BUSINESS DESCRIPTION: The AGSM Program is a private equity
program which will be implemented and managed by AGSM, LLC for
the purpose of investing in or acquiring small, privately held
companies. The Managing Director team has substantial experience
in business and financial matters and has overall responsibility for
managing the investment activities of the investment program. Five
Investment Advisors will supplement deal flow and act as consultants
to the six Managing Directors. AGSM will operate as a Commitment
Program whereby prospective investors preliminarily agree to invest
up to their respective agreed amounts (“Commitments”) on a deal-bydeal basis, subject to their decision to invest in each individual
transaction. The total commitments are expected to be $40 million.
SUMMARY OF BUSINESS STRATEGY & OFFERING: AGSM will
focus on equity recapitalizations and buyouts of small, privately held
companies with revenues of approximately $500,000 to $50 million.
The primary focus will be on businesses with significant rapid growth
potential that provide the opportunity to create value based on the
vision and knowledge of the management team. AGSM will also
target start up opportunities.
The primary focus will be on
technology-oriented businesses that provide the opportunity to create
value based on the vision and knowledge of the management team.
AGSM expects to add value by being a strategic partner for
management teams and making available skills and experience of the
Managing Directors and Investment Advisors. AGSM intends to
invest from $100,000 to $8.0 million in a single growth or expansion
capital investment and take a controlling equity interest in the
operating company. For start up companies, a single investment is
expected to be in the range of $25,000 to $1.0 million. AGSM seeks
to generate superior returns through the long-term capital
appreciation of its equity investments. As such, the financial strategy
of the program is to capitalize operating companies with conservative
levels of debt, provide capital to focus on expansion opportunities and
profitability improvements. It is anticipated that each such investment
will be held for approximately three to eight years.
MANAGEMENT: AGSM has an experienced managing director team
headed by Dean Bunnell, Allen Potter, and Don Belt. Don Belt, a
senior corporate executive with over 30 years of experience in
multiple industries, joined AGSM in late 2009. Don served for a
number of years in executive capacities at True Value, Servistar,
MRO Direct and General Electric in addition to owning Chesapeake
Holding Company and directing the operations of Smitty’s Building Supply and Speedgoat Bicycles. Allen Potter
co-founded Allied Growth Strategies & Management, LLC (AGSM’s sister company) in 2005. Prior to organizing
Allied Growth Management & Strategies, Allen was the President/Founder of NIS Group, a business development
and technology consulting firm. In 1988 Allen founded NIS Computer Solutions, a provider of computer hardware &
software to small and medium size business in Blair, Cambria, Centre, Lycoming, and Mifflin counties. NIS
Computer Solutions was sold to Link Computer in early 2001. Dean Bunnell co-founded Allied Growth Strategies
and Management, LLC. He joined Indigo Biosciences in 2007 as President & Chief Executive Officer. Dean has
over 30 years of management and business development experience in high tech companies.He founded and
managed MAXTECH, Inc. in State College PA (a.k.a. Vertex Electronic Products), and has held management
positions at Mitsubishi, NEC, Aercom Industries, and CTT. New additions to this team are Bob Culhane, Peter
O’Donnell, and Ryan McCombie. Bob Culhane has 25 years of financial management, accounting and treasury
expereince. Prior to joining AGSM, he last served as CFO of DynaVox Systems. Ryan McCombie is a retired U.S.
Navy Captain with over 26 years of service. After completing his highly decorated military service, Mr. McCombie
turned his efforts toward the private sector where he has served as an executive at two financial service firms. In
addition, Mr. McCombie has consulted with International American, French and Canadian companies around the
world. Peter O’Donnell has 25 years of capital markets experience on Wall Street.
The Managing Directors’ business experiences cross many industries and types of companies. They have direct
operating experience or board-level experience in a broad range of businesses. These include various
manufacturing companies, distribution companies, supply chain, consulting, and service businesses, retail
businesses, and computer technology and medical products companies. Their experience encompasses
businesses ranging from the start up phase to large multi-billion corporations. In addition to the services to be
provided by the Managing Directors, AGSM has enlisted several highly qualified Investment Advisors whose
counsel the Managing Directors are required to seek for each portfolio company. These Investment Advisors have
extensive business experience in large manufacturing firms, logistics, supply chain management, health care
services and products, metals and chemicals industries, financial institutions and private equity investing. The
Program’s investment activities will not be limited to a specific industry or type of company. Instead, AGSM intends
to invest in companies that provide the opportunity to capitalize on the experiences of the Managing Directors, as
well as various outside advisors.
MARKETS/COMPETITION: AGSM believes that, because of their desire for more sizable transactions and a
longer track record, the larger private equity firms have ignored the AGSM-targeted segments of the market.
AGSM believes this market segment presents an opportunity to acquire smaller companies and, through growth
and operational improvements, create a larger, more sophisticated company, to be sold to larger funds or strategic
buyers, resulting in superior returns for Investors.
AGSM will evaluate potential investment candidates based on the underlying intellectual property/technology,
prospects for commercial exploitation, financial performance, quality of management, the characteristics of the
industry, consolidation opportunities, identified exit strategy, and the degree to which the opportunity to create value
matches the AGSM management team skills and expertise. Each investment will be evaluated based on the
objective of achieving an overall Internal Rate of Return (“IRR”) of at least 25% for Program Investors net of fees
paid to AGSM.