Transaction History — Client Comments

I must admit that I was initially skeptical after I read the confidential letter that you sent to me indicating that you had several pre-qualified corporate buyers who expressed an interest in acquiring a company similar to Top Line Electronics-I had received many such letters over the years. Nonetheless, your professional attitude, deal-making skills and your list of referrals made it an easy decision to hire you and your firm to represent me with the sale of our company.

In addition, you marketed the sale of our company confidentially, brought us several offers from qualified purchasers, and ultimately brought us an excellent offer from a synergistic public company that was a perfect match for Top Line Electronics.

Thereafter, you interfaced with our accountants and attorneys, the buyer's accountant, and attorney and all of the other third parties to the transaction to make sure that it proceeded smoothly. In short, the sale of Top Line Electronics was a complicated merger that was handled with skill by your team at California Equity Group and I want to commend you for all of your efforts.

Michael and Clarence, thank you again for your professional assistance with selling Top Line Electronics to a very qualified public company buyer. I would not hesitate to refer you to anyone who is thinking of selling or buying a business.

Daniel Chen
Top Line Electronics
President

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As a transaction attorney, I have handled hundreds of mergers and acquisitions, and I understand the difference between a financial advisor and a business broker. A financial advisor is an integral part of the professional team representing an acquiring or target company, who (i) analyzes the situation, (ii) assists the client’s understanding of the company’s value, (iii) objectively evaluates the risks and rewards of the transaction, (iv) facilitates the consummation of the transaction, and (v) maximizes value.

There are very few true financial advisors in Northern California who have these skill sets and meet these high standards. Clarence Stone of California Equity Group is one of the top financial advisors in Northern California serving the middle market. In one instance working with him, a privately held selling company was economically disadvantaged due to the size and strength of the publicly held acquiring corporation. Through Clarence’s ability to communicate the seller’s value to the acquiror; his marshalling of resources, including myself and the other professional advisors; and his negotiation skills, Clarence Stone was able to turn the tables on the acquiror and reap substantial additional consideration for the seller shareholders. It was one of the finest examples of a financial advisor I have seen in quite some time.

The highest compliment I can pay Clarence Stone is the continued referral of clients for his objectivity, communication skills, insight, and creative solutions.

Bernard Vogel, III
Silicon Valley Law Group

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As Sellers, Lou and I. wish to express our sincere appreciation for the excellence in handling the marketing and selling of our complicated business. Not only were there two businesses in one, the conditions and circumstances as a master franchisor of one were complicated by a license agreement; necessary approval by the California Department of Corporations; a need for a buyer not only having a large amount of cash, but also possessing financial strength and savvy, plus the sophistication of management and people skills, presented, without a doubt, an even greater challenge for you.

You understood that Lou's illness demanded the need for a prompt sale which brought about additional pressures, and still you extended to us your commitment to market and close this business within ninety days. All of this was a feat we truly did not expect to be accomplished.

However, you did indeed bring us an excellent contract your first twenty days into the listing. We were ecstatic. As negotiations bogged down due to the normal buyer/seller complexities, the technical aspect of the business became a big concern. Without your steady guidance, your business knowledge and resources, encouragement, and patience, this probably would not have been a successfully concluded sale. You did meet your commitment, closing within your predicted timeframe. We Salute You.

You steered our complicated sale in a manner acceptable to both the buyer and the sellers. Everyone came away satisfied and in a win/win position.

We would not hesitate in recommending either a buyer or seller of any complexity or size to you or your firm.

Thank you, Clarence, for all your assistance in bringing, what on our part was a painful decision in selling, to a happy conclusion. Our very best to you always,

Bonna & Lou Lucas
Coverall of Northern California, Inc.
President & Vice President

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Michael, I am writing you to personally thank you for the many ways you helped me sell my business and realize my dream of retiring. I am hopeful that this letter will effectively share with other company owners and buyers the extent to which you performed remarkable services for my company and me.

When we first met, you very frankly, honestly and knowledgeably assessed the value of my business. It was immediately evident that your prior investment banking experience coupled with your astute business acumen and your legal background would prove to be immensely valuable in preparing, positioning and ultimately selling the company that I took years to build. Your current appraised value for my company was not what I wanted to hear, nor was it what I needed to retire. However, you worked with me over a two-year period to develop and refine my exit strategy and to build the value of my company.

