Why Fidelis

Finance • Capital • Restructure

What I Hear

Current State

Current State

Economy

Rising interest rates, tightening monetary policy, geopolitical conflicts, inflationary pressures, reduced credit availability.
Current State

Sales/Operations

Pricing pressures, squeezed margins, slower growth, lower profits, higher inventories, stretched vendors
Current State

Supply Chain

In many cases 60+ days, higher inventories, longer working capital cycles
Current State

Borrowers

Higher interest rates and defaults; difficult for businesses to refinance to new lenders
Current State

Senior Lenders

Favor restructurings over seeing their debt collapse into insolvency (lesser of two evils)

Current State

Restructurings

Must have positive cash flow, minimum debt service, improvement of collateral position

CEO/OWNER – What keeps me up?

Companies are not alone • It has been a tough three years

Losing Traction:

Slowing Economy – slower sales growth
Supply Chain still > 60 days – difficult to predict; higher year end inventories
Inventory and other assets – lower appraised values
Costs continue to rise – can’t pass on to customers
Capital and new lending tight – limited financial sources

Liquidity:

Senior Lenders – liquidity restricted; personal guarantees
Trade Creditors – stretched terms; full time job managing cash and product
Customers – fill rates challenged; supply chain unpredictable

Company Life Cycle

Where are you on this curve?

Where are you on this curve?

Even hard-working business owners with long-standing success can stumble. All businesses hit Crossroads at various times and get stuck. Sometimes this can end of up in Conflict and Crisis. The Distressed Group helps owners re-create value.

Working Capital

What happens when things go wrong.

Warning

Covenant breaches
Declines in cash flow
Missing business plan
Increases in days payable
Layoffs
Loss of key customer/vendor
High turnover
Lender/vendors tightening terms
Transfer to special assets division
Write – downs
Failure to file financial statements
Significant litigation
Capital infusion by owner

Causes

Macro factors:
Recession
Declining consumer spending
Declining asset valuations
Regulatory change
Credit tightening
High commodity prices
Micro factors:
Ill – conceived acquisitions
Weak financial management
Obsolescence
Competition
Overexpansion
Poorly conceived strategy
Inability to execute

Results

Insufficient Liquidity
Excessive Leverage

Crossroads – Re-Creation

Challenges to Re-Creating Value

Cohesive Strategic Plan
Adequate working capital
Systems and reporting to manage / measure growth
Budgeting that ties to key performance indicators (KPI’s)
Management team capabilities and training

Fidelis helps you tell the story and creates 3 rd party verification

Consultants who have the knowledge and experience
Trusted partners who will engage quickly, plan effectively and work with your team to execute for sustained results

Why Fidelis?

Who is our Customer

Privately owned companies between $5 million and $50 million in sales, experiencing challenging circumstances, requiring non-traditional financing and strategic alternatives

Industries: manufacturing, distribution, retail, hospitality, service and real estate

Situations:

  • Working capital shortfalls
  • Operational issues
  • Supply chain interruptions
  • Main customer / supplier issues
  • Restructuring debt/equity

What makes us Different

Bruce Conklin has over 30 years experience in Crisis / Conflict
Enterprise-wide solutions – significant improvements to EBITDA and working capital
Priced competitively for the mid-market
Take the “fear and stress” out of change
Businesses are each unique and require unique solutions
Achieve consensual solutions, avoiding costly formal insolvency solutions

Lenders … think of Fidelis when

Turnaround/Crisis

Underperforming creditors pose a risk – they are at a crossroads

  • Weakening Collateral
  • Weakening debt coverage

Borrower seeking a transaction:

  • Acquisition
  • Refinance
  • Sub-debt/mezzanine
  • Sale/ownership transition

Early Warnings/ Borrower

Early Warnings

Management only focused on sales growth which never materializes
Margins contracting
Loss of key customer or vendor
Liquidity crunch
Missed business plan
Covenant breaches
Line of Credit maxed
Increasing fixed costs
Accelerated growth creating working capital shortfalls

Borrower disciplines needed

Assess liquidity – can NEVER run out of cash
Develop 13-week cash flow – navigate liquidity
Develop business plan – define needed capital
Extend time to explore options – negotiate extensions
Reduce costs – develop scalable structure
Margins – eliminate unprofitable products /customers
Leases / Debt – restructure unnecessary long-term debt

Success Stories

$15M Manufacturing Company:

Challenge: Losing Money due to recession; payables past due; senior lender over-advanced

Solution: Negotiated stand-still with lender; allowed for successful sale of company

$200M Hospital Group:

Challenge: Changes in IP caused 25% drop in billings and collections

Solution: Created interim financial plan to bridge to solution; Acted as interim CTO to transition solution to billing issues

$8M Furniture Retailer:

Challenge: Recession caused losses; SBA lender threatening foreclosure

Solution: Created interim plan and negotiated stand-still with lender, allowing for sale of stores

$30M Food Importer and Distributor:

Challenge: Senior lender defaults due to missing loan covenants

Solution: Assisted company in creating plan and negotiating new loan covenants

$12M Multi-level Marketing Company:

Challenge: Sales declining 2% per month for previous 18 months; lack of capital

Solution: Worked with new CEO to create action plan to arrest sales growth and return to profitability

$25M Furniture Manufacturer:

Challenge: Continuing Losses; Unsecured creditors significantly past due

Solution: Stabilized creditor situation; allowed for sale of company; negotiated consensual restructure of unsecured debt to allow sale of company

$20M Flooring Distributor:

Challenge: Company over-leveraged and couldn’t meet debt service

Solution: Created interim plan and negotiated stand-still with lenders and creditors, allowing company to hire investment banker

$100M Manufacturing Company:

Challenge: Created revolutionary product, high fixed cost, limited initial volume, causing significant liquidity crisis

Solution: Worked with owner to bridge credibility gap with senior lender, stabilize cash flow and bring in additional capital

$60M Shoe Designer / Importer:

Challenge: Continuing Losses; Unsecured creditors significantly past due

Solution: Assisted CEO and CFO in revitalizing relationship with senior lender, created 18 month plan to support additional capital from equity investor

$20M Flooring Distributor:

Challenge: Company over-leveraged and couldn’t meet debt service

Solution: Created interim plan and negotiated stand-still with lenders and creditors, allowing company to hire investment banker

Fidelis Advisory

We wrote the book

Fidelis Advisory

For over 30 years

Priced for low-mid market
Worked with over 130 companies
Partner with CEOs / Management
Expert at Consensual Solutions

Owners of $5m to $50m companies call me when:

Capital and Liquidity is constrained – tough deal
Senior lender is concerned – constricting credit
Creditors’ demanding payment – consensual, non-bankruptcy
Conflicts need resolution – shareholder and legal disputes
Crisis needs to be averted – slow down process and open options
Value has dropped – revitalize profitability and brand identity