Private Equity

Griffin provides a full range of services for private equity groups in all phases, including fund formation, capital deployment, portfolio operations and exit and re-deployment. Our multidisciplinary team of placement agents, bankers and lawyers is heavily focused on the private equity sector. As a result, we are uniquely positioned to anticipate issues and develop innovative solutions to help PEGs achieve their business objectives.

• Placement Agent Services
• Secondary Investment Advisory
• Co-Investment Advisory
• Transaction Services
• Portfolio Company Services

Griffin offers experienced fundraising  services as placement agent for outstanding private equity general partners, especially emerging managers and small to mid-sized funds. Our principals have a solid track record of successful assignments and an established network of relationships in the global private equity limited partner community. We also have an active practice in private equity secondary asset investment banking and co-investment financing advisory.

Placement Agent Services
Griffin acts as placement agent for private equity funds including buyouts, venture capital, mezzanine, special situations, fund of funds and real estate. We are dedicated to helping fund sponsors raise capital as effectively and efficiently as possible through our relationships with institutional investors located in the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. We deliver customized execution to meet client needs, including full service global placement, targeted and top-off assignments and administrative services only mandates. 

Griffin offers the advantages of a boutique combined with direct access to the resources and relationships of a full service regional investment bank. We have a strong and growing commitment to private equity and focus on fundraising mandates generally ranging from $200 to $750 million in capital. Our professionals have previously served as general and/or limited partners in private equity vehicles, enabling us to provide you with a well-rounded perspective from both the buy-side and sell-side. Because we generally work on a limited number of non-competing assignments at one time, our clients enjoy senior-level attention at every stage of execution.

We work with clients every step along the way of the complex process of raising capital. We have developed a proven methodology for helping clients achieve success, which includes pre-marketing due diligence and positioning; packaging and marketing; closing; and ongoing follow-up. Our extensive relationships within the private equity and alternative investor community includes:

• Corporate and public pension plans
• Advisors and consultants
• Gatekeepers
• Fund of funds
• Insurance companies
• Endowments and foundations
• Financial institutions
• Asset management firms
• Family offices

Secondary Investment Advisory
We work with limited partners, corporate investors and general partners seeking private equity portfolio solutions through confidential, directly negotiated transactions. Our focus is on both limited partnership interests, as well as direct stakes in portfolio companies for firms who might be seeking liquidity, a rebalancing of their portfolio, or to achieve other strategic objectives.

Co-investment Advisory
Griffin's private equity placement team works with general partners of committed funds, as well as fundless sponsors seeking equity capital or mezzanine financing in transactions by making introductions to limited partners and other private equity investors with an appetite for attractive
co-investment opportunities.

Our private equity placement team consists of professionals with extensive domestic and international placement experience:

• Paul Delaney, a former Director of Private Equity Portfolio Management for MetLife, Inc.; the founder and former partner of Patronus Capital; a former partner at Pomona Capital; and a former Managing Director/founder of the Bear Stearns Private Funds Group
  

• Mitch Fenimore, a former partner in an international capital
  advisory firm where he managed capital-raising efforts for U.S. private equity funds

The team is supported by Katherine Lievense Scott, a London School-trained economist formerly with Moody's Economy.com and Triangle Economic Research, and Chris Fugaro, formerly with Greenwich Associates.

For more information on Griffin's Private Equity Group Placement Services,
please contact Paul Delaney at pfd@go2griffin.com or 973.377.4477 or Mitch Fenimore at wmf@go2griffin.com or 610.478.2204.

Transaction Services
Griffin’s unique platform draws upon the broad and deep financial accounting, tax, legal and consulting experience of our transactional professionals to provide private equity clients with comprehensive and exceptional transaction services on a one-stop, fully integrated basis.

Our service offerings include:

• Financial accounting due diligence and deal structuring
• Tax due diligence and deal structuring
• Industry review
• Human resources review
• Legal due diligence
• Insurance and litigation review

Because of our predominantly non-urban locations, we enjoy a cost advantage over our competitors, which allows us to offer our services on a more cost-effective basis. We are also willing to work with sponsors to mitigate “dry hole” costs.

