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ACG Chicago, Inc. Presents the Annual Mergers and Acquisitions Market Trends Breakfast

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Chicago, IL (PRWEB) January 31, 2014

ACG Chicago is proud to be hosting the annual Market Trends breakfast on Friday, February 7 from 7:30am to 10:30am (including networking time) at the Standard Club in Chicago. Hundreds have attended this classic each year for at least three decades. This year 250-300 will join our elite panel of experts to discuss the 2014 market and the best paths for capitalizing growth.

The 2014 Market Trends panel includes:

Maneesh K. Chawla, Principal, Prospect Partners, LLC
Eric D. Malchow, Managing Director, Lincoln International, LLC
Ryan R. McKenzie, Partner, Arbor Investments
Dennis R. Robleski, Managing Director, BMO Harris Bank, and
Suzanne L. Saxman, Partner, Seyfarth Shaw LLP (Moderator)

Maneesh Chawla is a private equity veteran with 15 years of experience investing in smaller lower-middle-market companies. As a Principal of Prospect Partners, he is involved in all aspects of investment sourcing, execution, and management. Mr. Chawla currently serves on the board of directors of five of the firm’s portfolio companies. Mr. Chawla joined Prospect Partners in 2000 and became a Principal of the Firm in 2004.

Eric Malchow is Co-President North America and Managing Director of Lincoln International. He joined the firm during its founding in 1996 and is a member of the firm’s Management Committee and co-heads the Global Industrial Group. Eric has approximately 20 years of transactional experience focused in middle-market mergers and acquisitions assignments. Eric’s clients include leading private equity groups and publicly-traded corporations. His experience includes advising on the sale and acquisition of companies which are market-leading, overleveraged, distressed or proceeding through the bankruptcy process. His experience also includes advising on numerous cross-border transactions.

Ryan McKenzie joined Arbor in 2000. He is the former owner and Chief Operating Officer of Chicago, Illinois-based ice machine distribution & leasing firms Automatic Ice, Inc. and Icemakers, LLC. Prior to his involvement in the ice business, Mr. McKenzie spent 20 years in senior positions in the commercial banking industry, including senior lender, CIO, Head of Corporate Finance and Director of the Mezzanine Finance Group at American National Bank of Chicago. He is also the former President and COO of Pullman Bank, Chicago, Illinois. For Arbor Fund I, Mr. McKenzie was an Operating Partner and served on the Board of the Pinnacle Equipment Group. Mr. McKenzie serves as a Director of Columbus Manufacturing, Inc., New French Bakery, Inc. and Gold Standard Baking, Inc.

Dennis Robleski is managing director and group head of BMO Harris Bank’s sponsor finance group, where he manages a team of 45 professionals and more than $ 3.5 billion in assets. Prior to joining BMO Harris Bank, Mr. Robleski co-founded and served as managing director of Merrill Lynch Capital’s corporate finance group, which upon its sale had assets of more than $ 5.5 billion. Before joining Merrill Lynch Capital, Mr. Robleski spent 19 years at Heller Financial, where as executive vice president and group head for sponsor finance and private equity investments, he oversaw 85 individuals and more than $ 3 billion of assets. Mr. Robleski also served in origination, underwriting, portfolio management and workout roles in Heller’s Chicago, Atlanta and Dallas offices.

Ms. Saxman is a partner in the Chicago office of Seyfarth Shaw LLP and Chair of Seyfarth’s Mergers & Acquisitions practice group, concentrates her practice in mergers and acquisitions, commercial transactions, and general corporate matters. She advises on the ideal form of organization, business plans, equity and stockholder agreements, commercial transactions, and exit strategies. Ms. Saxman has extensive experience resolving owner disputes and negotiating settlements. Ms. Saxman represents clients in mergers and acquisitions and other business development opportunities such as marketing, distribution and licensing agreements, and joint ventures. She strategizes on the business and legal aspects of negotiating transactions and corporate governance. Ms. Saxman also represents clients on the purchase and sale of distressed assets. She also advises clients on commercial financing matters and negotiates acquisition financing, private debt and equity financing, and venture capital.

The Market Trends event is open for registrations at http://www.acgchicago.com/14markettrends.aspx. Registration prices are $ 45.00 ($ 30.00 for ACG members) through February 3rd. Late registration after February 3rd is $ 60.00 ($ 45.00 for ACG members). You can call 877-224-6389 for more information.







