Kenneth H. Marks Contributor Bio

Bio

Kenneth is an entrepreneur and subject matter expert in mergers, acquisitions and financing of emerging growth and middle market companies.

He combines his first-hand experiences in financing, building and selling multiple businesses for himself with more than a dozen years of developing growth strategies and doing deals ...all to partner with CEO's to achieve their goals and aspirations. He is focused on helping CEO's (1) bring clarity and confidence to their strategic decisions; (2) create sustainable value in their companies; (3) and realize and monetize the value they have created.

He is the Founder and Managing Partner of High Rock Partners and the lead author of Middle Market M&A published by John Wiley Sons. His firm creates value by working with the leaders of emerging growth and middle-market companies through transitions of ownership or transitions to the next level (or to reposition the company) using a unique and proven blend of experiences and tools in strategic management, mergers acquisitions, finance and deals, organizational alignment, and market assessment and positioning ...all coupled with a been-there-done-that confidence.

Kenneth's past positions include President of JPS Communications, Inc., a fast growth technology subsidiary of the Raytheon and President / CEO of an electronics manufacturer that he founded and grew to $22 million. He was a director for a NC investment bank focused on raising capital during the late 1990’s.

He was a member of the Young Presidents Organization (YPO); and is the founding YPO Sponsor of the Entrepreneurs Organization in the RTP, NC Chapter; a member of ACG and the founding president of the Research Triangle Chapter of the National Funding Association. Kenneth is on the board of advisors of the Alliance of M&A Advisors. He teaches MBA electives in financing and M&A at NCSU. He obtained an MBA Kenan-Flagler Business School UNC Chapel Hill. He attended exec programs at the Wharton School and MIT.

Articles by Kenneth H. Marks

10 Options to Exit Your Business: Transfer and Liquidity Alternatives

Do you know all your exit options? Here is a handy list that outlines 10 of the best exit options for you, and why.
Where Does the M&A Advisor Add Value?

Where does the M&A advisor add value? A survey conducted by High Rock Partners, Inc., provides insight into what functions performed by M&A advisors were most valued by mid-market business owners that sold their companies.
Key Concepts for Successful Deals

Merger and acquisition (M&A) transactions can be a viable alternative for accomplishing a number of strategic objectives in the context of building and realizing value for emerging growth and middle market companies (those...

Q&A by Kenneth H. Marks

What is the single best thing I can do to sell my business at a premium?

I’ll break it into two broad categories and I’ll give the underlying assumption. The underlying assumption is that at some point, all deals will come down to certain metrics. In the world that we operate in, we’re not...
What should a business owner look for when selecting an investment banker?

You should look for a fit between your company and the investment bank. What do I mean by fit, because there are different things to consider? Say you have a technology company that can sell for $30 or $40 million. You could...
How do you determine the right amount of working capital that should be left in the business?

First, we start by trying to understand how the buyer thinks about working capital. We do a lot of transactions where it’s a strategic buyer and they have their own internal understanding of what working capital is. So we...
Do you think that timing the market is more important than value creation activities?

So you asked a couple of questions there. First, I do think that understanding the broad market and selling into a positive market is just as important as optimizing the operations of a business before selling. As an...
Do earn-outs work as a deal structure when selling a business?

I can reference multiple transactions, even for larger mid-market businesses and say that when you have deals with contingent consideration or staged payout, the amount of cash at closing tends to be a deal breaker if the...
How do I know when the timing is right to sell my business?

Historically, at a high level, we know that the M&A market runs in cycles. Understanding the broad market as to where we are in the overall M&A cycle is step one. But, that’s not always the best indicator. That’s only one...
What issues are most contentious when selling a mid-market business?

So, the easy answer is that it depends on a bunch of things, but to be specific, that doesn’t help you too much. Let’s break it down into kind of two sections: One is before the letter of intent or getting to the letter of...