PCE Investment Bankers is pleased to announce we have been named the 2015 Best in Building Products & Construction M&A by Acquisition International.

As a continuation of PCE’s series of quarterly M&A industry reports, below you’ll find an in-depth analysis of trends in the M&A marketplace that impact your business. These reports provide industry trends, sub-sector performance as well as deliver insight into tendencies of the public companies that operate in your world. The table below breaks down the ten industries which have been provided for 2Q15 as well as their detailed sub-sectors.  Click the links below to view the individual reports.

An Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) is a company sponsored, employee benefit plan that is analogous to a profit sharing plan.  For privately held business owners, ESOPs can be a liquidity strategy that offers numerous benefits to the owner, business and its employees.  These plans are usually leveraged (using debt to acquire the stock), and the capital borrowed can be different than debt incurred in normal course of business.

“The biggest human temptation is…to settle for too little.” – Thomas Merton

Be wary of valuation calculators on the websites of many business valuation and M&A advisory firms.  These calculators allow business owners to enter basic financial data and quickly retrieve the “value” of their businesses.  Many of these products describe the final result as a “business valuation”.  While it may be appealing for owners to receive a free, quick and easy valuation, the results should not be relied upon.  Remember, you get what you pay for.

Most people are aware of the litigious nature of our culture, and are clear on the notion that people are increasingly willing to play the “blame game” in the courts.  At the risk of stating the obvious, when confronted with circumstances wherein the pursuit of a monetary damages claim is appropriate, it is first and foremost essential that one engage experienced legal counsel. Secondly, engaging a capable financial expert that can provide key insights to legal counsel early in the game is essential. In that regard, your financial expert should possess credentials that address a wide spectrum of knowledge, including corporate finance, quantitative economics, valuation, solvency and fairness, intellectual property and financial forensics. These skills, amongst other things, will lead to a supportable conclusion as to the quantum of the prize with “reasonable certainty;” a conclusion that will take into account all of the possible factors that might arise in the courtroom setting, whether they favor or disfavor one’s position.

As a continuation of PCE’s series of quarterly M&A industry reports, below you’ll find an in-depth analysis of trends in the M&A marketplace that impact your business. These reports provide industry trends, sub-sector performance as well as deliver insight into tendencies of the public companies that operate in your world. The table below breaks down the ten industries which have been provided for 1Q15 as well as their detailed sub-sectors.  Click the links below to view the individual reports.

Chicago, IL, April 21, 2015 – PCE Investment Bankers (“PCE”), a leading provider of financial services based in Florida, is pleased to announce the hire of Eric Zaleski and the opening of its Chicago area office.

The differences between controlling interests and non-controlling interests are many and manifest themselves in ways that affect both the operations of the company and the valuation of the interests in question.

Currently the stock market is doing well, optimism in the economy is good, and debt remains cheap. All of these factors have created a robust M&A market for companies across many sectors with good companies achieving valuations that strong companies would normally achieve. This is expected to continue. For company owners and sell-side advisors that is great news. At this stage, when activity levels are high the smart money should strive for acquisitions that will have sustainable revenue during the inevitable downturn. This is a more defensive strategy due to its counter-cyclical nature.