On Jan. 18, Kodachrome officially died. This happened when Dwayne’s Photo, the last developer of the once popular mass-marketed color film manufactured by Eastman-Kodak Co., ceased processing Kodachrome film. That is but on example of a once-booming industry that simply ran its course. Be it buggy whips, typewriters or VCRs, this is simply a case… Read more »
By now we know the story all too well. Sixteen strangers debark onto a jungle island and are told they must work together to survive. While they pretend they’re on the same team, from the start they scheme to position themselves to outlast the other contestants, because at the end of the day they know… Read more »
Often an improving economy and renewed growth put more stress on corporate balance sheets than the recession itself. During a business decline, liquidity is generated through the impact of lower sales which leads to lower receivables outstanding, and a net generation of cash (after some lag). Similarly, as inventories are worked off, the need for… Read more »
“When you come to a fork in the road, take it.” That nonsensical advice has been attributed to Yogi Berra, the famed New York Yankees catcher of yore. Whether Yogi ever said that is questionable. But the nearly 1,400 large lube and fuel jobbers in the U.S. are indeed approaching a fork in the road… Read more »
(The characters in this story are fictional, but unfortunately, the experience described below is all too real.) For more than twenty years, Al Rodriguez lived the American Dream. Recently, his dream became a nightmare. Al and his family had immigrated as political refugees to the United States from Nicaragua in the early 1980’s following the… Read more »
London Stock Exchange’s Alternative Investment Market (AIM) has been around since 1995, but until a couple of years ago virtually was unknown in the US. Now, AIM is beginning to attract serious attention from US companies, with a record number of American firms considering as an alternative the AIM market as a means of raising… Read more »
Most corporate executives fully understand the “strategic planning” process that projects the enterprise’s corporate objectives and initiatives over a five to seven year period. Many corporate management teams employ a strategic planning firm to facilitate the planning process which levels the playing field and results in the most objective and targeted strategic plan. Corporate owners… Read more »
Virtually unknown in the US until a couple of years ago, the Alternative Investment Market (AIM), the junior market of the London Stock Exchange, is starting to attract serious attention from US companies looking to raise capital. As of year-end 2005, about 1,400 companies were listed on AIM. Of these, 220 were non-UK companies from… Read more »
By G. Stanley Cutter, Partner, FOCUS Enterprises, Inc. Many business owners mistakenly assume that they will receive the “value” of their firm in cash as proceeds during a sale. This expectation is further compounded if the business owner has received a formal valuation from a valuation professional. While any experienced M&A professional can cite numerous… Read more »
Many investment bankers believe that buy side M&A transactions are more diffi cult than those on the sell side and that such projects have a substantially lower probability of closing. Therefore, they avoid these engagements altogether. While their concern is warranted in many situations, it arises from problems that, while understandable, can be addressed and… Read more »