During that time, you identified the areas of my business that required attention and improvement, including assessments of marketing, financial management, operational management, and other areas and together we planned and implemented a number of value enhancing changes. You managed the process of installing a new accounting system and financial controls to redeveloping the organizational structure of my business. With your monthly and quarterly feedback of our financial and operational improvements, I became much clearer and focused on the further necessary improvements to build value so that I could attain my financial goals to retire. Your exceptional advice was unquestionably instrumental in dramatically increasing the value of my business and I cannot thank you enough for all of your thoughtful and precise advice.

Two and half years later, my company attained the goals we had laid out. You and your CEG team produced a comprehensive and high quality marketing package, and you diligently and confidentially took my company to market. After locating the perfect synergistic buyer, you successfully shepherded the process through the letter of intent, due diligence and definitive agreements stages, coordinating with my and the buyer's accountants and attorneys. Most importantly, you identified the most critical deal points and negotiated them to my advantage while leaving the buyer in a winning position for their critical deal points. The result was absolutely wonderful for everyone. I got a price well beyond what I ever expected, and one that allowed me to retire. You truly are the best in your business and I can only hope that this letter of recognition conveys my deepest appreciation for all of your considerable efforts.

Retirement is everything I hoped for and more. As the deal became real, a tremendous weight was lifted from me, and I am enjoying life more than ever imaginable—thank you again for everything!

Thomas McCarthy
Du-All Thermo Products, Inc.
President

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For nearly twenty years, my law firm has performed escrow services for transactions where California Equity Group has acted as the merger and acquisition intermediary. It has been my experience that Clarence Stone and Michael Sieber are extremely proficient, hard-working, knowledgeable and creative dealmakers, especially at handling the inevitable difficulties between parties to a transaction. They each possess the myriad of legal, accounting, tax, psychological and negotiating skills necessary to effectively manage the complicated process of a company sale, merger, or divestiture. More importantly, I have found both of them to be honest, personable and staunch advocates for their clients. In short, Clarence and Michael from California Equity Group are some of the best business broker, merger and acquisition specialists in the business. I strongly recommend them to anyone who is contemplating the sale or purchase of a business.

William H. Dunn
The Law Offices of William H. Dunn

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I was informed that one of my competitors had expressed interest to a mutual acquaintance about selling their company. This competitor was one which would have been an excellent acquisition or merger candidate for us as our industry is segmented mostly by local geographic territories. This competitor concentrated its marketing efforts and sales on the territory directly next to ours. Most importantly, though, relative to our interest in this company was the fact that it had been established for approximately twenty-five years and had stable sales and earnings.

I asked my corporate attorney and my CPA for referrals for business brokers and or merger and acquisition specialists who could represent us with the possible acquisition of this competitor. Ironically, both my attorney and CPA referred me to the same person: Clarence Stone. Clarence, as I later learned, is one of the principals at California Equity Group, a merger and acquisition firm specializing in the sale of middle market companies in Northern California.

After retaining the services of Mr. Stone, he confidentially contacted this competitor on our behalf. Thereafter, he prepared an appraisal and valuation of this company and he skillfully started the process of negotiating the merger deal of two large HVAC companies into one corporation. Clarence astutely arranged all the terms and conditions of this complicated merger and he also worked closely with and provided much needed advice to our attorney and CPA. Furthermore, Clarence shrewdly enlisted the cooperation and assistance of the third party entities to the transaction such as lenders, landlords and governmental agencies.

Without a doubt, Clarence's expertise and professionalism with the handling of this transaction is the reason that we were able to successfully merge these two companies into an environment where both parties to the merger came away winners. Kindly accept this letter as a referral for the services of Clarence Stone from California Equity Group for anyone who is contemplating the sale or acquisition of a business.

Steven Trillo
L.R. Trillo, Inc.
President

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As the vice-president of operations at my past employer, I was involved in several mergers and acquisitions where Clarence Stone from California Equity Group was the financial advisor. There were many challenges to each transaction, but each time the deals progressed smoothly with Clarence’s skillful guidance. I was always impressed with him because he brings such a high degree of professional integrity, honesty, and charisma to what can often be such an adversarial environment. It definitely took an abundance of these skills to close those earlier deals, as he always seemed to know exactly what to do and when to do it to protect our interests. Clarence has an inherent talent for anticipating and mitigating potential problems in a transaction along with working it through the inevitable difficulties and bringing it to closure effortlessly and affably.

