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FINANCIAL & STRATEGIC ADVICE: |
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EFCG is engaged on a retainer basis by about 50 leading e/c firms to provide strategic and financial advice. EFCG also takes on 50-70 ad hoc assignments yearly, frequently relating to assistance in evaluating a firm's strategic alternatives; ownership or management transition (see below); recapitalizations; acquisitions and reorganizations; strategic planning and assistance with financings. Partial List of Past and Current Clients... |
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VALUATIONS: |
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EFCG performs periodic valuations for a number of firms for internal ownership transfer and ESOP purposes; as well as ad hoc valuations and fairness opinions. For further details on our valuation services. Click here |
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PEER BENCHMARKING ANALYSES ("PBA"): |
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EFCG performs numerous benchmarking analyses for its e/c clients, comparing them on roughly 100 financial, business, human resources, or compensation parameters with 20 to 30 of their most comparable peer firms. These peer analyses are based upon confidential and proprietary data, and have provided helpful insight into the strengths and weaknesses of the firms, as well as the strengths and weaknesses of potential acquisition candidates during a due diligence process. View a Sample Page from a Peer Analysis, or a List of Exhibits.
In addition to our traditional financial PBA, EFCG has developed HR and Compensation Benchmarking analyses to further enhance our offering to the senior HR executives of the e/c industry. The HR benchmarking analysis benchmarks firms with respect to budgeting issues, medical and general benefits, recruiting, employee diversity, turnover, training, and leadership development. The Compensation benchmarking analysis benchmarks firms' professional and executive salaries and bonuses, along with issues such as long-term compensation.
EFCG also performs a separate Executive Compensation Analysis, as a complement to the Peer Analysis or as an independent assignment. The Executive Compensation Analysis benchmarks the top 5 most highly paid executives by comparing their total compensation to the revenues and profits for which they are responsible.
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MERGERS and ACQUISITIONS:. |
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EFCG has advised on more M&A transactions (and private equity financings) in the e/c industry than any other advisory firm. Services include assisting firms in finding merger or strategic alliance partners or acquisition buyers, as well as assisting in "buy-side" searches; we also assist firms with the negotiation of specific transactions. EFCG has advised on over 100 completed M&A transactions, or roughly $6 billion worth, in this field.
View some of our past M&A transactions |
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INDUSTRY INFORMATION, MARKET RESEARCH & PUBLICATIONS: . |
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EFCG provides financial information to the engineering/consulting and architecture industry through its annual conferences, publications, presentations and market research studies.
Annual Conferences: For the past twenty-two years, EFCG has hosted the Engineering/ Consulting ("e/c") CEO Conference, which brings together 200+ CEO's of e/c firms for a 3-day conference in NYC in October, featuring 35 speakers, who discuss the trends in the industry. EFCG also hosts the Annual CFO Conference (in its 12th year) for Engineering/Consulting Firms, bringing together 100 CFOs from leading firms, an Annual HR Executives Conference (3rd year), for more than 70 senior HR executives of e/c firms, and an Architecture/Engineering ("A/E") CEO Conference (in its 8th year) for Building Design & Construction Management Firms. As part of its conferences, EFCG conducts financial surveys of the industry, in which virtually all the major a/e/c firms participate, and which is perceived as the most comprehensive source of financial and business metrics for the a/e/c industry.
Publications: EFCG publishes a quarterly financial analysis of 23 U.S.-traded and 17 European & Australian-traded publicly-held e/c firms ("Public Companies Comparable Analysis") and a business analysis of the industry that also summarizes the issues raised at each of the annual conferences ("Overview Letter").
EFCG HR and Compensation Surveys: EFCG conducts two surveys geared toward HR executives in the e/c industry, the HR Executive Survey and the Compensation Survey. These surveys were initially launched in 2006 as a combined entity. The HR Survey encompasses firms' budgeting issues, medical and general benefits, employee diversity, turnover, training, and leadership development.The Compensation Survey includes an analysis of the "Top 10" executives by title, as well as salary and bonus information for Regional/Division/Profit Center Managers, Project Managers, Engineers, Scientists and Construction Managers. In addition to the survey results (which are distributed at the Annual HR Executives Conference), EFCG uses the gathered information to perform benchmarking analyses for both HR data and compensation metrics.
Presentations: EFCG has addressed the Board of Directors, Shareholders and/or Management Committees of 300+ firms with respect to the status, future and trends of the environmental, transportation and infrastructure e/c industry. Our client list lists some of the firms to which EFCG has presented, Click Here.
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OWNERSHIP TRANSITION PLANNING |
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EFCG assists architectural, engineering and consulting firms to evaluate, modify and develop their approaches to employee ownership, compensation and capitalization plans ("OCCP"). For employee-owned firms, OCCPs address three goals: maintaining internal or employee ownership, adequacy and appropriateness of owner's compensation, and the adequacy of capitalization to enable the firm to finance its internal growth while, at the same time, providing liquidity for retiring, or otherwise departing, employee shareholders. Almost every engineering and consulting firm has a different approach to this, and the challenge to meet these three different objectives is particularly critical to professional services firms and highly sensitive to the unique culture of each firm.
Designing an OCCP also requires an approach to deal with internal ownership transfer ("IOT"), avoiding the need for a company to sell out to a third party when it comes time for founders or senior owners to retire or liquefy their equity positions. Helping e/c and architecture firms accomplish this on a prudent and sustainable basis is one of our primary specialties, and we have been assisting E/C firms with their IOT plans for 19 years.
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