Underneath the conventional exterior of our investment banking firm, there's something outrageous afoot. While we busily go about our day-to-day activity of buyer and seller matchmaking, Kevin Short, the CEO of Clayton Capital Partners, has been spending his late nights and early mornings writing a book.

Instead of the next Great American Novel, Kevin is writing about the process we use to sell ordinary companies at outrageous prices. Yes, a non-fiction book about ordinary companies, in this marketplace, which sell—for at least twice the EBITDA multiple of average companies in their industries—to actual buyers, for cash.

"Over the course of my 25-year career," says Kevin, "I wondered why some companies sold at much higher prices than did their very similar competitors. Then I stopped wondering, started testing assumptions, defied seller and market expectations, and finally figured out how to translate my experience and theories into a repeatable, yet flexible process." Kevin calls his method the Outrageous Price Process™ and the working title of his book is "Sell Your Ordinary Company For An Outrageous Price."

Never go to market unprepared.

Before we take any owner into the M&A market, CCP provides—not an abstract valuation—but a likely sale price in the current market. We also perform a Sale Readiness Assessment to determine how prepared both an owner and the company are for a sale.

We then conduct a Pre-Sale Due Diligence process designed to: 1) uncover any deal killers or deal cripplers; 2) give an owner a taste of the buyer's Due Diligence; 3) provide an owner the opportunity to evaluate our work before negotiations begin; and 4) save the owner/seller valuable time once the sale process begins. The final component of preparation—especially if you decide to pursue the outrageous price—is to choose a guide who knows how to orchestrate the Outrageous Price Process™.

Know thy buyer and thyself.

If you don't know what it is that makes your company uniquely valuable to a specific buyer, how can you exploit that characteristic? You can't. So we work with you to uncover (and often to enhance) your company's Competitive Advantage and then, through competitive intelligence gathering and relationship building, to identify the strategic buyer who will benefit most from acquiring your company. Those buyers are ones who: 1) can make more money from your company than you ever could through synergies, larger platform, etc.; or 2) will eliminate a painful thorn in their sides when they acquire your company.

To learn more about whether your company is a candidate for an outrageous price, please visit our new website: www.thinkoutrageous.com or call Jeff Bush, Senior Associate, at 314-725-9939, extension 500.

THE SELLER
Sarvis, Inc., is a leader in the military resale market. Sarvis stands alone among military brokers in its commitment to client focus and results through its two Divisions that service Commissaries (DeCA) and its three sales teams that support Exchanges (AAFES, NEXCOM, Marines, Coast Guard, Veteran's Canteens).

THE BUYER
Advantage Sales and Marketing, LLC, is a premier North American sales and marketing agency committed to building brand value for both clients and customers. ASM's customized sales and marketing solutions include outsourced sales, merchandising, category management and marketing services to manufacturers, suppliers and producers of food products and consumer packaged goods.

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