Recently, my husband and I had the gratification of acquiring our own company. We knew from past experience that Clarence would be the one to call. We knew we needed someone we could trust and who knew the path to a successful transition. Clarence provided the skills and experience necessary to negotiate, manage and close a very complicated acquisition. Without his guidance and counsel, there is not a chance we would have been able to complete this transaction. He referred us to an accountant and an attorney and he made the referral to the right lending institution and mentored us through the grueling application process. Clarence knew that we were a perfect fit for the seller and his company and before long, the seller knew that too. Clarence has an uncanny ability to match compatible buyers and sellers and put together win-win deals that make sense for everyone.

Clarence has an exceptional and extremely valuable skill in marketing and negotiating the purchase and/or sale of a business. Since the purchase, I actually call on him to critique my upcoming advertising! He has in-depth knowledge of business, legal procedure and governmental compliance. He is more than adept in accounting and financial practices, and above all, he is a master at facilitating the many intricate workings of a business acquisition. After watching and working with him and his highly professional team at California Equity Group in the purchase of our business, we are convinced there is no other individual or organization that could provide such an effective and professional service.

Clarence, THANK YOU! Using your immense experience, you acted as a true partner, consulting us in a very practiced and calculated way, which proved to be the right move every time we listened. Should I ever want to acquire, sell or merge a business again, or should I have the opportunity to recommend a financial advisor, you can be sure that I will ardently recommend you. Jeff and I send our best regards.

Cindy Faulkner
President

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I am writing you a letter to personally thank for the outstanding service that you provided me regarding the marketing and selling of my company.

After interviewing several merger and acquisition specialists and business intermediaries, it became clear that you and your company stood out from your competitors.

After engaging your services, you appraised my business, prepared a thorough representation package including all the key elements of my business, and provided pre-qualified, potential buyers with an elaborate marketing package regarding my company.

More importantly, you marketed the sale of my business confidentially, brought me several offers from qualified buyers and companies and ultimately brought me a full price offer from an individual buyer who was a perfect match for Darcom Computers. Also, not one of my employees, suppliers, or customers was aware of the pending sale until it was completed.

Thank you again for your professional assistance in selling my company to an exceptionally qualified buyer. I would certainly refer anyone interested in buying or selling a business to you.

Michael M. Stoye
Darcom Computers
President

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I have just completed the sale of our family business, Valley Heating and Cooling Co. The merger and acquisition specialist who handled the transaction was a gentleman named Clarence Stone from the firm of California Equity Group.

I have never dealt with anyone more professional in his occupation. Clarence took care of every detail right up to escrow and through it. He is personable and thorough in his work. Clarence went out of his way to take care of many details that would have been disregarded by other M&A firms.

He found the perfect buyers who were experienced and capable of taking care of the valuable customers we have developed over our 40 years in business. The huge number of details involved in a transaction like ours would prove challenging to anyone!

Clarence was able to handle the situation from price negotiation to assisting the buyers with financing along with interfacing with the respective attorneys and accountants to the transaction and on to closing of escrow with terrific efficiency and skill.

I cannot imagine giving any professional a higher recommendation.

Thomas Atkinson, III
Valley Heating & Cooling, Co.
President

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This letter is to highly recommend the services of Michael Sieber from California Equity Group to anyone considering the sale or purchase of a business. Although we are experienced commercial real estate brokers ourselves, we felt for reasons of objectivity and arms-length negotiations that it was important to hire a qualified business broker/merger & acquisition specialist to handle the sale of our commercial real estate brokerage company.

As a large and very successful commercial real estate brokerage firm, we understood the dynamics of marketing and negotiating the sale of high-valued assets using creative deal structuring skills. As such, our expectations of Michael were extremely high and, frankly, he completely exceeded those expectations. Michael thoroughly investigated our firm and our company’s finances and assembled a thoughtful and remarkable marketing package to present to potential purchasers. He used great diligence and unflagging persistence in contacting and following up with prospective buyers for our company.

