James Darnell Contributor Bio

Bio

James, a partner at KLH Capital, is responsible for identifying, structuring and executing transactions, due diligence, financial analysis, and portfolio management. He is a member of the KLH Investment Committee and is responsible for all SBIC compliance. He serves on the board of directors for all KLH portfolio companies and is directly responsible for overseeing Federal Resources Supply Company and Atchafalaya Measurement, Inc.

Before joining KLH, he served as CFO and interim CEO at Recovery Holdings, LLC, a BPO provider to banks and auto finance companies. Earlier, James spent more than five years as a senior associate with Founders Investment Banking, where he worked on such transactions as sell-side and buy-side mergers and acquisitions, recapitalizations, growth financings, and sale leaseback transactions.

James, a Mobile, Alabama native, graduated from the University of Alabama with a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance and a minor in Economics. He is a member of the Association for Corporate Growth Tampa Bay Chapter. He is also a member of Covenant Life Church and is active in a number of para-church ministries.

Q&A by James Darnell

What are typical fee structures for portfolio companies by private equity groups?

A private equity group has a lot of flexibility typically in how they collect fees or harvest value from a company in which they are invested. The form and structure of what those economics looks like varies, but the most...
Which attributes do private equity groups find attractive in a business?

Private equity groups have a broad range of interests based on their investment strategy and the mandates they have been given by their investors of which types of businesses to invest in. These mandates include the size,...
What are some of the key differences between a financial buyer and strategic buyer?

The key difference between a strategic buyer and a financial buyer is that a strategic buyer is typically going to be buying all of your company. There are a couple of differences once this happens. The first is that the...
What tools do private equity firms use to create value?

There aren't many proprietary tools that private equity groups can use to create value. Business management, sales, and marketing strategy have been well researched and published in which the best practices are in the public...
What should a business owner expect from private equity due diligence?

When the entrepreneur has decided to work with the private equity group, and they enter into a contract to close the deal, it will have to undergo a due diligence process that can be quite intensive. If the entrepreneur is...
What should a business owner expect after being acquired by a private equity firm?

That’s a good question. A business owner, upon entering into a relationship with a private equity group, is going to experience a range of things because they are really entering into a new business relationship that can...
What should a CEO consider when negotiating with private equity groups?

There are probably too many things to list that are really important for a business owner to understand about their agreements and documents with a private equity group. It is very important for the business owner to sit...
Can private equity be a solution for family succession transactions?

The trend in the market right now is that the baby boomers who are the largest segment of the population are reaching retirement. These are the people that have built companies and built great businesses. Now reaching a...
What is the most important thing to consider when selecting a private equity firm?

That’s a good question. The most important thing for a business owner to consider when selecting a private equity is the philosophy and vision of the private equity group that the entrepreneur will be working with going...