Press Files

From VA Newswire - 11/17/04

From Beginning to End

To entrepreneurs accustomed to building businesses, selling one presents special challenges. Alpha Omega Capital Partners manages the process for them from start to finish.

Ron Horn could see the writing on the wall. He had built his company, Performance Group Inc., into a $4.7 million-a-year enterprise by deploying Geographic Information Systems to help U.S. Army bases map and manage their utilities and environmental programs. The Fredericksburg company was solidly profitable, had a strong technical team and didn't spend a dime on marketing – he picked up business through word of mouth that led to sole-source contracts.

But last year it was obvious that the market was changing. GIS technology was going mainstream; competition was heating up. The Department of Defense was bundling its GIS needs into larger contracts, forcing Performance Group to bid for business from the big government contracting companies. Horn, 58, knew it was time to sell. "Our technology was at its prime. There was a market for the company."

Horn had loads of experience developing a business, but he had none in selling one. So he engaged Alpha Omega Capital Partners, a Richmond investment banking firm that specializes in selling privately held businesses in the $1 million to $50 million range. Horn was gratified by the result. Not only did he get what he considered a fair price, he is confident the buyer will take good care of his employees – a prime consideration in the transaction. "We had about 40 people," he says. "I wanted someone who would take care of the folks."

Many small business owners find themselves in situations similar to Horn's. They've built their business from the ground up and, for one reason or another, they've concluded it's time to sell. But they don't have a clear exit strategy, they don't know how much their business is worth, and they don't know how to go about selling it.

Alpha Omega has staked out a position in the Mid-Atlantic marketplace as a company that helps with all those things. Its four partners – Anthony M. Vincent, George W. Sydnor, Robert H. Mitchell and Robert P. Louthan – collectively have decades of experience in small business operations and finance. They have sold or recapitalized dozens of companies across a wide range of industries. There's a lot of up-front work before Alpha Omega puts a company on the market, explains Vincent, the senior managing partner. The first order of business is to clarify the owner's goals and define an appropriate exit strategy.

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