The sale of a service company such as ours is often a lengthy and complex adventure, and we were particularly pleased with Michael’s skills staying focused and enthusiastic when we found ourselves losing interest. He further encouraged us to hold at our listing price and eventually brought us a buyer group who with an earn-out provision paid us full price.

Another of Michael’s strong points is his continual communication with his clients and up-to-date progress reports on any leads and negotiations. Again, his penchant for following up those leads exceeded our expectations and he was similarly complemented by one of the potential buyer candidates.

We thoroughly enjoyed working with Michael and always found him to be hard working, fair and honorable. He truly is the preeminent business broker/merger & acquisition specialist in his field and we strongly recommend him and California Equity Group to anyone contemplating the sale or purchase of a business.

Most Sincerely,
Gail Stark
Ray Kaliski

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Please accept this letter as a reflection of my deepest appreciation for the outstanding merger and acquisition services that I received from you and your firm. During our early discussions regarding retaining you and your firm to represent me with the sale of my company, I frankly was skeptical that you could succeed, especially in light of the disappointing results from another firm.

As you know, we had retained the services of another merger and acquisition firm that specializes in brokering technology companies. They spent a year marketing Troyco Technology without success. I want you two to know how impressed and thankful I am that you and your team handled the sale of my company so diligently and professionally.

I was acutely aware of the fact that the sale of Troyco Technology would prove challenging to any M&A firm. Troyco is a printed circuit board design and manufacturing company that focused its marketing efforts on very specialized, niche markets. Coupled with the uniqueness of Troyco’s markets was the fact that Troyco had a sixty percent sales concentration with one customer. Nonetheless, you found the perfect synergistic buyer/company and I could not be happier with the entire transaction.

Your diligent and tenacious effort was frankly astounding. You identified 2,500 companies that should have had interest in acquiring Troyco. Then you confidentially contacted each of these companies by mail along with a follow up call to confirm any acquisition interest in Troyco. Even after one of those companies, Everett/Charles, initially passed on the acquisition opportunity of Troyco, you redoubled your efforts and they ultimately brought me a near full price offer.

Once again, Mike & Clarence, I can’t thank you enough for all of your hard work in finding the perfect synergistic buyer for Troyco Technologies. You two are, without a doubt, the best in your profession and I would not hesitate to refer either of you to anyone or any company desiring outstanding merger and acquisition services.

Warmest regards,
Darren Nill
Troyco Technology, Inc.

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Dear Michael,

I bet you got the heeby geebies when you saw who was writing this note. It’s been a few days now since the closing and I just had to sit down and write you a note to tell you again how much I appreciate what you did for me after my husband passed away and left us running the family business.

I know you went way above and beyond the call of duty but I really feel that you saved my life by getting the sale done. You restored my faith in human nature.

There are a few more details to finish to complete the sale but I feel like I have my life again. I’m busy with my move and starting to get excited again about the future.

Once again, my heartfelt thanks—you know the Johnson girls are still going to hound you—especially Vicki.

Warmest regards
Charlene Johnson
Pacific Financial Printing

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Finding and purchasing our first company was a complicated and daunting task. Candidly, even though we are seasoned business people, our lack of experience with the whole merger and acquisition process made us feel somewhat vulnerable. Because of this, we knew we needed to retain the services of a business acquisition consultant with a high level of integrity, experience, and tact to help us find and acquire the right business. After watching Clarence Stone from California Equity Group masterfully broker a deal for a close associate, we determined that he was the perfect advisor to retain for our business search quest.

Clarence provides an expertise and understanding of the M&A process that is second-to none. During the search process, negotiation phases and due diligence review, we felt that Clarence always kept our best interests in mind, even though it might have meant losing a sale; this was very comforting and reassuring.

We were particularly impressed with how far-reaching and effective his professional connections were. Throughout the entire process he efficiently leveraged those relationships and brought us unique acquisition opportunities that were not generally known or available. With those relationships, he kept our transaction moving forward through negotiations, due-diligence and impasses with the lawyers, accountants and lenders to conclusion. The issues involved were many and complex, but Clarence’s guidance facilitated a smooth transaction and prevented any mishaps from occurring while assuring that our interests were protected and we were best suited for the business that we were buying.

