Author: Bill Harlan

With the year well underway, budgets are completed, audits are finished, taxes are filed . . . and there is now time to read the famous and always anticipated letter from Warren Buffett to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders.  Buffett’s letter is widely read by investors, but especially those with a long-term and value-focused orientation, and this one is especially unique as it marks the Buffett’s 50 year anniversary at the helm.

Berkshire’s and Buffett’s business principles are well known, and were memorialized some years ago in the Berkshire Owner’s Manual.  Though the deal of a career for lower middle market investors like Kestrel Capital Group would likely be too small to interest Buffett, we approach investment opportunities with the same long-term and partnership-oriented perspective Berkshire employs . . . and we are looking for new deals too!

Like most investors, we look for certain attributes, but the most important aspect in our assessment is evaluation of the overall fit of the people, prospects, and business model of the opportunities we consider.  We welcome the chance to learn about lower middle market investment opportunities and, whether or not there is a fit, we promise a quick and thoughtful response.

Give us a call if you have or know of an opportunity.  And if you want to learn more about Berkshire Hathaway, check their complete annual report here.

Family businesses come in all shapes and sizes, from the corner store to Walmart; widget maker to Ford Motor Company.  Did I mention Walmart and Ford in the same sentence as family business?  Yes, Ford and Walmart are two of the 150+ family controlled companies in the S&P 500!

Among the resources available from The Family Business Institute (a professional service firm dedicated to serving the needs of family and closely-held businesses) is an interesting article on the topic.  As a private investor focused on partnering with privately held, lower-middle market businesses for long-term (think decades not years), there were several interesting points in the Family Business Institute’s article 10 Things You May Not Know About Family Businesses.  Not surprisingly, family businesses are enterprising and tend to be successful . . . but their life span is not indefinite (24 years on average – see #6 in the article).

Why only 24 years?  Reasons vary for sure, but one of them has to do with transitioning a business beyond the leadership of its founder.  There are many effective solutions to this challenge, and at least one sure fire way to fail and that is to fail to consider the issue.

Are you considering what the future holds for the legacy of your family business?  Beginning to think about liquidity?  Do these thoughts resonate with you?  If so, give us a call.  We would love to talk.

Remember that line from the late 1990’s Apple advertising campaign?
Think Different was the slogan for an ad campaign ordered by Steve Jobs shortly after he returned to the Apple experienced massive growth over the nearly 15 years following Jobs’ return in no small part because they did exactly what the slogan suggested.

As we set out to form Kestrel Capital Group, Steve Vivian and I pushed ourselves do to the same – think different. With combined experience of nearly fifty years financing and investing in lower middle market companies, we have learned a great deal along the way. And while we bring many of those lessons with us, Kestrel Capital Group also departs from the traditional Private Equity model in a few key ways. We are focused on the long-term . . . the really long-term. We go into our investments with an indefinite hold period rather than the intent to sell in five year. We have a preference for being involved with companies for a period of time measured in decades rather than years. And we bring the support of investors who share this long-term mind set.

From this key difference, several other nuances in approach naturally follow. We invite you to browse our website to learn more . . . and to give us a call if our approach resonates for you, or someone you know who may be considering a transaction.