American2

American Appraisal has been acquired
by Duff & Phelps

We are honoured to have been selected as financial advisor to American Appraisal’s Board. As for the deal, the acquisition of American Appraisal by Duff & Phelps is a win-win situation for all parties. It combines two of the world;s strongest valuation and financial advisory firms, which will in turn create a global powerhouse. American Appraisal’s well-established global footprint and thought leadership in the appraisal industry is a great fit with Duff & Phelps.

Description of the Transaction

As team leader for Emory & Co. in this project, I was involved in drafting documents, coordinating due diligence, leading presentations and discussions at American Appraisal’s Board of Directors Meetings, as well as delivering a fairness opinion to the Board.

John EmoryWith my role as President of Emory & Co., I can take an active role in business development, buyer relations, and executing transactions for the benefit of our clients after we are hired. My company is a boutique investment banking firm located in Milwaukee Wisconsin. We provide merger and acquisition advisory and business valuation services to middle-market companies. Our typical clients are profitable, established businesses with revenue between $10 million and $200 million.

In terms of seller clients, they tend to be either looking to sell 100% of their business to a strategic buyer, as was the case with American Appraisal’s sale to Duff & Phelps, or sell a majority interest to a private equity group and retain a minority interest in the company going forward. In either case, finding the right buyer for each seller’s unique circumstances is critically important to achieving a successful transaction.

In order to achieve a successful transaction, we put a tremendous amount of effort and focus on matching our seller clients with the best buyers, which sometimes requires a global reach. In 2014, for example, we ran a very successful sale process for Quincy Street, Inc., a Michigan-based processor of ham and other pork products, which resulted in 100% of the company being sold to a U.S. subsidiary of Mitsubishi Corporation, which was already in Quinch Street’s supply chain.

As for our business valuation practice, we provide various types of financial options. These include fairness opinions, solvency opinions, and opinions as the fair market value of a company’s common stock. We also provide valuation for other equity interests such as stock options and profits interest, which are increasingly used by private equity groups to incentivize the management of their portfolio companies.

What separates us from our competitors is our deep knowledge of private company capital markets and valuations. We also differentiate with our senior team members’ experienc at larger firms prior to co-founding Emory & Co. in 1999. John Emory Sr. and F. R. Dengel, two of the firm’s co-founders, came from the investment banking department at Rober W. Baird & Co., a global investment banking firm headquartered in Milwaukee. Personally, I came from Michael Best & Friedrich LLP, a large corporate law firm, where I focused on merger and acquisition transactions as an attorney.

Going forward, the future looks bright for our firm. We have a robust pipeline of seller clients, for whom we are running competitive sale processes to strategic buyers and private equity groups, and we also have a full stable of business valuation clients, many of whose common stock we appraise annually. The strengthening U.S. economy, record corporate profits, and  public stock market prices have combined to make it a “seller’s market” for U.S. business owners, and are good for us
at Emory & Co.

About Emory & Co.

Emory & Co., is an investment banking firm based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, providing merger and acquisition advisory and business valuation services for middle-market companies. Emory & Co. provides clients with senior-level attention, in-depth industry expertise and integrated resources. By being focused and independent, Emory & Co. serves its clients without conflicts of interest.

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