Trusted Advisor and Partner

Feasibility
Assessment

This analysis compares the sale of a minority or majority equity stake to an ESOP with alternative ownership transition strategies and creates a road map to an optimal corporate structure. It includes an estimated valuation range, projected cash at closing, and estimated after-tax proceeds to shareholders under different operating scenarios.

ESOP
Advisory

We excel at guiding our clients at every step of the ESOP sale and financing process – from analysis and structuring, through capital raising and negotiating, to transaction closing. Our expertise includes newly-created ESOPs, second-stage transactions, and redemptions.

M&A
Advisory

Our professionals are experts at mergers, acquisitions, management buyouts, and divestitures. We are also uniquely qualified to run a parallel M&A and ESOP process in order to determine the best option available to our clients.

Capital
Raising

We use our established relationships with debt and equity providers to raise capital to support refinancings, recapitalizations, ESOP transactions, mergers and acquisitions, management buyouts, and growth capital initiatives.

BLUE HIPPO ESOP LITE

($3MM or below in adjusted EBITDA)

The Blue Hippo team developed a platform that caters to those companies that fall below the $5MM EBITDA full-service threshold and is looking for a cost-effective, limited touch ESOP transaction.

Services We Provide

  1. We will provide an estimated value range and optimal structure
  2. We will raise the financing and negotiate the bank term sheets to support the ESOP transaction (cash at closing to selling shareholders).
  3. The Blue Hippo team will recommend the ESOP professionals tailored around the specifics of the company and shareholders' needs. The professionals will include company counsel, list of trustee candidates and any other special Advisors needed to assist in the transaction
  4. The process begins with an introductory conference call with the client to discuss process, timeline, and expectations. Subsequent calls will be arranged to discuss the bank term sheets and recommend a bank. We will also have a valuation call to discuss the negotiations with the trustee and a closing call.
  5. Our goal is to reach clients that are seeking a lower cost, low touch ESOP alternative to our full-service ESOP model. Please note that in order to make this feasible, we will limit our client interaction to the touchpoints indicated above. Any additional meeting requests or calls will be billed at an hourly rate. The Blue Hippo ESOP lite app will be available shortly.

ORANGE HIPPO COMMERCIAL BANK FINANCING

(minimum $3MM adjusted EBITDA, non ESOP clients)

Orange Hippo is a sister company to Blue Hippo and its sole purpose is to arrange for commercial lines of credit and owner-occupied commercial mortgages for middle-market companies (minimum $3MM EBITDA, non ESOP clients). The model is designed to give clients a full capital raising process with 25 plus banks rather than the two or three banks that we see as typical in the marketplace. In order to get a true gauge of pricing and optimal terms and conditions, the capital raise must go to a broad range of banks. The Orange Hippo team will send an executive summary outlining the credit request to its commercial banking network and negotiate all of the term sheets. We will recommend a bank.

Services We Provide

  1. The Orange Hippo team will put together an executive summary for the bank that covers the financial history, outlook, company description and credit request.
  2. All of the financial statements will be uploaded to our Orange Hippo App and sent directly to our network of banks.
  3. We will arrange for conference calls with all of the banks to discuss terms and timeline.
  4. We will negotiate the term sheets with all of the interested lenders.
  5. The Orange Hippo team will arrange for a client meeting to discuss all of the term sheets and recommend a bank or banks.
  6. The fees will be all success-driven and paid at closing to align our interests with the client. Fees will be based on a percentage of the credit facility.

The Orange Hippo app is designed to revolutionize the way middle market companies seek financing for the banks. The capital raise must cover a broad range of banks and financial institutions in order to achieve optimal terms for the company. The app will be out shortly. Please contact Eobrien@BlueHippoESOP.com if you have any questions.

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