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From turnaround management to raising capital to selling a company, Hallmark Capital’s uncommon wisdom to see opportunity has helped scores of small to midsize businesses.
Hallmark Develops Creative Financing Solution for a
Distressed Company
Sometimes, there is no clear path to a solution. A small medical device company, with under $10 million in revenues, breakeven financials, and insufficient cash flow to support growth, desperately needed help in securing financing. And they wanted to raise capital without giving up majority ownership of their company.
Hallmark Capital devised a tailored solution that raised the financing, allowed the owners to retain control, and positioned the business for strong future growth. The answer was a reverse merger, and Hallmark Capital provided a multi-disciplinary set of skills and services and the turnaround management support that resulted in a highly successful outcome:
- Cleaned up the company’s internal accounting and reporting
- Developed a compelling investment story
- Attracted and arranged for bridge financing that provided funds to purchase a shell company
- Secured legal services to handle securities matter
- Found and hired a new auditor and CFO
- Followed up with a significant private placement
- Researched, selected and hired an investor relations firm
- Organized and ran board and investor meetings
- Recommended a SEM hire and major campaign
Over the course of a year, a total of $6 million was raised, leaving the owners with a 70% share of the company.
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Hallmark Helps Position Digital Imaging Company for Sale
Hallmark received a referral to a CEO needing urgent help — an intensive three-weeks of consulting assistance where the deliverable was a corporate presentation.
The client was a privately held, $80 million digital imaging company facing an opportunity to be acquired by a billion-dollar office supplies company. After an unsuccessful first meeting with the acquirer’s CEO, the client requested a second appointment to properly present their situation.
In the first week, Hallmark conducted a thorough analysis of both companies and the industries in which they operated. In the second week, in intensive sessions with company ownership, we fashioned their pitch and built a compelling case for investment. In the third week, Hallmark constructed the presentation and helped the owners practice the pitch. The second presentation to the acquirer’s CEO was highly successful. The CEO told the two owners that their presentation was
not only highly effective and memorable, but it actually changed the way he thought about his own company and what to do with it. A successful transaction was later completed.
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Hallmark Maximizes the Sale of a Public Company
A $50 million company’s performance was deteriorating rapidly. It had outgrown its owner/managers’ capabilities in an industry rapidly transformed by new technologies and competitors. Hallmark immersed itself in the company, finding its real and intangible value and describing the investment potential in a compelling fashion that was highly attractive to potential buyers. A major publicly-held imaging corporation emerged as the eventual purchaser. The company had been trading at under $2 per share and it was sold for $7 per share.
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Hallmark Capital Supports Fortune 500 Companies
Hallmark Capital was hired on two separate occasions by divisions of a major consumer products company. McKinsey was the firm’s key consultant, but the division manager came to Hallmark Capital with a specific assignment in mind: They wanted to know their valuation on a stand-alone basis, both to assist in securing further internal funding from the corporate parent, but also for a possible management buyout. In addition, division management wanted to know how to build a business case and create a presentation that would be persuasive. The division was so pleased with Hallmark’s work, they hired us for a follow-up assignment one year later.
In another case, a division of a global chemicals and materials company hired Hallmark Capital for similar reasons. They wanted to understand their strategic options and get Hallmark’s recommendations about the strategies required to achieve the next level of operations and success. In hiring Hallmark, absolute secrecy was essential, as the division did not want the marketplace to learn about their strategic planning.
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Thanks for your help and wisdom in making us look so smart – we couldn't have done it without your strategic guidance. 
