.

Benchmark International has been named International Mid-Market Corporate Finance Advisory of the Yearby the Gamechangers™ Global Awards 2023. This year’s awards are especially significant because it is the 20^th anniversary of the Gamechangers Global Awards.

Benchmark International was awarded Logistics Deal of the Year for the sale of X Caliber Container, LLC, to LongWater Opportunities at this year’s M&A Atlas Awards from the Global M&A Network.

Benchmark International was recognized by the Global M&A Network for its role in arranging and brokering the sale of KGM, an Oklahoma-based natural gas infrastructure distributor, to St. Louis-based private equity firm Compass Group Equity Partners. The coveted "Private Equity Deal of the Year for the Americas" was awarded at this month's 14th Annual M&A Americas Atlas Awards at Manhattan's Metropolitan Club.  

Benchmark International has been honored with an M&A Atlas Award from the Global M&A Network for Small Mid-Market Investment Bank of the Year (Americas).

Benchmark International was honored with several M&A Atlas Awards by the Global M&A Network, including:

Benchmark International is delighted to announce that it has been ranked in several league tables for the number of deals it has conducted throughout 2022.

Mergermarket’s M&A League Tables for 2022 has ranked Benchmark International number 10 for the number of deals it has conducted in Ireland, up from position 27 in 2021. Other companies in the top 10 include Deloitte, KPMG and PwC.

FactSet’s Flashwire Advisor league tables has also ranked Benchmark International in its quarterly league for the number of deals it has conducted in the UK, Europe and globally in Q4.

In the UK, Benchmark has placed 8^th, 22^nd for Europe, and has ranked 40^th globally.

The M&A Advisor announced the winners for its 13th Annual Emerging Leaders Awards, and Benchmark International's Global Creative and Brand Strategy Director, Brittney Zoeller, is among the winners.

Benchmark International was awarded Corporate/Strategic Deal of the Year ($10MM - $25MM) for the transaction of Performance Equipment to Mid State Restoration in The M&A Advisor's 21st Annual M&A Advisor Awards.

Benchmark International has been named Leading Specialist M&A Advisory Firm of the Year 2023 in the United Kingdom by Acquisition International's Leading Adviser Awards.

Benchmark International is pleased to announce that it has ranked in FactSet’s Flashwire Advisor league tables for the number of deals it has conducted in the UK, Europe and globally in Q3.

In the UK, Benchmark has placed 8th, among companies such as BDO, Grant Thornton, KPMG, and PwC.

Meanwhile, for Europe, Benchmark has placed 23^rd, and has ranked 40^th globally.

FactSet Mergers covers all deals where the buyer and seller are disclosed and the transaction involves the sale of at least 5% stake in a business, with some exceptions for impactful or high value deals.

Benchmark International was named International Gamechanger™ Progress Champion for Race and Culture Equality in the 2022 ACQ5 Global Awards.

Benchmark International is pleased to announce that it has been ranked 7^th in the top 10 by Mergermarket for the number of deals it has conducted in Ireland. KPMG, Deloitte, Goldman Sachs, and PwC are amongst the companies to also rank in the top 10. An Acuris company, Mergermarket delivers M&A intelligence, data, and research. 

PitchBook has released their Q2 2022 Global League Tables, and Benchmark International has once again received several impressive rankings. The firm remains ranked as the #1 Privately Owned Sell-Side M&A Advisors in the World and is ranked as the 10th Most Active Investment Bank in the United States. This ranking puts Benchmark International ahead of other well-known firms, including Morgan Stanley, Deloitte, Woodbridge International, and Bank of America Securities.

Benchmark International is also ranked as:

• 17th Most Active Investment Bank Globally
• 11th Most Active Advisor & Accountants (PE Deals Only) in the US
• 12th Most Active M&A Advisors in the US
• 13th Most Active M&A Advisors in Europe
• 14th Most Active M&A Advisors Globally

Benchmark International has been named 2022’s Best Global Middle Market M&A Specialists by the Global 100. 

Benchmark International is pleased to announce that it has been ranked in the top 10 by Mergermarket for the number of deals it has conducted in Ireland.

Bank of America, PwC and JPMorgan are amongst the companies to also rank in the top 10.

An Acuris company, Mergermarket delivers M&A intelligence, data and research. To qualify in its league tables, transactions must be over 5m USD in value and publicly available.

James Thornton, COO at Benchmark International, commented: “We are delighted to have been ranked in Mergermarket’s Global & Regional League Tables for the first quarter of 2022. To be ranked in these league tables is further acknowledgement of the hard work and effort our teams put into every transaction.

“Having only established an office in Ireland less than five years ago, it is great to see that we are growing our footprint and have established ourselves as a distinguished institution in this location by conducting a number of deals over 5m USD, competing with M&A industry giants.

“Over the course of the last year, Benchmark International has expanded its international reach further, establishing an office in Germany, and I’m looking forward to seeing what our new team will achieve, and seeing Benchmark International on the German league tables as well very soon!”

Benchmark International’s own Kendall Stafford has won the Top USA Woman Deal Maker Award from the 4^th Annual USA Growth Intelligence Forum and the USA M&A Atlas Awards.

The award singularly honors the A-list of the most talented, respected, and brilliant women dealmakers from private equity, venture capital, investment banks, legal, and restructuring transactional communities. It is officially “award winner recognition,” unlike industry lists, rankings, editorial praise, or write-ups.