The purchase of R&R Refrigeration was a perfect match for of acquisition interests and we could not be happier with the results. In the future, we will not hesitate to recommend Clarence Stone from California Equity Group to anyone needing honest and professional merger and acquisition services.

Mark Minor
R&R Refrigeration, Inc.
President

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I worked with Michael Sieber for sixteen months, beginning in April of 2003 until July of 2004 which resulted in the acquisition of my former employer’s company, G. Hensler & Co. He represented me in all aspects of this acquisition as outlined below.

I was introduced to Mike at the suggestion of a friend, when I mentioned that I hoped to buy the company I’d help start in 1989 and had worked at ever since, at the time in the capacity of President. I was aware that the owner was taking steps to sell the company to a large public company and I wanted to pursue buying it myself. I was told I could never afford it based on the valuation he’d recently had done. I had no prior experience with how valuations are done and could only rely on my knowledge of the company, our business model, and the assets to determine what is was worth to me. My initial conversations with Mike involved his educating me on valuation models and how we could together determine the fair market value of the company I wanted to purchase. I also had serious reservations about negotiating with the owner directly due to my extensive history with him and my lack of experience in this arena. Mike was able to represent me in an objective manner that allowed me to focus on running the business and getting the end result I wanted.

During the course of our working together, Mike helped me explore all options of business ownership in order for me to make a sound decision about whether or not I should buy the existing business and at what price. He developed a model of a business plan which allowed me to analyze the cost benefit ratio of striking out on my own with a similar business model should the deal not come to fruition. He also actively pursued alternative businesses for sale within the same industry, two of which were seriously considered. Throughout this period, Mike kept my best interest as his primary focus which was helping me become a business owner in a way that made sound business sense, offered plenty of room for growth, and would not jeopardize my personal financial security.

Throughout this time we faced many obstacles, all of which Mike thoughtfully considered before advising a course of action. At a point when he felt the deal we were working on would not come to fruition, we were able to switch gears into a Plan B that had been thoroughly explored and was also very exciting to me as a potential outcome. Because Mike had positioned me with such a positive Plan B, I was fully prepared to walk away from the original deal which, in the end, brought about the ultimate successful outcome. This positioning was a critical part of Mike’s strategy to help me buy the company at a fair price and in a timely manner.

In April 2005 we finally secured a signed letterof intent from the seller, which had been prepared by Mike. At this point we entered into the second phase of our journey which involved securing financing for the acquisition. By this point I was already convinced that Mike was a valuable asset, but little did I realize that our journey had just begun. Mike tirelessly explored all available financing options and was able to secure a workable combination of SBA and commercial bank financing in less than 60 days. Within this time we faced significant closing issues that threatened to negate the deal, but Mike was able to keep a cool head and his clear perspective allowed us to push on and get it closed.

Overall, I cannot say enough in support of Michael Sieber. He has a solid skill base along with legal, financial, and accounting expertise which together create a value far in excess of the actual cost. On a personal note, I can’t imagine a better partner to have along for such a stressful journey. His calm demeanor does not betray the tenacity beneath the surface that make for such a fierce negotiating partner. His pleasant disposition combined with a serious sense of humor made every encounter all the more enjoyable. Our working relationship brought about a win/win result of which I am very proud.

Lisa Rissetto
G. Hensler Co.
President

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Mike Sieber has been a significant factor for managing the acquisition of our company.  We found Mike to be a persistent and solid negotiator on our behalf but with the necessary diplomatic skills to keep the discussions going through its toughest periods.

Mike was able to understand the details of our business to come up with key selling points for the marketing effort as well as counter arguments during the negotiations.  Such ability was essential to progress in number of situations and ultimately in the successful closure.  The acquiring company was an excellent fit for our business needs and ongoing success into the future.

The engagement with CEG lasted about one and a half years but the actual acquisition, starting from due diligence to close, was only 4 weeks.  This being an extremely short duration, everyone had to step up and work around the clock to make it happen.  We closed exactly on time without any delay.

We highly recommend Mike Sieber. He has the experience, professionalism, hard working ethics and necessary business and negotiation skills to bring it all together to a successful closure.

Eddie Lee
President & CEO
Pure Solutions, Inc.

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