Keiter Advisors Formed After Combining Two Affiliates
Posted on November 29, 2018
Keiter Advisors Announced
We are pleased to announce the combination of Keiter Stephens Advisors, a Foodservice Distribution Specialist, with Keiter Transaction Advisors, an investment banking firm launched in 2017. The combined group is called Keiter Advisors and an affiliate of Keiter.
The combined group will focus on mergers and acquisitions for lower middle-market companies with revenues between $20 and $200 million. Keiter Advisors brings together a team of senior professionals who have closed over 100 lower middle-market M&A transactions located nationwide and across a variety of industries including food service distribution, specialty chemicals, healthcare, wireless communications, and traditional media.
Additionally, Carroll Hurst, a founding Partner of Keiter and head of the firm’s Mergers & Acquisitions team, will become a Director of both Keiter and Keiter Advisors on January 1, 2019. In this dual role, Hurst will continue to provide tax consulting, strategic planning and business consulting services to clients of Keiter. He will also provide financial advisory and investment banking services to clients of Keiter Advisors.
“This is an extremely exciting next step for our M&A team,” said Carroll Hurst. “For the first time in our firm’s history, we will be housing all of our M&A expertise under one roof. This includes consolidating Keiter Stephens Advisors, our foodservice finance and M&A division, with Keiter Advisors. This will ensure new opportunities and greater access to talent for all our clients.”
Keiter Advisors will offer middle-market companies a host of services including: advising clients through the sale of a company, acquisition targeting, capital raises, shareholder valuation options and strategic planning.
The team at Keiter Advisors has over 90 years of combined experience working with companies on M&A transactions and financings.
Keiter Advisors Team Members
Carroll Hurst: Carroll has over 35 years of M&A experience including valuation, interaction with investment banking firms and law firms during all stages of negotiations, structuring transactions, tax planning and modeling of after-tax cash flows from various transaction structures, due diligence assistance, and negotiation of various terms of the transaction. Carroll also regularly advises clients on the terms and funding sources for debt and equity placements;
Matthew Austin: Matt has over 15 years of experience helping clients through strategic business changes. Before joining Keiter Advisors, Matt worked for BB&T Capital Markets, focusing primarily on mergers & acquisitions; private equity firm, Virginia Capital Partners, LLC; and NewMarket Corporation where he led the Analytics and Financial Planning & Analysis team for the business units, the supply team, the research & development team and the North & Latin America sales regions;
Jim McGrath: Jim has 20 years of corporate finance experience advising middle market companies and private equity groups, including broad experience in mergers and acquisitions, private equity and debt financings. His transaction experience spans business services, industrials, and technology. Prior to joining Keiter, Jim held senior positions with KPMG Corporate Finance, LLC, an international middle market-focused investment bank, and Ewing Bemiss & Co., a boutique investment banking firm. He also has a J.D. and was a corporate/M&A lawyer at Hogan & Lovells LLP and Hunton & Williams, both global firms, before his corporate finance career.
Bill Beattie: Over the past 16 years Bill has assisted the owners of over 120 broadline foodservice, produce and protein distribution companies across 35 states on a wide range of financial, profitability and planning initiatives. Since launching Keiter Stephens Advisors 14 years ago, the group has closed 37 transactions in this sector, far more than any other industry M&A group. He has presented at numerous national industry forums and published a range of articles on M&A and planning issues. Bill’s foodservice distribution expertise is backed by three decades of management and operations experience across a range of industries. He has a proven track record as a business owner, senior executive in both public- and privately-held companies as well as advising family owned and closely held businesses.
Scott Zickefoose, CPA, CM&AA: Scott has over eight years of experience with both buy- and sell-side transactions. His experience also includes single and multi-state corporate and flow-through tax planning and compliance, corporate tax provisions, and individual income taxation. He has worked with both large and mid-market clients in the real estate, construction, and manufacturing industries, as well as with private equity firms and emerging businesses. Scott’s experience with deal tax structuring will add significant insights into the Keiter Advisors client process, an area of differentiation from most investment banks.
Additional Resources:
“Keiter Announces Combination of Two Groups to Form Keiter Advisors”
About Keiter Advisors
Keiter Advisors is an investment banking firm serving family-held and entrepreneur-led companies in the middle market. Our focus is on providing sell-side advisory, acquisition advisory, and capital-raising services. Our professionals completed more than 100 transactions, and have extensive transaction experience in foodservice distribution, the food supply chain, business services, healthcare, industrials, and technology. In addition to our investment banking capabilities, we are backed by the knowledge and resources of Keiter, a leading Richmond public accounting and advisory firm.