Benchmark International is delighted to announce that the sale of County Antrim-based ventilation systems installer RGM Vent, where Benchmark International acted as lead adviser to the sellers, won Deal of the Year at the Insider Northern Ireland Dealmaker Awards.

The deal was deemed significant as Benchmark International’s Transaction Team maximised value for RGM Vent and maintained excellent relationships with the client, resulting in four referrals from the client and accountant to date, as well as a testimonial from CEO at RGM Vent, Raymond Murphy:

“March 2019 was the day I had my initial meeting with Benchmark and from the moment I met Nick and Jonathon I knew I was making the correct decision in going with Benchmark Int.

Jonathon was my key point of contact and he was backed by Alex, the process went great throughout and I would definitely recommend Benchmark.”

The team overcame several complexities during the deal surrounding due diligence, tax advice, restructuring, and differing shareholder aspirations.

At the American Advertising Awards, Benchmark International's marketing team won another ADDY® award for their "Virtual Black Box" in the Microsite category. A microsite is any web page or series of pages that are a part of a larger website but intended to feature specialized information. 

Benchmark International has been named the International Mid-Market Corporate Finance Advisory of the Year by Acquisition International’s ACQ Global Awards.

Acquisition International is a growing publication, currently having a circulation of 108,000 readers in more than 170 countries.

Each year, Acquisition International highlights some of the most renowned and innovative professionals around the world through these awards. According to the publication, their “dedicated team ensures that the awards are allocated only to the individuals and firms that truly deserve them and have demonstrated excellence within their respective fields.” This includes the largest international corporations and smaller firms and individuals in the business. In addition, they select the award recipients based on achievements, endeavors, and efforts made over the previous year rather than getting votes from companies, individuals, or other third parties.

Award winners are chosen through an internal process of research, analysis, shortlisting, and selection. First, an in-house team uses publicly available sources such as local and national press, industry journals, client recommendations, press releases, and other published works to find candidates based entirely on merit. Then, each is carefully scrutinized to narrow down a shortlist that is then followed by a final list.

Throughout the process, factors taken into consideration include sector expertise, experience, industry recognition, innovation, client testimonials, reputation, firm performance, leadership, and extracurricular activities. They aim to showcase the industry’s very best and serve as a trusted guide for those seeking trusted experts.

The Benchmark team is proud of this honor and looks forward to continuing to be pioneers on the global financial advisory stage.

Benchmark International was named International Gamechanger of the Year for 2018 by the Gamechangers™ACQ Global Awards.

Benchmark International was named International Advisory Experts by the Global Advisory Experts Awards. 

At the 20th Annual M&A Advisor Awards, Benchmark International was awarded M&A Deal of the Year (100M-250M) for the acquisition of PBK Architects by DC Capital Partners.

As the 23rd largest US-based architecture firm, PBK, based in Houston, Texas, and its subsidiaries in California, Beijing, Shenzhen, and Hong Kong, employ more than 500 architects, engineers, and related professionals.

In addition to its Top 25 status, in 2019, PBK was ranked as the “#1 Education Design Firm” by Engineering News-Record (“ENR”), widely regarded as the engineering and design industry’s premier publication. Specializing in K-12 projects and, in particular, large public high schools, PBK has long been the go-to firm for sustainable design and next-gen integrations in particular. The company also focuses on two related building types—higher education and sports facilities.

This transaction followed closely on the heels of 11 other deals that Benchmark International closed in the architecture, engineering & construction (AEC) space in the first half of 2020.

Benchmark International proudly announces that our Managing Director, Kendall Stafford, has been named Investment Banker of the Year by The M&A Advisor in their 17th Annual M&A Advisor Awards.  

Benchmark International won three prestigious awards at the 20th Annual M&A Advisor Awards, presented by The M&A Advisor. The winners were announced at the Gala Ceremony live event held in New York City on November 17, 2021. The awards won by Benchmark International included:

 Investment Banking Firm of the Year

M&A Deal of the Year ($100MM to $250MM)

Professional Services (B2B) Deal of the Year

These awards are known as the Oscars of the M&A world, serving as the industry benchmark for dealmaking excellence, recognizing the leading M&A transactions, restructurings, deal financings, products/services, firms, and professionals. Benchmark International took top billing over other well-known firms such as Raymond James, Goldman Sachs, and KPMG.

Gregory Jackson, CEO of Benchmark International, stated, "We are immensely proud of our team for such honorable achievements. We will continue to pursue only the highest of standards for our clients and to maintain our role as a leader in the world of mergers and acquisitions."

"These awards speak volumes about how much Benchmark International has become game-changers in the middle market. Congratulations to every member of the Benchmark International family who works tirelessly to make sure we shine every day," said Steven Keane, Chairman.

Also weighing in is Dara Shareef, Managing Partner, who said, "This fantastic news is a true testament to the vision, talent, and commitment of everyone at Benchmark International who always goes above and beyond to look out for the best interests of our clients."

Clinton Johnston, Managing Director, also expressed his pride in a statement: "We are delighted with this recognition that demonstrates how highly regarded we are in the M&A space. Our team's hard work and impressive accomplishments deserve to be celebrated."

The M&A Advisor was founded in 1998 with a focus on mergers and acquisitions, and today is the leading organization that recognizes excellence and achievement among the world's leading dealmakers.