CHICAGO – Two representatives from financial advisor firm
Raymond James brought some good news to attendees at the Finance breakout
session on Wednesday afternoon at the NACS State of the Industry Summit.
“Capital markets have improved dramatically since the
downturn,” Roger Woodman, managing director at Raymond James, said. But before
everyone got too excited, he continued, “but global economic concerns and
issues around sequestration lead to uncertainty and volatility.”
In spite of those realities, future prospects for the
convenience channel look good. The 2013 stock market looks great so far and M
& A is off to a strong start. “Could this be the year we’ve been waiting
for?” Woodman asked attendees. A review of both public and private convenience
companies showed that 2012 was a strong year for earnings with lots of capital
market activity.
Focusing on one case study, Woodman discussed three
strategic scenarios available and viable for convenience store owners today:
the strategic merger, equity recapitalization with a private equity sponsor and
employee stock ownership plan (ESOP). Each scenario has pros and cons that are
heavily reliant on the owner’s goals and objectives for maximum success.
In closing, Woodman took a quick look at valuation. Peer
group analysis comparison and sales leaseback analysis were just a couple of the
tools mentioned as good to use when focusing on the valuation of a
business.
For more coverage of the Finance session and a deeper dive
into the case study check out the NACS State of the Industry coverage in CSP
Magazine.