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From the Editor
2014 is continuing to be a very strong year for green industry mergers & acquisitions. We are seeing a broad range of transactins in many regions of the country and accross industry segments. We are also continuing to see private equity exploring opportunities in the green industry. Without any unforeseen developments (which are, of course, possible, this will be the strongest market in the past eight years. With both buyers and sellers emergng,it is a good time to explore possible transactions.
As always, if you are interested in buying or selling a green industry business, ready to begin exit planning or considering an exit strategy, we would welcome the opportunity to discuss your situation.
 
Ron Edmonds
[email protected]
901-351-1510
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Recent Transactions
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Here is our monthly recap of recent merger & acquisition transactions in the green industry:
Merit Service Solutions has acquired Austin-based SunTerra Landscape Services
More information
Ruppert Landscape has acquired A R Star Services in Maryland
More information
Davey Tree has acquired Wetland Studies and Solutions
More information
Noon Turf Care has acquired the lawn care division of Driven Landscape in Norfolk County, Massachusetts
More information
Connecticut’s Country Tree has merged with SavATree and SavALawn
More information
Arizona’s Paramount Landscape has been acquired by a privarte investor
More information
Davey Tree has acquired Cortese Tree Specialists in Knoxville
More information
If you know of green industry business sales or mergers & acquisitions that should be reported here, please contact us.
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What Are You Doing Next?
Here’s What One Landscape Services Client Did After He Sold His Business
 We always ask our prospective business sale clients what they are planning to do after they sell their business. If they have a really hard time answering that question, we know they might possibly not be ready to sell.We always enjoy following what our clients who sell but aren’t ready to retire do for an encore performance. We are going to begin telling some of their stories here in this bnlog.
One story playing out right now is Dave Dworsky, who sold his landscape services business in the Los Angeles area to The Brickman Group nearly three years ago.
Dave has also been named CEO of HeatWurx, the equipment manufacturer that supplies Dr. Pave with infrared equipment.
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First Steps – Understanding the Value of Your Business
With the market becoming more robust, many business owners are beginning to think about selling their businesses or, at a minimum, beginning to think about their exit or transition strategies. Business owners often ask what there first step should be when considering their options.
One of the most important first steps is to understand the value of your business. Unless they have consulted a professional, most business owners do not have a clear view of the value of their business. They may have heard about other business sales that may seem similar to their own business and assume that their value would be similar. “Rules of thumb” of valuation are commonly quoted, but are not very meaningful in most cases, particularly ones that are based on revenue instead of profitability and cash flow. If you are ready to understand the valkue of the business, Principium offers a cost-effective service, the market value assessment which can provide you with an estimate of the market value of your business, along with the factors that most affect your business value and recommendations for steps you can take to improve the value of your business.
For more information, click here or contact us.
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Opportunities for Business Sellers and Business Buyers
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For a list of markets with opportunities for business sellers, click here. The primary focus is commercial maintenance, but some design-build may be acceptable. There are also opportunities for lawn care businesses in many markets.
For a list of opportuntiies for business buyers, click here. This list represents a portion of the projects we are working on which may be if interest.
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Short Takes
Employee Stock Ownership Plans
Ron Edmonds is quoted in an article entitled “Ownership Pride” by Sarah Pfedderer in the April issue of Landscape Management. The article addresses the use of Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs)in the green industry. In some circumstances, ESOPs represent an excellent tool to use in connection with exit strategies.
Contact us if you would like to discuss how an ESOP may apply in your situation.
Report: 2004 Small Business Sales Start Strong in 2014
BizBuySell, the internet business for sale marketplace has released its insight report for the first quarter of 2014. Ths report, as expected, shows the business-for-sale market has started the year strong with closed transactions increasing 4.8% over the fourth quarter of 2013.
Read more
Book Ron Edmonds for Your Meeting
Contact us for information about booking Ron Edmonds to speak to your industry group or company meeting on green industry acquisition strategies, exit planning and similar topics.
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Latest Data from The Sellability Score
Once per quarter, the team at the Sellability Score analyzes the data from all Sellability Score surveys completed and prepares a report analyzing trends in sellability – offers received, valuation, etc. They’ve just released the results for the first quarter of 2014. Click here to view a video presentation of the data, hosted by John Warrilow, author of Built to Sell and founder of The Sellability Score.
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The Sellability Score is a quantitative tool designed to analyze how sellable your business is.
After completing an online questionnaire, you will immediately receive a Sellability Score based on a 100 point scale along with instructions for interpreting your results. We will send you the full report along with a guide for interpreting the Sellability Score in the Green Industry.
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The Principium Group provides advisory services related to mergers & acquisitions, exit planning and capital strategies to a variety of middle market and small businesses, with a focus on the green industry. Our professionals have assisted business owners in hundreds of transactions.
For buyers, Principium provides assistance and counsel in strategic planning, identifying potential acquisition targets, due diligence and planning for successful integration of acquisitions.
For sellers, Principium provides assistance and counsel in evaluating strategic alternatives, identifying and negotiating with potential acquirers and assisting with transactions from due diligence through the closing process.
In order to provide the highest quality service, we maintain relationships with other professionals serving the green industry and can access those professionals to supplement our internal resources. No matter how large or small your business may be, we have the resources to serve you well.
We understand that the decision to buy or sell your business is a profound one, and we pledge to work with you in a professional and confidential manner while we help you navigate this often confusing process.
Whether you have immediate plans to buy or sell a business or may sometime in the future as part of an exit planning strategy, we would welcome the opportunity to talk with you about your business.
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The information included in this newsletter is derived from publicly available sources. Our intent is to give a perspective on the industry taken as a whole. The inclusion of a transaction in this newsletter does not imply that The Principium Group acted as an advisor to either of the parties to the transaction. It is the policy of The Principium Group always to maintain the confidentiality of its client relationships. For those transactions in which The Principium Group did play a role, the information included herein is still limited to that available through public sources.
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