WESTAR CAPITAL'S  ROLE

The purchase or sale of a company is a new experience for most executives and business owners and the process can be complex and difficult.  Westar is a valuable resource for buyers and sellers in bringing the transaction to a successful completion.

Any interested party can contact Westar regarding the purchase or sale of a company.  We welcome calls from managers interested in buying, owners considering selling and intermediaries or others with referrals or acquisition ideas.  We also partner with executives and consultants to search for acquisitions in targeting industries.  However, Westar does not consider investments in hostile or unfriendly takeover situations.

Westar is typically the lead investor in our acquisitions.  Working with management, we thoroughly evaluate the enterprise and its industry, negotiating the legal agreements, structure the debt financing and invest our own substantial equity capital in the transaction.  We offer a proven ability to complete acquisitions quickly, confidentially and fairly, with the flexibility and sensitivity to accommodate special needs.  A cornerstone of our philosophy is to structure the capital to align the operating and financial goals of management and investors.

Once an acquisition is completed, we participate as active members of the Board of Directors but do not become involved in day-to-day operations.  Our role is to assist management in building the long-term profitability and competitiveness of the business.  We constructively participate in the significant strategic decisions that will determine the success of the company.  We build strong boards with industry executives and individuals who can add value.  We open the doors to outside private and public capital and offer access to high-quality professional services such as specialized attorneys, debt financing sources, consulting firms and accounting firms.

Westar holds investments over the long term, with no fixed date for investment liquidation.  This allows our investments to maximize growth and realize the benefit of market timing to create the best opportunities for liquidity and returns, not only for us, but for our manager/owners as well. 

Great management is the common denominator in all of our successful investments.  We back strong CEOs who have demonstrated vision and leadership with a proven track record of creating shareholder value.  In our successful turn-around investments, we occasionally have recruited new leadership to undertake the operating challenges that need to be addressed.  In the end, we want to back great management teams building growth companies with enduring value.

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INVESTMENT TYPE

Westar Capital generally invests in U.S.-based middle market companies with annual revenues of at least $25 million and operating income of at least $5 million.  We target equity investments between $5 million and $25 million but have the flexibility and capital to invest beyond that range.  We prefer companies with a reasonably stable operating history that have an identifiable market attribute such as a brand name, proprietary product line, strong regional presence or leadership position in a niche industry. Growth should be possible through expanding markets, increased market share or add-on acquisitions.  A number of our investments also have incorporated performance improvements involving operational enhancements or a financial restructuring to unlock hidden value.

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DEAL STRUCTURE 

Westar enjoys working with buyers and sellers to accommodate differing interests, whether among family members, active and passive owners, or corporate owners and professional management.  We remain creative and flexible, structuring transactions that satisfy diverse needs.

Since our inception, we have invested in corporate divestitures, acquisitions of privately owned businesses, recapitalizations, growth equity financings and PIPEs.  Our investments typically start with:

• Management teams looking to acquire their companies or divisions

• Major shareholders of companies who want to sell or reduce their holdings

• Companies with strong management seeking capital to expand or make acquisitions

• Companies requiring capital for financial restructuring or reorganization

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TARGET INDUSTRIES

We like established industries with above average growth that have sufficient fragmentation to allow middle market companies to grow into larger and more dominant companies.  We avoid commodity businesses, overly regulated industries, project-oriented financings like oil and gas exploration, and development stage high technology. Of particular interest at the current time are the following:

• Aerospace and defense
• Business services
• Consumer products
• Healthcare services
• Value-added manufacturing

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INVESTING IN TROUBLED COMPANIES

Westar will invest in turn-arounds and restructurings.  We are more likely to invest when operational problems have been identified and concrete steps have been initiated.  In the current debt constrained environment, we are evaluating a number of “de-leveraging” investments.  We are able to bring a more operational focus to these transactions, enabling us to unlock more value.