Paralign was founded as a partnership between our team and a group of our former clients to create a better solution for founders, family business owners, and companies in transition in need of transparent, sophisticated advice provided through an economic model that is at-risk and aligned with our client-partners.
We strive to create true partnerships with clients (hence, we use the term “client-partner,” rather than simply “client”) as we assist them in maximizing the value, including both quantitative (i.e., dollars) and qualitative (i.e., legacy and control) objectives as dictated by each client situation, of their organization by exploring ownership transition, liquidity transactions, capital raises, and other strategic alternatives. To do that, we must be a true partner and share the risk with our clients by “having skin in the game” and actual risk of loss, not just a variable success fee paid at closing.
Therefore, it is a hallmark of a Paralign engagement to offer all client-partners (at their option) the ability to defer half of our transaction success fee by reinvesting that portion on a pari passu, non-control basis alongside them in whatever securities they own or will receive in the transaction. Additionally, Paralign has a captive fund, currently consisting of $100 million of founder capital (provided by Paralign’s partners and former clients, not Wall Street), devoted to investing on the same, pari passu, non-control basis with our client-partners as part of the executed transaction.
The Paralign team is focused on assisting our client-partners realize the next chapter for their business, regardless if that requires a sale, a transition to employee or management ownership (ESOP or otherwise), access to additional capital, or simply a shift in strategy via acquisition or organizational restructuring. We are extremely proud of the success we have shared with past client-partners, including the successful completion of dozens of transactions totaling nearly $19 billion in total enterprise value. Within this experience, $5.5 billion were sell-side M&A sales to strategic and private equity buyers, $12.0 billion was transferred to Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs), and $1.3 billion was completed as dividend recapitalizations and/or standalone capital placements. Additionally, to support these transactions, we have raised over $2.2 billion of debt and equity capital from a wide range of third-party sources, as dictated only by the needs of each individual client-partner.
In these transactions, Paralign – as part of our client-partner’s broader advisory team – was looked to as a trusted advisor for matters related to business strategy, corporate governance, executive and equity compensation, and innovative income, capital gains, and trust & estate tax planning strategies, each as a critical element of our comprehensive planning and strategy development process.
The breadth and diversity of this experience is second to none and reflects Paralign’s commitment to realizing the optimal solution for its client-partners, regardless of strategy. That is our client-first philosophy, focused on achieving the best outcomes possible through avoiding conflicts of interest and a true partnership founded on a meaningful sharing of risk and reward.
Ted Margarit
Hector Fernandez
Nate Dykes
Dillon Lewchuk
Mackenzie Jeske
Bryce Rieckers
Colin Inda
