12 Acquisition International - M&A Awards 2017 Best Sell & Buy-Side Advisory - USA SDR Ventures Prior to forming SDR in 2002, Founders, Chris Bouck and Andy Limes, developed the heart and mindset of entrepreneurs as owners of private middle- market companies themselves. After growing and achieving successful exits as operators, both Chris and Andy reflected on their own use of investment banking services and concluded that business owners deserved a better solution-set and service model. They combined their strengths and expertise to form SDR Ventures, a North America-focused investment bank for the private middle market aimed at leveraging deep industry knowledge and connections, along with breadth of execution ability. SDR’s goal was, and still remains today, to provide the same caliber of experience, expertise and resources as large national middle-market banks, with the personal touch, effort and attention that clients enjoy at regional and niche banks. Travis explains how the firm has grown since inception and how it remains committed to excellence. “Here at SDR, we help companies across 10 industries with growth equity raises, private debt origination and both buy and sell-side M&A advisory. SDR’s primary industry focus areas are: agriculture, consumer products, tech-enabled business services and industrials. Our initial base of two founders has expanded to a team of 19 that includes a well-balanced mix of former operators, bulge bracket investment bankers, CPAs and consultants. Our culture and approach to our market differ greatly from most investment banks, and it all starts with our team concept. We maintain depth of industry-specific expertise and relationships and provide thought leadership that drives our research, reporting and forecasting by industry. Both junior and senior bankers contribute to every SDR transaction, ensuring that our clients’ needs are met and that their desires are exceeded. Our culture is a reflection of this approach, with both successes and failures shared collectively by the team. With every team member taking ownership in each transaction and relationship, our clients know we will go the extra mile.” “Over the years we have built up a wide-reaching network and strong relationships that have positioned us as thought leaders and transaction experts in numerous industries. The SDR team SDR Ventures’ services are custom tailored to meet the diverse needs of high growth, private middle-market companies. We invited Travis Conway to tell us more about the firm and the services it provides. MA170021 regularly meets with 100s of agribusiness, food & beverage and pet industry business owners and senior executives, and we contribute regularly to trade publications including: Beverage World, Food Dive, EBN, DC Velocity, EnterpriseTech, The MHEDA Journal and Petfood Industry. We’ve also been quoted in numerous M&A and financial- focused publications including: Mergermarket, Axial, M&A Source, The Deal, On Wall Street, Financial Planning, Forbes and CNBC.com .” Although SDR is incredibly proud of its success in this awards programme, Travis is keen to emphasise that it is the ongoing support and gratitude of its customers the firm prides itself on. “Fundamentally, client recognition is the very highest level of praise a firm such as ours can receive. One client of ours, a pharmacy benefit management and healthcare IT company, engaged with SDR over a ten-year period. During that time, SDR Ventures helped the company complete four financings, three strategic acquisitions and two shareholder recaps, before engaging SDR for the ultimate sale of the company. Over the same timeframe, the company’s revenue increased by more than ten times and its employee count increased by nearly 15 times.” “As a long-term advocate for the client, we are proud of the company’s growth story and the role we were able to play in that success. The eventual shareholder exit was simply the culmination of a relationship that began many years earlier. When a client re-engages us or recommends us to another business owner, this is the best praise we can receive. We have been fortunate to have incredible clients over the past 15 years. We have helped form hundreds of millions of dollars of private capital to facilitate growth through acquisitions, expansion of products and services and new geographies; we have sourced, structured, negotiated and closed acquisitions for dozens of buy-side clients; and, we have helped our clients realize nearly $1 billion of liquidity by helping them maximize value in the exit stage.” Looking ahead, SDR will continue to grow and prosper as it looks towards a bright and exciting future, as Travis proudly concludes. “In 2017, we will complete our 100th transaction, but we want to make an even larger impact on the underserved private middle market. As better information and education trickles into this market, entrepreneurs are seeking exceptional investment banking teams and services. We are there to meet them with unmatched commitment, competence and connectedness to maximize and realize value.” “With every team member taking ownership in each transaction and relationship, our clients knowwe will go the extramile .” Company: SDR Ventures Contact: Travis Conway Contact Email:
[email protected] Address: 5613 DTC Parkway, Suite 830, Greenwood Village, CO 80111, USA Phone: 17202219220 Web Address: sdrventures.com