Mobile-based Transworld Business Advisors of the Gulf Coast (TBA GC) recently served as the exclusive M&A advisor to the shareholders of Emerald Coast Growers in the successful completion of a strategic transaction with Green Street Growth, a private investment firm focused on partnering with founder- and family-owned businesses.
Bill Kleinschrodt, president of TBA GC, led the sell-side advisory process on behalf of the Emerald Coast Growers shareholders. TBA GC’s work included transaction preparation, buyer outreach, evaluation of competing opportunities, negotiations and coordination through diligence and closing.
Founded in 1991, Emerald Coast Growers has grown into a leading supplier of ornamental grass liners, perennial starter plants and specialty plants to growers and retailers throughout North America. The company operates more than 575,000 square feet of environmentally controlled greenhouse space and more than 75 acres of farmland across locations in the Northeast and Southeast.
“This was one of the more enjoyable transactions I’ve been blessed to help navigate, and I think that speaks to the quality and character of the people on both sides,” said Kleinschrodt. “The process ultimately moved more quickly than we initially expected, and Green Street deserves a lot of credit for that. From early in the process, their team acted with urgency, did what they said they would do and built trust with both our team and the Emerald Coast Growers shareholders. That trust carried through the transaction and allowed everyone to work through the inevitable complexities of a deal like this in a very constructive way.”
For the Emerald Coast Growers shareholders, identifying the right partner for the company’s future was a central consideration throughout the process.
“For our clients, this was always about more than maximizing a transaction,” Kleinschrodt continued. “They wanted the right partner for the next chapter of a business and legacy they have spent decades building. That meant evaluating not only economics, but also the people involved, the structure of the partnership and what it could mean for the company, its employees and its customers over the long term.”
Under the partnership, Emerald Coast Growers’ existing leadership team will remain in place, and the family will retain an ownership interest in the company. Green Street Growth will provide additional resources to support continued investment in production capacity, operating infrastructure, employees and customer support while preserving the people, culture and relationships that have helped define Emerald Coast Growers for more than three decades.
“As we considered the future of the business, it was important to find a partner who respects what has made Emerald Coast Growers successful and shares our values and long-term perspective,” said Paul Babikow, president of Emerald Coast Growers. “We believe we found that in Green Street Growth.”
The transaction reflects TBA GC’s continued work representing family-owned and closely held companies through significant ownership transitions.
Headquartered in Mobile, Alabama, Transworld Business Advisors of the Gulf Coast provides business brokerage, mergers and acquisitions, valuation and strategic exit-planning services to business owners throughout the northern Gulf Coast. The firm specializes in representing family-owned and closely held businesses through confidential sale processes, strategic investments and ownership transitions.
TBA GC advises business owners throughout the transaction process — from preparing a company for market and identifying qualified strategic and financial buyers through negotiating transaction structure, managing diligence and coordinating the many parties involved through closing.
Serving businesses throughout Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana, TBA GC combines local transaction experience with the international Transworld platform to identify and engage qualified strategic and financial buyers.