Financial Accounting Due Diligence and Deal Structuring: Our team consists of a number of former Big Four financial accountants. We analyze a target’s (i) historic quality of earnings to assist our private equity clients in assessing the quality of EBITDA and EBITDA addbacks and takeaways from a pricing perspective, (ii) working capital to assure post-closing adequacy and appropriate pricing adjustment, and (iii) financial statements to understand and identify aggressive revenue and expense recognition principles, reserve adequacy and other accounting estimates involving subjectivity. In addition, we also review the target’s audit work papers and projections and have on-site discussions with the target’s auditors, CFO and other members of senior management. We also assist our clients in structuring the acquisition transaction on an optimal basis from a financial accounting perspective.

Tax Due Diligence and Deal Structuring: Our transaction team includes both tax accountants with prior Big Four experience and transaction tax lawyers who assist sponsors in structuring the transaction to optimize tax outcomes with respect to the acquisition and post-closing from both a federal and state income tax perspective.

Our team reviews historical tax returns to (i) identify refund and NOL maximization potential, (ii) identify entity tax risks and opportunities, and (iii) understand the impact of past tax positions on future cash flows. We also suggest strategies to reduce state and local taxes.

For cross border transactions, we recommend solutions relating to the repatriation of debt, taxes, customs and duties.

Industry Review: Our team consists of a London School-trained economist and a number of research assistants. They have access to a broad array of databases and other research and analytical tools. We review the industries in which the potential portfolio company competes and assist our clients in assessing (i) the future growth potential of the industry and the competitive place of the portfolio company in that industry, (ii) the risks and opportunities presented by the industry, and (iii) customer, supplier and competitor positions.

Human Resources: Our team consists of former human resources professionals with substantial M&A experience who review employee costs, head counts and compensation practices, including benefit plans, with a view to forecasting future costs and optimizing staffing efficiencies, compensation and overall employee benefit expense.

Legal Due Diligence: Our team includes lawyers with exceptional functional concentrations and substantial M&A transaction and due diligence experience covering the following areas:

• Corporate and governance reviews
• Reviews and assessments of material contracts
• IT and IP review
• Real estate review
• Labor/ERISA reviews
• Regulatory compliance reviews and reviews of regulatory reports and filings

Our multidisciplinary legal team also has substantial experience in assessing off-balance sheet exposure for environmental, asbestos and silicosis claims and related FASB 5 treatment. This unit is led by a former environmental consultant who is a lawyer and other lawyers who have handled claims both for and against insurance companies.

We also have solid expertise in assessing antitrust risk in connection with both the transaction and with past and continuing business practices. This unit is lead by a former economist and business school professor with 20 years of experience as both an economist and lawyer with the Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission.

Insurance and Litigation Review: Our team consists of a professional formerly with large insurance consulting and brokerage operations and the AMEX and NASDAQ, and a number of seasoned trial lawyers with class action experience. Our team analyzes claims and pending and threatened litigation against P&C, D&O and other insurance policies to assess coverage for past acts and FASB 5 financial accounting treatment. We make recommendations for coverage, reducing premium levels going forward. We also evaluate whether premiums are high or low in the context of the risk profile of the target and suggest coverage to mitigate risk and/or reduce premiums.

Fund Formation Services
Griffin and its affiliates provide complete fund formation services to our private equity clients. These services include a full range of documentation, tax, financial and regulatory services.

We prepare limited partnership and LLC agreements and assist in the preparation of PPMs. We understand fund economics, fund accounting and the distribution waterfall and are familiar with terms and conditions required by LPs. We also understand the tax and ERISA implications of both fund structure and domicile in connection with attracting off-shore LPs and optimizing economics, including sponsor carried interest. In addition, we review fund structure and fund raising from a regulatory and blue sky perspective.

Portfolio Company Services
Griffin and its affiliated businesses are in a unique position to provide professional services to portfolio companies. Services we provide include:

• Investment banking portfolio company divestiture services, including the management of the sales process


• Buy-side investment banking services to assist fund managers and portfolio company managers in identifying and acquiring companies which are synergistic with and can bolt onto existing portfolio companies


• Identifying government grants and low interest loans to better finance and leverage a portfolio company


• Complete legal representation on a cost-effective basis


• Insurance risk management consulting


• Employee benefit services, including medical plan selection and executive compensation studies and agreements


• Human resources services


• Restructuring, workout and bankruptcy advice