RISING STAR

Why Arjun Murthy Is The Acg Rising Star

As he earned a finance degree from Michigan State University and an MBA from the University of Michigan, Arjun Murthy knew he wanted to be involved in M&A and investment banking. But before becoming a director at Cascade Partners in Southfield, he learned as much as he could working for PNC in corporate institutional lending before joining Amherst Partners in downtown Birmingham, where he first worked as an analyst before being named a director.

In 2019 he was named a senior manager at TriMas Corp., a large, diversified manufacturer of engineered products in Bloomfield Hills. A year later, he joined Cascade Partners and immediately set to work on a complicated M&A deal that required pulling together what he refers to as “a two-for-one deal.”

“We worked with BHG Ventures, a private investment firm in Southfield, on their acquisition of two leading online sporting goods and equipment retailers — Sportsman’s Guide and The Golf Warehouse,” Murthy says. “We initially focused on the Sportsman’s Guide, but then brought in The Golf Warehouse.

“We kept the same closing time of 120 days, so we underwrote the deal and raised all the financing for it. We were then asked by BHG to be on the board of Crecera Brands in Minneapolis/St. Paul, which oversees several omni-channel retailers, including these two companies. It’s been quite a ride.”

Sportsman’s Guide is a large outdoor sporting goods, hunting, fishing, and camping gear accessories retailer founded in 1976, while The Golf Warehouse started in 1998 and has become a leading e-tailer offering brand names and private label products in the golf, baseball, and softball markets.

“We were the only buyer that approached the seller of the two brands in a two-for-one deal,” Murthy says. “My job was to be like a quarterback. You bring everyone (in a deal) together, you shepherd everything along, and work in the best interest of our client.”

With the acquisition, the terms of which were not disclosed, BHG Ventures plans to capture the accelerating tailwinds within the fitness and recreation industry, particularly the growing demand for high-quality, easy-to-access sporting goods and equipment.

At 32 years old, Murthy is the youngest director at Cascade Partners, an investment banking and private investment firm serving entrepreneurs, businesses, family offices, and investors active in the middle market. In addition to leading the firm’s intern program, he serves on ACG Detroit’s Corporate Development Alliance Committee.

“We have a good team, and we’re very well-organized, which helps when you’re in the thick of a deal,” Murthy says. “I couldn’t be happier working in the M&A and investment banking space.”

Why Pete Roth Is The Acg Adviser Of The Year

Working on more than 30 transactions last year with an aggregate transaction value approaching $1 billion, Pete Roth, a partner at Varnum, where he splits time between the law firm’s Birmingham and Grand Rapids offices, says some deals require complex financial agreements among multiple countries, while others are more about preventing shouting matches between opposing parties.

“In one instance, we were working with a family-owned business, and some members didn’t like each other and they wound up suing each other,” Roth says. “The resolution was to sell the business and hand out the proceeds to the members. It was a fairly large private equity deal that monetized the transaction.

“Sometimes it’s better to have more counsel than to have two brothers yelling at each other. It was better to work through the respective teams, and each brother had their own lawyer, and the overall company had their lawyer. You take the emotion out of the deal by using third parties. I doubt the brothers could have done it on their own.”

On the international front, primarily in Europe, Roth says transactions involving companies from the United States introduce additional layers of legal and financial complexity with regard to M&A laws governing foreign entities. In one instance last year, he represented Granger Energy Services in its sale of 16 landfill gas-to-energy sites across six states to an Australian country.

Closer to home, Roth — whose practice areas include business and corporate, M&A, and private equity — represented a Michigan entrepreneur in the purchase of Schuil Coffee Co. in Grand Rapids.

Roth also has extensive experience with automotive OEMs, along with Tier 1 suppliers and parts-makers further down the supply chain.

His representation has included disputes between OEMs and suppliers, M&A and joint venture transactions, contract negotiations, terms and conditions analysis, price increase “hostage” situations, and securing supply in bankruptcy and distressed situations.

“The sweet spot for our transactions is $150 million, but you can’t do 30 deals a year all by yourself. You need a great support team that’s always looking out for the best interest of everyone,” Roth says. “We keep costs in close mind, too.

“In some instances I do the high-end negotiating and client counseling, while junior partners draft the documents and associates do the due diligence. In this way, we provide lower overall rates to the client.”

Looking back at last year, Roth says M&A was active, but higher interest rates “made things a little more choppy. The pipeline is a little slower, and it’s a tougher environment. It’s harder to get financing and tougher to sell businesses, but we’re still seeing a lot of deal flow.”

Why Bryan Berent Is The Acg Investment Banker Of The Year

At a time when deal flow in the M&A sector was hindered by high inflation and rising interest rates, Bryan Berent, co-founder and managing partner of Blue River Financial Group in Bloomfield Hills, says the firm had its best year ever in 2022. The middle market M&A advisory firm, which represents both buy-side and sell-side transactions, was founded 20 years ago.

Over the years, it’s developed an expertise across many disciplines including manufacturing, health care, and distribution, while cultivating specialties in software and industrial automation markets. Last year, Blue River completed 26 transactions — nearly double the deal flow from the previous year. Despite current economic headwinds, Berent says the firm will close 35 transactions this year.

“One reason we’re successful is that we have open and honest conversations; nothing is isolated,” Berent says. “Everyone collaborates, including in our hiring process. To keep growing, we’re adding professionals, and we continue to invest in technology.”

At the same time, Blue River is reaching a wider audience. “We’re building a better brand,” Berent says. “We hired a really good marketing director, which has led to more external branding. We do more press releases (than we did) before, and we’re on social media. We also had (just) one person leave in the past two years. It helps when