Economy
October 2, 2018
When's the Right Time to Sell? At the Top of Your Game, Say ASD Presenters
Written by Sandy Williams
In the cyclic environment of the steel industry, the best time to sell your company is when you are at the top of your game, said Vincent Pappalardo and Justin Wolfort of advisory firm Brown, Gibbons Lang & Co. Addressing service center executives at the Association of Steel Distributors regional meeting last week in Cleveland, the pair offered advice on how to prepare a company for a merger or acquisition.
Pappalardo and Wolfort laid out a strategy that focuses on M&A and private capital investments in middle market manufacturing. Private equity buyers are flush with cash in the current economy and closed over 4,000 deals representing $600 billion of deal value in 2017, they reported. In 2018, the metals industry outlook is positive but challenging. Industry-supportive initiatives by the Trump administration such as infrastructure spending and import protection will help keep steel prices healthy over the next five years, but the industry will also face commodity price volatility, a strong U.S. dollar and rising interest rates.
