Commentary

This time of year, our thoughts often turn to graduations.  Most likely we have children  or friends’ children graduating.  If not, we still hear reports of commencement addresses given by a wide array of public figures.  This year, I have been thinking about the word graduate a good bit.  I decided to look at the definition, beyond the obvious ones.  One I liked was “to temper or change by degrees,”  as in from one thing to something else.   I believe this is actually a reference to alchemy. Graduation is an important step for students as they move from one level … Read more

Every day, it happens to somebody in the green industry.  Events dictate that they must leave a business that they have owned, either individually or as a part of some form of partnership.  The reasons range from critical ones, such as illness, disability, divorce or other family matters, to a desire for a change of vocation or location.  Oftentimes, it may be triggered by the simple fact that partners, for whatever reasons, don’t want to be partners anymore. Everyone has stories about partnerships they were either a part of or know about that didn’t work out.  At least I know … Read more

I think it is time to weigh in on Obamacare and its impact on the small business merger & acquisition market.  Yesterday, I stirred up a bit of a hornet’s nest by posting a link to an article from Inc. magazine entitled “Six Ways Obamacare is Good For Your Business.”  Apparently, not very many people are buying that. So I asked myself, what real impact will Obamacare have on the small business M&A market?  I have mostly viewed it as one of the elements of uncertainty that have been a downer for a while, in between fiscal cliffs, sequesters, debt … Read more

Every January, we offer our thoughts on key trends that will affect merger & acquisition activity within the green industry during the coming year.  Here are our predictions for 2013: General Industry Conditions Growth will begin to accelerate in the industry- in both the commercial and residential sectors, particularly as housing starts improve, but growth rates will still be modest.  Price competition will remain intense, especially in commercial maintenance.  Specialty sectors, such as water features, will remain slow. Mergers & Acquisitions Valuations will remain restrained with most buyers exercising considerable discipline.  Large industry players will return to the acquisition marketplace, … Read more