The Plain Dealer features Western Reserve Partners in “Mergers of mid-size companies soar” article

December 25, 2004

The Plain Dealer, Ohio’s largest newspaper, prominently featured Western Reserve Partners its lead story in the Business Section of Saturday, December 25, 2004. The article was titled, “Mergers of mid-size companies soar”

The article explained that merger statistics show Great Lakes and Ohio M&A activity up by 19% and 15% respectively during 2004. “That’s according to Western Reserve Partners LLC, a Cleveland investment bank formed this year by Ralph Della Ratta Jr. and Mark Filippell, former top executives for KeyCorp’s McDonald Investments unit. Filippell said the late-‘90s market “was just a bit better than right now. It’s not quite that hot, but it’s hot and getting hotter.”

The articles went on to explain that Western Reserve expected “to have about six transactions in the works at this point in its start-up cycle. The firm, which targets midsize companies in the Midwest, actually is working 12 deals and has four more in the proposal stage.”

The article quoted Mr. Filippell as saying, the “M&A stars have come into alignment” because

• Banks and institutional investors have loosened their purse strings.
• Private equity firms are awash in univested capital and are hungry to make deals.
• Foreign corporations are spurred on by the weak dollar.
• Business owners are coming out of the downturn with improved balance sheets and income statements and are putting their companies up for sale.

The article quoted other prominent executives drawn from investment banking, corporate law and private equity in assessing the improved merger and acquisition market.

The complete text of the December 25, 2004 The Plain Dealer article can be found here.