Since I have many years of M&A experience, I guess the reasons why "anyone would want to buy this company" are a little more obvious to me....
We both agree that they have good management. But their strong customer base and reputation are the "bells/whistles/glitter" that make them an appealing acquisition candidate. Their technical staff is the backbone of this, and I can assure you that to "hire them from elsewhere" would be difficult, time consuming, and very high risk. As the former Chief Financial Officer of a consulting firm, I know that one cannot buy a strong effective team "off the street" so to speak.
I'm really curious about TransNet's lack of a "vertical niche market" - if you will allow me to be an iconoclast, it sounds like something you use to hold a plaster saint. (yes...that is a very obscure pun... iconoclast...plaster saint....get it?). Seriously, why is one of these, whatever they are, a necessary precursor to being acquired? I mean, the prototypical "vertical niche market" is an orange juice stand with its own orange grove. I am aware of a number of them, on back roads in Florida, but they don't seem to be acquired very often. In fact, they are rarely rebuilt after hurricanes..... |
