5 Questions with Matthew Bristow: Tulsa World

Posted by Matthew Bristow in Mergers & Acquisitions
February 17, 2012. Tulsa World 5 Questions with Matthew Bristow, Managing Director ClearRidge. He is a federal- and state-registered investment banking agent and a certified merger and acquisition advisor, with banking and finance experience in London and Paris.

Filling a Void? Oklahoma Venture Capital and Growth Capital

According to participants in yesterday’s Bricktown Capital Conference in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma has a need for more robust venture capital, nurture capital and in some cases private equity, when an entrepreneur needs between $1 million and $5 million to fuel the growth of their business. For any higher amounts, out of state capital is targeting Oklahoma companies, and for amounts below $1 million, there are small business grants, loans, incentives, family money and even bootstrapping that can provide the required capital. It is the critical gap in between where we need to focus our efforts.

Honor Thy Banks and Creditors – It’s Good for Business.

In the last year, huge numbers of loans were refinanced on the back of competition among lenders to sell money and attractive loan pricing. As a result, many CFOs have now refinanced, put their loan documents away and will revisit them in a few years when it’s time to renew. Unfortunately, it’s not that easy anymore; in particular in a sluggish and faltering economy, as your creditors keep a closer eye on all the covenants of your loan.

Acquisitions: Earnings Multiples or Absolute Valuations?

How is it possible to make an acquisition valuation based only upon earnings multiples in disparate economic environments and business climates? And how heavily should we rely upon “standard” earnings multiples for comparable transactions in an industry?

Lending for Business – Debt Ceiling Concerns?

In April and May, commercial and industrial lending was strong, companies were opening up new revolvers and refinancing at reduced rates. Banks were allowing extended maturities and were eager to put money to work; so much so, that some banks were loosening lending standards to offer favorable terms to those with less than strong credits.

Implications of Earnouts when you sell your business – Tax Focus

First, a couple of thoughts on earnouts when you sell your business. While an earnouts is often seen as a mechanism to defer payment of the purchase price; if used correctly, it should in fact be consideration to the seller of a company over and above full cash paid at closing. Earnouts should not be considered part of the purchase price if/until they materialize and are paid to the seller, but why not set additional opportunities to increase the purchase price paid, over and above the full cash price paid? If “x” is the maximum that a buyer will pay for a company in cash at closing, it is still possible to negotiate “x” at closing, plus an additional 25-50% or more after closing. As with most things in life and business, it is not the tool that is at fault, it is the way that it can be misused and misunderstood.

Oklahoma Economic incentives – What Value?

Whether each state offers incentives to attract businesses to relocate or remain in their state is largely a by-product of the incentives offered by competing states. If other states offer incentives, the logic is that Oklahoma has to in order to compete. And I’m not going to argue against that. Much has already been written on this topic, but today we are going to focus on a different angle: the accountability for those companies and investors that receive funds or assistance from our state. Perhaps there would be universal approval for state funded incentives by Oklahoma if the public could have greater confidence in the economic benefit to our state of the use of those funds. Here are some thoughts on ways to increase the effectiveness of the incentives and improve public perception and support.

The Positives of an Extended Recession

You may wonder how an extended recession can be positive for your business. What can be good about weak industry performance, more competition for less orders and a tougher environment to secure debt or equity investment? Well, every cloud has a silver lining. So here’s an alternative point of view.
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