About
Kimberly Castaneda – President
Before founding C3 Searches, Kimberly was previously the Vice President of Business Development for NERI Capital. Coordinating all Retained and Non-Retained Search work for the firm. Working with many Private Equity Groups to achieve quality Deal Flow. Searches included many sectors, Consumer Goods, Business Services and Healthcare. Prior to working with NERI, she has held various positions with both Sell-side and Buy-Side Intermediary firms in the mid-west.
Previously, Kimberly was with Mallard Capital Partners in Chicago. While working at Mallard, she coordinated all potential deal flow for Mallard with the Private Equity Groups and Strategic Acquirers. She was involved in acquisitions in a variety of industries. She has been involved in the completion of acquisitions totaling over $400 MM during her tenure with Mallard. Prior to that, she was with Vector Securities in Deerfield, IL, working with the Syndicate, Research, and Equity Departments.
Kimberly is an active member of the Association for Corporate Growth (ACG) and International Business Brokers Association (IBBA) and has completed several courses to obtain the CBI license (Certified Business Intermediary).
Our Business
Please contact us for more information on our search process.
[email protected]
Who We Are
C3 Consulting works with Private Equity Groups helping them to find the perfect acquisition candidate for their portfolio.
Our retained searches help find that hidden gem of a business that is the perfect fit for your acquisition strategy
Retained Searches for PE Firms
We are committed to helping Private Equity Groups find quality companies that are a fit for their acquisition criteria. Our Search Process is truly unique in its ability to find many companies that are a perfect match to what the Private Equity firm is looking for in expanding their portfolio. This gives the Acquirer many options instead of one or two that may be a possible fit for their criteria.
Our specialty is the ability to get through to the skeptical Business Owner who receives hundreds of calls yearly regarding selling their business. Our goal is to put him at ease so that we can discuss our client and their interest in his industry. We make the calls that no one wants to make. When we get a business owner on the phone, we know we have a “Real Buyer” to discuss and not a “Fishing Call”. The business owner feels instantly at ease and is ready to discuss his exit strategy and our client.
The Search Process
Our Services are geared toward providing value-added Buyer Advisory services for Private Equity Groups.
Our goal is to provide quality deal flow for our clients by actively targeting middle-market companies that meet our clients’ acquisition search criteria with the following process:
Obtain information on all privately held companies meeting acquisition criteria established by Acquirer.
- Source all needed information from various resources.
- Send a confidential letter to each Business Owner.
- Multiple follow-up calls to each Business Owner.
- Educate Potential Sellers on the process.
- Introduces Acquirer to Seller after the level of interest is determined by both Parties.
- Provide an informational summary for each potential Seller for Acquire to review.
- Acquirer determines their level of interest in each potential seller.
- Obtains necessary financial materials for the Acquirer to review.
- Arrange meetings or calls with both the Acquirer and the Seller.
- The acquirer proceeds with the opportunity without the need for the Intermediary to complicate the process.
This process helps to provide the Acquirer with Quality Deal Flow using proven techniques to research and understand each industry and providing introductions to companies that are a true fit for the acquisition strategy of the Private Equity Firm.
The Fee Strategy
All retainers have a standard monthly rate of $4500 per month to include all Letters/Mailings. Only Postage and Mail Merge costs are billed to Acquirer. The Average Mail merge for 1000 letters is less than $400.00.
The search includes a success-based fee of Standard Lehman for a transaction, with the minimum being $50,000. This serves to provide the acquirer with significant savings over working with a traditional Intermediary firm handling your retained search.
The initial search contract will be set for three months. If agreed upon by both parties, the retainer will continue after three months until such time that the Termination of the retainer is done in writing via email with 30 days’ notice by either party.
Any company that is introduced during the retainer and subsequently acquired within 24 months of last contact by Acquirer, the Finder’s Fee mentioned above will be due at the closing table. Every email sent to a potential seller is bcc’d to the Acquirer so that they are aware of the search process. Also, every two weeks a spreadsheet will be provided detailing the companies that have been sent information on the Acquirer and where they are in the search process.