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Walter Parker Group Investment Ideas

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Walter Parker Group is specifically designed to provide value orientated services in the areas of strategic planning, business development, and mergers and acquisitions. We assist our clients in building equity by improving the effectiveness and efficiencies of their organizations.

Legendary investor Warren Buffett, among others, is notorious for telling investors to buy what they know. Basically, Buffett and his enthusiastic followers suggest investing in companies that you really understand or at least know enough about them to be able to explain how they make money – i.e. the company’s business model. Though it’s certainly not without merit, buying what you know is not necessarily an investment strategy that will yield the most investing success. Here we explore some of these limitations and suggest that investors might really be better served by buying what they can learn.

Many new investors will find it difficult to delve into the business models or 10-k statements of publicly traded companies for some obvious reasons, the most important being time and/or lack of knowledge. Not many of us can listen consistently to companies’ earnings calls and even if we could, we might not really appreciate what is being discussed. Truly understanding a company’s balance sheet and overall financial direction requires specialized knowledge that most investors do not immediately possess. There are, however, many online resources that can help shorten the learning curve on gaining knowledge about a company you own or have intentions of buying.

A pitfall in just investing in companies that you are comfortable with is the opportunity cost of not owning companies not as prominent. Most investors know that Exxon Mobil sells gasoline and that Johnson and Johnson make a variety of pharmaceutical and health and beauty products. A valid argument can be made that this companies bring predictability and help mitigate risk in one’s portfolio; however, the fact remains that the biggest gains from stocks typically come from companies in the earlier phases of growth instead of the latter phases.

Typically, big well known companies cannot grow at the pace they did when they first became publicly traded. So then the idea is to learn about these companies before they experience their biggest growth and consequently their most explosive stock price appreciation. Cisco Systems and Microsoft are two of the most recognized technology companies on the planet. Microsoft went public in the ’80s. Back then, not many people really understood “Windows” or “email,” which have become essential and necessary in everyone’s lives. In the early ’90s, who knew what the internet was, much less that it would eventually be used without wires and in conjunction with routers? Cisco systems certainly did, and learning conceptually about this company and pulling the trigger would have earned huge returns on an investment. There are also online sites that help navigate thru some of the most recent companies and potential high growth stocks. No one should go out and invest solely into small, growing companies or recent IPOs, but learning about these companies could make you a more balanced investor.

Another tenet of investing purists is the utmost importance placed on fundamental analysis. Metrics such as forward price-to-earnings ratios, book value, price-to-earnings growth rates and free cash flow are just a few of the many data points used to determine if a stock is worth owning. Most of this analysis is based on assumptions at least one year into the future. Using these metrics, fundamentalists and analysts try to peg a “target” price one year into the future.

Instead of trying to figure out what all this jargon really means, why not look at a picture of what a company has actually done instead of what it is projected to do? A stock’s chart tells you what it is valued at the moment you pull it up. Many stock technicians, those who focus on a stock price intensely, would probably agree with the old adage that a picture is truly worth a thousand words. Investors should consider using technical analysis for companies they do not “know” or really have no time or desire to learn either. Doing some homework and learning basic stock charting trends along with terms such as moving averages, breakout and candlesticks can open new doors to stock analysis. (To learn more, check out our Technical Analysis Tutorial.)

Walter Parker Group Summary

Buying what you know is certainly relevant, practical investing advice. However, only buying what you know introduces risk to your portfolio: Many of the biggest returns will be made from companies you have never heard of and do NOT understand. Investors may be wise to invest in companies that they can learn about instead of sticking only with the tried and true of what they supposedly “know.”

Exploring alternative approaches such as learning basic technical analysis and following recent IPOs will help broaden investors’ horizons. by Stephan Abraham

Walter Parker Group is a specialty merger and acquisitions advisory firm providing unmatched expertise to companies seeking guidance in confidential merger and acquisition transactions, business valuations, financing, asset divestitures, joint ventures and equity investments. Our professionals have extensive operational experience, in a variety of industries, in the execution of mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures and transaction advisory to private and publicly held companies.

Walter Parker Group is a specialty merger and acquisitions advisory firm providing unmatched expertise to companies seeking guidance in confidential merger and acquisition transactions, business valuations, financing, asset divestitures, joint ventures and equity investments. Our professionals have extensive operational experience, in a variety of industries, in the execution of mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures and transaction advisory to private and publicly held companies.