Private Equity Acquisition

Aerison had been through many changes: five owners; three name changes; with each resulting in management and senior staff changes. Despite all this, Aerison had secured a unique position in the engineering market. This was achieved by the determination of the team in executing a strategy developed using the InflectionPoint approach just a few years earlier while still part of an international group listed in Canada.

The latest change was a spin out resulting from a hostile takeover attempt of the group. The due diligence conducted had resulted in this business being considered “non-core” to the group and hence, being sold to a New York based private equity house.

The investment executives from the private equity house commented positively on the quality and level of strategic planning implemented earlier with InflectionPoint. They were assured by the use a sophisticated yet pragmatic strategic process to drive the business forward. Consequently, InflectionPoint was reengaged to help chart a new direction with the investment executives participating in the process as well.

With the investment executives present, some tough stretch goals were set for the year with a strategy to achieve them. An added benefit of using the InflectionPoint approach was that it enabled the investment executives to see first hand what they had acquired in a different light as only so much can be seen through spreadsheets and financial analyses. This increased their confidence in the ability of the executive team, the direction it set, and the determination to execute. As a further bonus, working through the InflectionPoint approach with the executive team, further acquisition targets were identified for the private equity house to consider.

These goals were subsequently achieved with the team even exceeding the revenue target by increasing market share of existing product and service offerings at a rate of over 28% annually.