Case Studies by Process:
Spherion (formerly Norrell)
Merger and Aquisition

• Fry Consultants was retained to sell a privately owned agriculture equipment manufacturer and marketer. We researched the industry, developed trend and competitive information, completed a comprehensive internal analysis and valuation, and prepared a definitive prospectus. The company was marketed to a targeted group of potential financial and strategic buyers. The business was sold to a private equity firm, and the owners continue their employment as part of the new management team.
  


• Fry Consultants represented Spherion Corporation, a global staffing company offering strategic outsourcing services, to negotiate the purchase of an Information Technology staffing firm that provides contract programming to such Fortune 500 companies as Coca-Cola, Georgia Pacific and IBM. We analyzed and valued the company as well as resolved cultural and human resources differences. The purchase was finalized and the business began operating as a Spherion division.


• Fry was asked by a multi-discipline engineering firm to package and sell the engineering and consulting practice. We identified over 150 prospective buyers worldwide. The list was narrowed to approximately 20 interested parties, of which five presented offers. We then performed the necessary due diligence on the final list and facilitated negotiation through closing. The result was the sale of the engineering firm, and the value of the transaction was over twice the amount previously expressed by any of the interested potential buyers. The business is now continuing to operate successfully and is part of a European diversified construction and engineering conglomerate.


• Fry was contracted by a Canadian paper manufacturer to handle the divestiture of three fine paper merchants in the northeastern part of the United States. We had earlier conducted a feasibility study to identify and rank the ten most desirable acquisitions in this field. We developed a prospectus for the sale of three locations and completed the sale of one major distributor. The other two were sold at a later date. In the course of this project, we contacted virtually every manufacturer and distributor of fine papers in North America.