Testimonials

Allegretto Publishing Ltd.

Testimonial from Noel Swanson, CEO

Selling our company was a fascinating experience, and way more complicated than I had imagined. Especially since it was complicated by the fact that I was living aboard my yacht in the Caribbean, with often minimal internet and phone connections, throughout the final few months. And by the fact that I had a very short deadline for completion before I set off to sail across the Atlantic for a month.

There were, inevitably, times when the negotiations got pretty tense. For example, when the buyer wanted to introduce a very unusual clause in the reps and warranties. As a result there were at least two occasions during which the deal was ‘off’.

Yet throughout the whole process Basil kept things moving and maintained a very positive and reassuring attitude. He was on the ball, available at all sorts of odd times and days, and fully involved with the process at all times - i.e. not distracted by other commitments, though I am sure he managed to juggle those somehow! A typical phone conversation with him would go something like:

Basil: "The buyer won’t move on X, so the deal is off at the moment. But don’t worry, all is going very smoothly. Me: "The deal is off, but that is ‘going smoothly’?" Basil: "Yes, don’t worry about it, we’ll work it out".

And he did. And, in the end, the sale went through, very smoothly, within our very accelerated time scale.

Next time I do an exit, Basil will definitely be the man.

Confidential Early Exit

Testimonial from the CEO who needs to remain anonymous

I was fortunate to have the chance to work with Basil over a three month period culminating in the successful acquisition of my company by a large US-based company. Although many portions of the deal had been put in place prior to our engagement, there were significant uncertainties remaining which could have easily derailed the deal.

During negotiations, Basil brought professionalism and hard-earned insight to the table – undoubtedly furthering our credibility with the eventual acquirers. This was particularly relevant considering my company had been incorporated for less than a year prior to acquisition. Basil's noteworthy background became invaluable in understanding the next steps in the negotiating process and predicting the strategies being used by the purchaser.

I can conclusively say that Basil's contribution increased our ability to complete the transaction. His relentless push towards focusing on the important issues while avoiding distraction caused by minutia allowed the deal to close in record time with minimal glitches. I am grateful for Basil's contribution during the acquisition process and look forward to working with him in the future.

Anonymous CEO

Internet Marketing Center

Testimonial from Andy Morden, CEO

Leading the Internet Marketing Center was an extraordinary challenge...a maturing market, a confusing and convoluted brand and a very difficult economy. Getting IMC to an exit was even move difficult.

Basil proved to be an invaluable and frank sounding board. Not only did you he coach and guide me through some very tough decisions, he had new and creative thoughts on how to get us to the exit we were pursuing.

There are very few people who can help a CEO during this process and truly understand the challenge. An exit is often a time that the CEO can't turn to his or her key lieutenants, board or shareholders for counsel as they are all expecting the CEO to lead and take care of their best interests. It was extremely helpful to share thoughts and ideas with Basil during this process.

The most important value Basil added was helping me drive an exit process and transaction that faced many complex hurdles. It seemed for every step forward, there was a step to the right or left, and Basil was always there to drive the momentum of the deal. There are so many reasons not to move forward in exit situations and having Basil there in a very tenacious way played a big role in making the deal happen.

Andy Morden, CEO

Meridex Software Corporation

Testimonial from Darren Nicholls, President and CEO of Meridex

"Basil Peters never gives up.

Basil just completed the sale of one of our business units to a company in Silicon Valley. It looked like an easy sale at the beginning, but there were several unexpected challenges that threatened to kill the transaction along the way. Basil’s brilliant strategies and negotiating skills managed to break through each obstacle.

I believe that any other M&A advisor would have given up and moved onto more lucrative opportunities. In fact with out Basil’s perseverance I might have given up myself. Basil stuck with it until the buyer was happy and we had the money in the bank."

Darren Nicholls, CEO

Parasun Technologies

Testimonial from Steven MacDonald, Cofounder and CEO of Parasun

"The addition of David Raffa and Basil Peters to our Board was a crucial step in our development. The relationship between the Board and management was highly productive with David and Basil working close with us on strategic issues while allowing us to focus on operations.

David and Basil brought considerable experience and insight into strategic matters and served important roles as mentors to our young management team.

During the sale of the company, they built a funnel of potential acquirers and verified the legitimacy of every potential acquirer before involving management in the sale process.

This allowed us to be a part of the sale process while leaving us the time necessary to continue to grow revenues and EBITDA.

David and Basil delivered an outstanding result for the shareholders of Parasun and we are thrilled to have had them involved."

Steven MacDonald, CEO

Testimonial From Barry Carlson, Cofounder and First Chairman of Parasun

"When the  shareholders made the decision to prepare Parasun for sale, we met with Basil and agreed that he would invest in the company, assume the role of Chairman, and with David Raffa, undertake to make a transaction happen.

For almost 3 years, Basil managed the Board processes to position the company for sale, and worked with the management team to develop a viable strategic plan and implement it in detail. He drove the Board and management politely but relentlessly to maximize the value and attractiveness of the company.

I suppose that the sale might have happened without him, but not as soon as it did and certainly not at the valuation the shareholders realized. The shareholders, and remarkably the management team as well, were delighted with the outcome."

Barry Carlson

Sunaptic Solutions

Testimonial From Mike Hilton, President of Sunaptic

Mike was kind enough to send me this testimonial a few months after the big check cleared his bank.

"Basil has shown himself to be an incredible matchmaker and judge of what makes a good acquisition.

Within less than a week of discussing with him the concept of selling our business, he had found a potential buyer. More importantly, he found a buyer that was a great cultural fit for the company and for senior management.

He then worked tirelessly to ensure that the entire process went smoothly for both parties, brokering discussions, suggesting solutions to impasses, and generally supporting the process.

Having been through the merger/acquisition process three times before, this was the most painless. That ease of transition can be predominately attributed to Basil's ability to find and judge a good match and support it to the end."

Mike Hilton, President