everything grows or dies

21 years ago, our founders created a mediated M&A format replacing expensive competition with collaborative dialogue. Your clients will notice.

quick chat m&a ideas

We resist change that we don't understand. Attached are 5 short clips that explain some ideas behind our M&A process. When our firms (you and me) agree on these topics, we are able to guide your firm into the next chapter (maybe the next of many) of its growth. Our role is to "tee it up" and move out of your way. Watch the clips, download the Engagement, sign the NDA, then call for a free zoom with our founder. It just might be a very strategic few minutes.
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CRAWFORD, HUDDLESTON & CO. IS A MEDIATION FIRM IN TEXAS

  • For 21 years, we have helped professional service partnerships with market-share and equity value. Our simple format allows expansion by M&A which saves decades in so-called organic firm growth. Important in that a given partner might only be around for a decade or two. Our process works because it's mediated rather than head-to-head. Firms initiate combinations all the time only to withdraw. The buyer/seller conflict is the reason why it's better to use a 3rd party to "referee" a combination.

  • Sometimes the best combinations have 3 parties rather than 2 because the dialogue is changed by the 3-way dynamic. In a multi-firm transaction there is less feeling of a "big firm /little firm", "buyer v. seller", etc. Each of you is offering the others 2 firms rather than just one--no single competitor can provide more diversification. It sounds complex but we handle most of the heavy lifting.
  • Crawford, Huddleston & Co. only works on an "equity-swap format" where the 2 firms combine proportionally. Valuation, or rather "agreement on valuation methodology" is a critical milestone--hard to achieve without a 3rd party guide. We create (and nurture) that collaborative agreement quickly and inexpensively. Our Engagement Agreement is attached to this website, as is our Non-Disclosure Agreement.

  • Read both then call us for a series of Zoom calls to walk through what expansion looks like in your operational environment. Another element of our practice involves "best practices" consulting with government and/or NGO's where inefficiencies (picture your local DMV) are often internally invisible. Public sector problems are different than private sector issues (different motives and metrics). In private practice, you innovate or go out of business--"grow or die". Agencies often suffer from a government form of disconnected oversight that might be nuanced in such a way as to make it hard to trace, anticipate or manage legitimate growth or even operational efficiency.

  • In either a public or private context, a 3rd party consultancy (with, by definition, no executive authority) can more easily help you hatch new ideas allowing productivity beyond what was previously possible. When you win (and you will win) it's your victory, not ours. Our plan (for you) is that you'll do more of these. In each move, your equity value inches up by (at least) the reduction in administrative overlap costs.

broader client service capabilities

Expand! Your clients have niche requirements which other providers will satisfy if they can. What are you still believing about your firm's service-delivery limitations?

expanded regional geographies

Are your current operations in the best-suited markets? Ask yourself "why" about the "where". Today, commerce is more a question of energy and imagination.
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GIVE IT A MINUTE; Suppose 5 firms share your market and 2 of these blend their capabilities; talent, locations, resources, contacts, etc. How does their move impact YOUR market share? Now what if YOUR firm is one of the 2 that merge? Now what happens to your combined position--as measured by capacity? Once you've achieved some level of market dominance, you should consider another geography (we've got some ideas). We use a time-tested version of the engagement agreement we started with in 2004; simple and clear--inexpensive, fast and sustainable. Our fees are not associated with an outcome we can't control but with a process we can control or at least predict. This (mediated) process works because of an objective 3rd party catalyst--no favorites, no fragile egos, no counter-intuitive barriers. Firms begin then abandon M&A initiatives all the time. Often these DIY attempts fail because of a reaction to a heavy-handed approach. "Innovative" firms scheme about buying, sometimes selling--rarely merging, NEVER sharing the actual leadership of the venture. Our process involves sharing the actual leadership of the venture. The combined firm is stronger because none of us had all the answers--we never do. Even if you believe other providers are as clever as you, admitting that might send your clients elsewhere? Why risk it? This hard-to-have dialogue is facilitated by a PRIVATE, protected mediated process. We'll never publish your M&A success--it's your story not ours. IT STARTS WITH A FREE ZOOM, A Non Disclosure Agreement, THEN WHO KNOWS . . . Everything grows or dies.

Let's talk about combining your firm with a competitor

The economics are obvious; the question is what (or who) is keeping your firm on the wrong side of an expanded client-service capability? It's not rhetorical.
© Crawford, Huddleston & Co.
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6107 BAY RIDGE AMARILLO, TEXAS #8 GOLF COURSE DRIVE TAOS, NEW MEXICO
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