By Dimitri Sayegh, Kevin Pacourek and Marc Blythe
Blythe Global Advisors (BGA) is pleased to announce that Dimitri Sayegh is taking on a new role with the BlytheTeam as Transaction Services Leader. Dimitri and Kevin Pacourek are joining forces to focus on expanding the M&A team. Dimitri is an expert on mergers and acquisitions, value creation, organizational design, restructurings and reorganizations. He has led a wide range of transactions including buy-side and sell-side mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, recapitalizations, and raising public/private-equity funds aggregating over $10 billion. Fluent in French and Arabic, Dimitri has planned and executed outbound and inbound transactions with Europe, Japan, Asia, Australia and Latin America. Dimitri has deep experience in multiple sectors including Aerospace & Defense, Asset Management, Engineering & Construction, Professional Services, Healthcare Advisory, Hospitality, Real Estate, Luxury Consumer Products, Manufacturing, Distribution, Media & Entertainment and Technology.
Dimitri specializes in guiding enterprises through the implementation of growth plans through transactions. He works with clients to overcome the financial and operational challenges associated with periods of rapid transformation created by either market forces or internal initiatives such as acquisitions, mergers, divestitures, profitability volatility, liquidity constraints, leveraged negotiations, reorganizations and restructurings.
Dimitri has comprehensive experience throughout the transaction life cycle including strategy evaluation, market research, target identification, pre/post letter of intent negotiations, architecting/executing cross-discipline M&A plans, financial/accounting due diligence, quantitative decision support, accounting consultations, project/functional cost analyses, profitability projections, cash flow projections, structuring of commercial transaction terms, valuation, board presentations and merger integration.
Prior to joining BGA, Dimitri Sayegh was a partner with Ernst & Young in Transaction Advisory Services (“TAS”) serving both private equity and private/public corporate clients; he worked in various offices, including Orange County, Los Angeles and New York for over 35 years. He also led EY Americas TAS practice for Engineering & Construction services, the West Region TAS Quality & Risk Management network and Southern California TAS People function. Following his retirement from EY in 2015, Dimitri joined a former client, China Construction Americas, as Vice President/Chief Development Officer and became a member of CCA Civil’s board of directors and its Chief Financial Officer.
The BGA Difference
We deliver consistently high results through BlytheTeamSM, our alliance of former Big Four partners/executives, current industry entrepreneurs, and former corporate finance and accounting senior executives/professionals. Our experts bring broad, deep and practical business experience to every engagement including extensive knowledge of U.S. and international accounting principles and practices, proven industry leadership, actionable project management, and expertise across a wide range of industries. Our end-to-end approach features turnkey implementation; customizable, flexibly priced solutions; knowledge transfer and measurable results. Our clients can attest that we hit the ground running and that we always leave businesses better situated to achieve their strategic objectives.
BGA’s rapidly growing Transaction Services practice includes, but is not limited to the following:
- Due Diligence: Due diligence is critical in evaluating whether the underlying assumptions of a merger or acquisition have been correctly assessed, including Quality of Earnings, working capital needs, capital expenditures requirements and free cash flows. We help identify and assess rapidly significant buy/sell transaction value drivers and deal stoppers. Also, we collect, scrutinize and confirm all required information and documentation to identify problems, errors, inconsistencies, threats and opportunities to help negotiate the best deal possible. We also analyze and stress test financial models to determine if they are dependable and reliable.
- Deal Structure Analysis: Putting together the definitive buy/sell agreement involves intricate financial issues such as definition of value, disbursement mechanisms, working capital adjustments, capital reserves, earn-outs, hold-backs, representations and warranties, liability limitations– all of which have complex accounting and financial reporting implications. We help structure a final agreement that identifies future accounting problems, risks and opportunities and we propose carefully tailored solutions for each situation.
- Integration/Carve-out Planning and Implementation: Taking advantage of synergies early can get a merger or acquisition off to a fast start. Whether you manage the integration process internally or outsource the work, our specialized templates help keep you on track and on time. We also evaluate the implications of mergers or acquisitions on contracts in place with customers, partners and vendors and develop solutions to safeguard your relationships with these key constituencies. Similarly, when divesting of a corporate division, a line of business, or a piece of a business, identifying and quantifying the interdependencies between the business to be sold and the business to be retained set the foundations for a successful divestment. We help divesting companies evaluate the impact of exiting a business on their transitional and continuing results with the objective of making better informed decisions. Also, we guide our clients through the entire business decoupling process, including negotiating and implementing Transitional Service Agreements.
- Accounting and Financial Reporting Implications: Determining the appropriate accounting treatment and financial reporting requirements for business combinations is complicated, and correcting errors is costly and time consuming. We identify current and future accounting implications and recommend on-going accounting treatment. When we conclude a valuation expert is needed, we help identify the right firm and coordinate interactions among all parties and review conclusions.
- Liquidity Advisory Services: Every company has to manage its liquidity prudently and has to anticipate its cash needs. We help companies identify excess assets that can be converted to cash and get the most out of the liability side of their balance sheets. Also, we help develop and implement 13 week rolling cash flow forecasting processes and project management controls to reduce costs and minimize cash outflows.
To speak with Dimitri about our Transaction Services, email him at dimitri.sayegh@blytheteam.com or call him at 310-480-7826.
To learn more about Blythe Global Advisors and its M&A solutions, contact kevin.pacourek@blytheteam.com or call him at 714-931-4460.
To learn more about Blythe Global Advisors, its solutions and BlytheTeam®, contact marc@blytheglobal.com or call 949-757-4180.