White Rhino Report Reader Profile - Thomas de Jager

Several weeks ago, I promised to offer periodic introductions of Blog readers I have come to know. From time to time I will feature individuals whose business model or area of expertise may be of particular interest to the rest of this Blog's readership. Today, I am pleased to introduce you to my friend, Thomas de Jager, originally from South Africa and now helping to build Aleutian Capital Partners and Aleutian Acquisition Services.

ALC: "Thomas, when you and I met recently in NYC, it became clear to me that in much the same way that I take a different approach to recruiting than do most executive recruiters, you and your colleagues at ACP/AAS have a unique approach to Private Equity. Would you summarize for the readers of this Blog what makes you different from other PE firms?"

TDJ: Aleutian Capital Partners conducts buyouts of small companies ($5MM - $50MM in revenue, or higher with partners) in traditional economy manufacturing, service and distribution businesses. Aleutian’s point of difference is that we also have a buy-side acquisition advisory part of our business called Aleutian Acquisition Services, that helps clients find companies for their own acquisition or investment. We have a strong deal sourcing team in place that assesses over a dozen opportunities per week. We conduct an initial due diligence screen on all target companies to enhance the quality of our deals before presenting them to our advisory clients. We therefore serve a valuable role to clients who are aggravated by the time wasted reviewing deals not suited to their needs. We work for and derive our fees only from the buy-side.

www.aleutiancapital.com/aas


ALC: "Thomas, what is the strategic advantage of utlilizinging this structure and this model - for both clients and for Aleutian?"

TDJ: Once a potential acquisition candidate is identified, we are available to work alongside the buyer during the assessment process and post-acquisition strategic planning. Through the advisory work, we have developed relationships with private equity firms and other investors with specific expertise in certain industries. Our principal investing strategy includes investing alongside those advisory clients (when feasible) and benefitting from their experience in that particular industry. We look to leverage our clients’ valuable industry focused expertise, while at the same bringing our own expertise and capital to the table. We have developed a comprehensive due diligence process to uncover the risks and objectively assess the prospects of each opportunity.

ALC: "I know that among the readers of this Blog, there are CEO's who are looking to invest and put some 'skin in the game' with an acquisition target that they would eventually run. What does your program offer to these potential investors?"

TDJ: One of the most valuable things we can do is to match a strong company with a capable and interested CEO, create a growth and opportunity story for that company in conjunction with that CEO, and package it for investment (either as a principal investment for ourselves or as an investment opportunity for one of our buy-side clients).

Al, let’s continue this dialogue …….

Regards,

Thomas