Success that unveils itself rapidly and in unexpected ways sometimes seems too good to be true—much like a storyline in a fairytale. However, the U.S. is the oft touted land of opportunity, and success does happen.
Savvy investors from India heard about a company in bankruptcy in North Carolina, where the assets are being sold by a bankruptcy trustee. These investors are smart businessmen, yet they have little experience doing business in the U.S. While they like the assets and the opportunity, they have little understanding of the legal system.
They have no local contacts to advise them, and they have little sense as to how best get through the entire acquisition process. They have some money to put in the deal, but they also need a large loan to close. They don’t have a lawyer. They don’t have an advisor to assist them. Where do they turn for resources, expertise and contacts?
Turning to social media, they meet a highly reputable advisor on LinkedIn out of New York who, virtually overnight, sets the deal-making ball in motion for them.
Imagine that this advisor gets them a meeting with the trustee and gets them a local lawyer in North Carolina. In less than 30-days of their first meeting with their NY advisor, they emerge from Bankruptcy Court as the winning bidder!
Now, the countdown! They have 21 days to find a lender and close the deal. In less than 3 days, the NY advisor makes contact with a lender who gives them a commitment letter and agrees to give them a loan. On the 20th day, the investor group successfully purchases the assets from the bankruptcy court. That’s virtually faster than the speed of light in terms of acquisitions!
So what happened here? How did they get so far in less than 20 days?
1. These investors came into a market they didn’t know.
2. They successfully navigated a legal process that was completely alien to them.
3. They were able to get a loan from a lender that they didn’t even know existed.
4. In 20 days they purchased the assets from the bankruptcy court!
We can fairly confidently say that this type of a deal experience can only happen in America. It takes an economy with clear laws, honest advisors and deep capital for this take place –especially in this short timeframe.
Our economy has amazing resources: we have the people, ideas and processes that make big things happen quickly. When you combine this with great entrepreneurial spirit and vision, you get a terrific outcome. These types of deals don’t happen in China, or Russia, or even in Europe.
But it can –and did– happen here. Congratulations to our client, Selma Precision Technologies, on their successful closing. We wish you every success in growing the business!