The Destination for Entrepreneurs®
Over time, our success will be measured by the success of the entrepreneur and the enduring legacy that is created together.
Excellere was created around the aspirations of the entrepreneur and the needs of the emerging company. To support this vision, we have built a culture that is as passionate about the entrepreneur’s success as our own; we provide value-added capabilities that have exponentially more potential to create value than capital; and we view our management teams as our customers, delivering exceptional service to our portfolio companies.
At the intersection of our culture, core values, and investment strategy are our guiding investment principles. These principles are the foundation of the partnership we forge with the business owners and leaders of our portfolio companies to create companies that are admired by competitors and customers alike.
Shared Vision
Developing a shared vision is vital to achieving enduring success.
Customer Focus
Nothing is more important than building value in the eyes of the customer.
Alignment
Providing significant equity upside for managers and employees creates greater alignment and, in turn, motivation.
Service
Excellere strives to provide management with the resources to achieve their full potential and succeed.
Excellence
We will strive together to achieve operational excellence and maximize shareholder value.
Creating True Partnerships
Excellere believes that enduring success is created when a transaction becomes a true partnership.
If you are a successful entrepreneur and considering a recapitalization transaction, selecting the right investor is an extremely important decision.
When the time is right for you to consider an outside financial partner to lead a recapitalization transaction, how do you choose the right one? Below are five questions that you should consider as part of your decision making process.
By considering these questions, you will more likely find the right partner that best satisfies your personal and financial goals.
Value-added Capabilities
Excellere provides its entrepreneurs and managerial partners with proven resources and tools that are practical and enhance the business’ infrastructure, scalability and growth potential.
We confront the challenges of managing a rapidly growing business. Excellere’s proprietary capabilities were assembled to help managers confront these challenges while maintaining the aggressive pursuit of their strategic vision.
Project Expert Network
A proprietary network of technical experts who complete various initiatives at the direction of portfolio company management. More »
Value Creation Process
A living library of tools and methodologies that documents successful value creation techniques, and provides a roadmap for successful execution. More »
Industry Focus and Expertise
Excellere focuses on a select group of industries, ensuring that we are a knowledgeable and additive partner, not just a passive investor.
Excellere begins its industry selection process by identifying sectors that exhibit extraordinary growth from favorable macro-economic and demographic trends and will benefit from consolidation through Excellere’s buy-and-build investment strategy.
Combined with the firm’s significant investment experience, Excellere diligently and systematically researches possible industry segments, reaching across a vast network of relationships and participating in industry events.
This provides four primary benefits:
Certainty
Our historical experience and deep industry knowledge significantly reduces false starts and uncertainty during a transaction.
Agility
Emerging businesses must be agile. An informed partner like Excellere creates opportunities to develop a thoughtful shared vision for the business while preserving the organization’s entrepreneurial spirit.
Consistency
Excellere also provides a greater sense of perspective and balance as the company encounters challenges and attempts to exploit opportunities. A knowledgeable business partner such as Excellere empowers collaborative decision making and communication.
Value-Added
As an investment firm focused on a select group of industries, Excellere understands the business and, therefore, can be more value-added and supportive.
Focus Industries
Recapitalization
Excellere understands the unique challenges entrepreneurs face when your tolerance for risk declines and you contemplate the future of your business.
As the owner of a highly profitable and growing business, you are a successful entrepreneur. For a variety of professional and personal reasons you may be considering your liquidity options. Choosing the best option will likely be the most important financial decision you ever make – especially since you may encounter this opportunity only once.
So how do you access the value in your business without compromising your personal, business, and strategic goals? Conventional options for owners include:
Selling the Business Outright
Selling to a competitor, strategic buyer, or financial buyer provides immediate liquidity. An outright sale, however, may not address all of your personal objectives if you are not ready to retire, if you want to participate in maximizing the potential growth of your business, and if you want to reward your senior management team and key employees. Further, your concern for the future well-being of your management team and employees may not be adequately addressed.
Taking the Company Public
An initial public offering (“IPO”) potentially provides a high market valuation and capital to grow. Small cap, publicly held companies however, that have no sell–side analyst coverage or market makers make it more difficult to achieve liquidity and maximum value.
Employee Stock Ownership Plan (“ESOP”)
An ESOP allows owners to gain some liquidity and provides potential tax benefits. It involves additional debt, guarantees, and administration costs. It also may limit the ultimate growth of the business, and leave management transition issues unresolved as well as a structure that is difficult to reverse.
Excellere Recapitalization Structure
Another option is a recapitalization transaction with Excellere. We believe a recapitalization transaction may offer “the best of all worlds” as you consider the future of your business.
A Recapitalization (“Recap”) is a hybrid transaction in which a private company sells a majority or minority interest to a private equity investor such as Excellere. In a Recap, the entrepreneur receives substantial cash, retains significant ownership and typically remains an active leader in the business.
By investing equity and arranging the necessary financing, Excellere facilitates the Recap so that management continues running the business. As the financial partner, Excellere supports the business, significantly enhancing the company’s growth potential, and providing the security of dedicated capital funding.
For the entrepreneur, one of the greatest source of pride comes from the equity incentive program that is created as part of the recapitalization transaction. At the Recap’s closing, an equity incentive program is established, providing meaningful future ownership to the managers and employees who contributed to the businesses’ growth. This enables the entrepreneur to reward loyalty with ownership potential, and create opportunity for financial wealth for the future leaders of the business.
A recapitalization can be the best of all worlds to an entrepreneur. It offers liquidity, continuity of the culture, capital to realize business goals, and, importantly, significant financial upside for the entrepreneur’s management team.
Recapitalizations offer entrepreneurs continuity, a source of future capital and immediate financial liquidity