Sourcing Institutional Capital for Growth
Transaction Experience
Tobin & Company has extensive capital raising experience in private equity, public equity and debt offerings. We have completed transactions worldwide representing billions of dollars raised.
Financial Modeling
Tobin & Company retains extensive talent and experience in the financial analysis that is required in the raising of any kind of capital. Our rigorous analysis supports our clients and prospective investors alike.
Relationships
Strong relationships with high-quality institutional, financial and strategic investors are crucial. Tobin & Company grooms and maintains superior relationships with the full spectrum of private equity groups, venture capital funds and banks.
Tailored Approach
TOBIN instructs on all facets of a client’s capitalization to optimize flexibility, pricing and structure, always keeping in mind that capital must facilitate, rather than drive, business decisions. Our debt and equity expertise helps you raise private capital for expansion, recapitalizations, shareholder liquidity events, management and leveraged buyouts and acquisitions.
CASE STUDY
Taming a Strong-Willed Board Leads to Operating Capital Through Turbulent Times
Situation
Few CEOs ever consider the impact an investment banker might have on their corporate board, but selecting the right banker can sometimes lead to a decisive moment in a company’s history. Take the case of Chris Mele, former CEO of Companion Cabinet Software, LLC.
Companion Cabinet Software created an array of sales, marketing and operational software solutions for the remodeling industry. Its flagship software product, Equilibrium, was an enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution that handles complicated, configurable products like kitchen cabinetry and a variety of related interior and exterior products. It was the first software-as-a-service (SaaS) solution of its kind and integrated with many computer-aided design (CAD) and accounting systems.
Mele built a prestigious board, filled with a “Who’s Who” of former CEOs, angel investors, venture capitalists, attorneys, and CFOs, many of whom were extremely independently minded.
Solution
When the market crash and recession of 2008 took the economy by storm, Companion Cabinet Software’s stock experienced tremendous downward pressure and ushered in a palpable anxiety among board members. That’s when Mele sought an independent stock valuation to quell investor’s concerns, but also to establish a revised fair value for future capital raises amid the volatility of an uncertain economy. Acting on a referral from his attorney, Mele selected Tobin & Company to conduct the valuation.
“I needed someone to create a valuation that could withstand the scrutiny of a very diverse set of perspectives – from VC’s to Fortune 100 executives to first-time angels to successful entrepreneurs,” Mele remembers. “The group dynamics added a layer of complexity that had to be managed accordingly.”
Looking back now on the pivotal point in the board conference call to review TOBIN’s final work, Mele recalls one investor challenged that, “in the venture capital world you should handle this area with a little less discipline.”
“Here was a very knowledgeable female executive who basically just went toe-to-toe with a very egoic, male-dominated investor group and held her ground in spades,” Mele says. “You could have cut the silence with scissors.”
When the complete presentation ended, Mele remembers immediately receiving-complementary calls from several board members saying, “I love that girl!”
Shortly after that critical interaction Companion Cabinet Software quickly closed a subsequent round of capital.
Results
“When I look back on my time with Companion Cabinet Software, that one call turned out to be the anchor point that allowed us to continue raising capital through the market crash and on, from 2009 to 2013,” Mele says. “Justine defended our valuation at a time when everything around us screamed that the stock might have been essentially worthless.”
Eventually Companion Cabinet Software was rebranded as Breakfront and TOBIN found a buyer that provided a related technological platform and afforded an equity opportunity for investors and management. Mele’s co-founder ultimately bought out the company and it still operates today.
“Justine defended our valuation at a time when everything around us screamed that the stock might have been essentially worthless.”
Chris Mele, Former CEO
Breakfront, Inc.
