The Firm Advisors recently sold an $18.7 million Michigan-based niche construction firm in 45 days: MJ VanDamme.

Through a strategic search on behalf of a buyer at The Firm Advisors, Cortney Sells and her team of professionals contacted MJ VanDamme, one of the largest employers in the biggest county in Michigan that provides construction services for industries such as mining, farming, and civil construction.

“We regularly talk with our buy-side clients about what they need, what they are looking for, how many employees, et cetera. Once we identify those benchmarks, our strategic division will reach out to businesses that meet those 7-10 buy-side parameters. M.J. VanDamme came to fruition because of that strategic search criteria,” stated Sells. “Most M&A firms want to sign you up for a year, but I told Jim we only want to do three months because we are that confident in our buyer portfolio and our deal team.”

Producing results short of 45 days after being retained, The Firm’s proprietary database of more than 36,000 qualified buyers, along with proprietary IP tools quickly matched the right motivated buyers with this prospective deal.

“Honestly, I couldn’t believe the number of buyers that they had in their pool, ready to spend money. Frankly, that buyer pool is one big thing that sets them apart from anybody else. They’re also very honest people who give a lot of attention to detail. That’s how we run our business, too.” said Jim Delmont, seller of MJ VanDamme.

Jim and Missy Delmont ultimately had their pick of 10 offers and negotiated to be retained, as the President, for a period after the sale to continue providing leadership. They ultimately chose Arizona-based Eberhart Capital.

 “The Firm’s sense of urgency is something like I’ve never seen. They are on it. They’re on top of it,” said Jim Delmont. “They are very to the point, very direct. Our weekly scheduled deal calls were less than an hour and they had an agenda for every call; very well-organized, very procedurally based. They answer their phone and text messages any time of the day.”

Deal Points:

• Price: $18,700,000

• Location: Gwinn, Michigan

• Timing (Accepted Offer to Closing): 45 days

• Owners: 2 — 51% Melissa Delmont, 49% Jim Delmont

• # of Offers: 10 total from independent buyers, private equity groups, and family offices

• Website: mjvandammeinc.com

About The Firm Advisors

The Midwest’s industry leader in business advisory as the intermediary among stakeholders within the various stages of business ownership. The multi-disciplinary team of professionals are invested in attaining the understanding and knowledge of each unique business and include an in-house attorney, analysts, advisory and deal divisions, and a marketing team. The Firm Advisors has over 100 opportunities for sale within 21 industries currently represented, with listings ranging from $50,000 to over $25 million. They have sold more businesses in 2019 than any other M&A advisor in the world. For more information, visit thefirmadv.com.