Cornerstone International Alliance
The Cornerstone International Alliance is the world’s only global alliance focused exclusively on the lower middle market.
We have vetted and combined resources of some of the best independent M&A firms globally to deliver more experience, industry expertise and overall value to lower middle market businesses owners.
What are the chances that one of the few M&A firms in your city or town is the absolute best team for the job? We enable business owners to look beyond regional resource limits and truly work with the best of the best.
BTS is a founding member of the Cornerstone International Alliance. We are part of an elite group of professional firms around the country focused on quality service to owners of businesses within the lower mid-market. The alliance is a platform to share best practices and connection to advisors with diverse experience and depth of knowledge. This relationship enables us to tap the experience and knowledge of others in the field. John Howe, Director
From Our Founder
“When I started in the industry over 19 years ago, I noticed that very few firms actually talked to each other or would share best practices other than a conference or two a year. Like several of the members of CIA, I wanted to take a leadership position in the industry to help educate and elevate the M&A community. I served as chairman of the International Business Brokers Association, as a board member for M&A Source, and founded the Wisconsin chapter of Midwest Business Broker & Intermediary Association. But still I thought we could do more. By collaborating with a smaller group of proven firms that connect on a regular basis, we could provide the very best results for each and every client.
Concurrently I saw a big issue with business owners considering the sale of their businesses. Most business owners really “didn’t know what they didn’t know” or how to tell if an M&A firm was quality or just talked a good game in an effort to get a large retainer with little chance of a successful sale. After all, they were most likely only going to choose an M&A advisor once in their life.
Little did they know how significant the consequences of choosing the wrong M&A firm would be. It could mean the difference between successfully selling their business, extending their legacy and living out their dreams or shutting it down and liquidating the physical assets for cents on the dollar, while watching their legacy evaporate after years of sacrifices and all their employees now out of work.
With the founding of CIA, we have engineered much of the risk out of the business sale process. Now, our clients can rest assured that they have the best team, strategies and resources available to them by accessing our aggregated, well vetted pool of M&A specialists – our success rate and experience speak for themselves!”
BTS News
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Manufacturer Sold and New Owner Expands It
BTS served as advisor in the sale of PlasTech Machining Fabrication, Inc. to DelCam Holdings in 2020...the company has grown substantially, doubling employment and adding capacity to boost future prod
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How M&A Will Respond to Next Recession
The takeaway for business owners: Get back to basics. Don’t worry about hyper growth. De-risk your company as much as possible.
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Perception vs Reality with Small Businesses
Sometimes the economic picture on the news seems inconsistent with what is happening for many business owners. Nearly every owner we speak to is out straight.
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NH-Based Techinical Manufacturing Company Sold
Hampshire Controls has a bright future with new ownership. The company was recently sold by Diane Rush, owner and president, to Pillar Imaging and its leader Dr. Michael Pilon.
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Be Ready When You Are Ready
When a business owner says it’s time to sell, I ask, “How fast do you want to be out?” The answer I hear most is, “Yesterday.” But sellers underestimate how long the process takes.
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Looking at a Sale Through the Right Lens
Sometimes our vision about the future is blurry because we aren’t considering the whole picture but only parts of it.
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5 Deal Points from the Trenches
Today I work with clients of Business Transition Strategies who are implementing Growth Through Acquisition strategies. Here are a few observations from working on a wide variety of projects.
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Tax Changes Could Hurt Net Proceeds
Changes proposed to the capital gains tax suggest they may need to get 30% more in a transaction in the future just to net the same value they would get today.
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Good Ideas From Shark Tank Deal
One of my colleagues in Cornerstone Alliance was front and center in a recent Shark Tank exercise. A business that had been sold was put in front of four potential buyer groups.
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Buyer Trends in Lower Mid-Market
Other businesses are a significant market for companies being sold within the lower mid-market.
Case Studies
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Precision Machining Company
Initially, liquidation was a serious consideration. It would offer a quick exit but would hurt loyal employees and disrupt the customers who had come to rely on its quality production.
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Green Product Company
Our client owners could dig in for the long haul…However, this would take five years or more. Owners simply lacked the horsepower to do it.
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Water Purification Company and Young Buyers
Owners decided they wanted to retire. They also wanted to be fair to the staff who had been loyal to them. Could the company be sold, the staff retained and the facility remain in use?
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Magnetics Company with High Profile Customers
(T)he manufacturer would need to focus on growing EBITDA to capture interest from major strategic buyers and achieve a higher multiple of earnings.