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Mergers & Acquisitions on the Agendas of Minority-Owned Businesses Seeking Growth

SB Informer
Monday, September 3, 2007; 02:27 AM

Stories of the small business turned global conglomerate are no longer a novelty in the media. Some middle market businesses – minority-owned businesses in particular – still find themselves stalled in their advances. Experts point to a reliance on outdated growth strategies as the culprit.

“Minority-owned businesses are facing a new era of challenges. Implementing sophisticated methods of growth is no longer optional,” asserts Ted Bridges, Director of Business Development at VERCOR, a middle market investment bank. Bridges understands the temptation for business owners to rely on organic growth strategies, especially those who have built their companies from the ground up. He stresses mergers, acquisitions and private equity are the most proven, effective way to maximize capital and maintain competitiveness in a global marketplace.

Businesses across the board benefited over 50 years ago thanks to the creation of the Small Business Administration (SBA). Twenty years later, minority-owned businesses received a much-needed boost with the establishment of programs that promoted minority entrepreneurship. The hurdle of equal access to capital still loomed. The government answered by forming Minority Enterprise Small Business Investment Companies (MESBIC) to bolster minority-owned enterprises.

According to Rona Fourte, Executive Director of the Chicago Minority Business Opportunity Center (a funded project of the U.S. Department of Commerce, Minority Business Development Agency, operated by the Chicago Minority Business Development Council, Inc.) the pressure to implement procurement strategies resulting in greater efficiencies and increased returns for stakeholders makes sophisticated growth strategies critical. “The minority-owned business community will continue to face more aggressive size and scale requirements from their customers as global supply chain strategies are explored and quite frankly, I view mergers and acquisitions as the most effective way for minority-owned businesses to maintain stability in the marketplace,” states Fourte,

Bridges agrees. Minority-owned businesses are beginning to benefit from his insight. Through conferences and seminars, Bridges readies businesses to compete in a global marketplace. The lion share of his guidance comes by way of direct consultation. He adds, “As minority business owners craft and implement their visions of expansion, they will be well served to embrace M&A as the ‘strategy of choice.’ The global economy demands it.”

About Ted Bridges, J.D.
Ted Bridges is the Director of Business Development at VERCOR, a leading provider of middle market investment banking services with 13 offices worldwide. With 13 years of expertise including executive management coupled with business consultation, Ted is poised to assist business owners in the mergers and acquisitions process. For more information about Ted and VERCOR, visit www.vercoradvisor.com.

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