Shoreline Partners works with, and supports, our clients' trusted advisors - accountants, attorneys, and financial and investment advisors. In fact, they often find that we rely on them for information and services to support the transactions we manage. We also work closely with lenders and even investment bankers, always to our mutual clients' benefit. Because our success consists of successful transactions, we understand that our alliances with professional advisors are sacred.
- Accountants
We advise clients on building value in anticipation of an equity transaction up to five years in the future. Our prescription often includes action items that require additional professional services and management accounting by clients' accountants. The ongoing process allows accountants to bring us in from time to time to review strategy, update the merger-and-acquisition landscape and advise on next steps. This often creates a need for ongoing services and consulting by clients' accountants. Finally, Shoreline normally doesn't charge clients for its time if a transaction engagement is anticipated. This avoids any perception of "double-billing" for value-building advice, counsel and services.
- Attorneys
Shoreline Partners helps attorneys protect their clients from selling their businesses below true market value by providing the packaging and marketing to attract multiple buyers. We do this in a confidential, competitive environment. If introduced into the process early on, we can identify the legal preparations needed to facilitate a smooth transition. These are services that are not typically provided on a day-to-day basis. Working with clients' attorneys, we can help assure that transactions don't fall apart during due diligence. Environmental issues, for example, can quickly scuttle a deal if not uncovered prior to due diligence. Additionally, in working with clients' attorneys, we can help assure that all intellectual properties, trademarks and trade secrets are documented, thus increasing client companies' valuations.
- Financial and Investment Advisors
In our experience, many clients of financial and investment advisors are business owners. As such, the value of their companies is likely to be an unacceptable concentration of clients' investment portfolios. Shoreline Partners can help diversify portfolios by selling all or part of their companies. In selling part or all of a company we, in effect, help get more assets under professional management where they are more likely to grow. Likewise, business owners may feel a desire to take some money off the table and reduce their investment risk by selling part or all of their companies. In managing transactions, Shoreline often identifies insurance products such as warranties and representations, COLLARs for stabilizing public stock payments and other vehicles needed for clients' benefit. This can create additional opportunities for advisors offering these products. We work closely with financial advisors and review deal structures to make sure they are in line with existing financial plans and to assure a smooth hand-off of transaction proceeds.
- Lenders
Shoreline Partners can become a source for additional capital for lenders' clients. We are eminently capable of identifying and securing capital that is greater than balance sheet strength might warrant. We can recapitalize companies through strategic investor opportunities in order to pursue timely opportunities for growth. Our excellent relationships with a variety of investment funds seeking out privately held business provides opportunities for those companies. This is one way we can provide sources of additional capital.
- Investment Bankers
Shoreline Partners works with investment bankers who provide services that are complimentary to ours. For example, we do not handle public transactions where there is a broker-dealer need. Shoreline is not a securities dealer. We often encounter client situations where a broker-dealer is needed to complete transactions. Alliances with investment bankers allow us to facilitate a broader variety of processes with qualified professionals doing what they do best. Additionally, we work with investment bankers on transactions that do not meet their stand-alone minimums.