Prospective Sellers

Chesapeake Ceramics - Acquisition Overview

Chesapeake was founded over 30 years ago by the current owner, Jack Bittner. Mr. Bittner had built the company from a small operation operating out of his basement into a thriving company with more than 1,000 customers and over $7.5 million in revenue, growing his employee base from one employee to more than 20. After much consideration, Mr. Bittner made the decision to reduce his workload and time commitment with Chesapeake by seeking a partner to help him continue the growth of the company.

Having explored potential sale opportunities with a wide range of partners, including entrepreneurs, smaller local private equity firms and strategic buyers, Mr. Bittner recognized that he preferred an acquisition partner that would better understand his goals in a transaction and could ensure a strong future for Chesapeake.

After several due diligence meetings with Mr. Bittner and his representatives, the Vicour team executed a Letter of Intent and immediately initiated in-depth discussions with to understand Mr. Bittner's desired role in the company post-acquisition. He hoped to retain responsibility for particular customer relationships and special projects focused on growing new lines of the business and to remain active, while concentrating on those areas of the business that he found most stimulating. Over a series of meetings, Mr. Bittner's role was clearly defined and ultimately codified in an employment agreement that tied his compensation to agreed-upon goals within his focus areas. The transaction closed on March 1, 2007 and Mr. Bittner began transitioning into his new role, allowing him to spend more time away from Chesapeake, while continuing to have an active role in the future of the company.

Vicour's acquisition model, in which the transaction structure was tailored to the seller's goals, proved vital to successfully concluding the transaction. Additionally, Mr. Bittner was confident that the future of his company would be in good hands. The fact that the lead Vicour partner not only pledged personal capital to the transaction, but also committed to operating the business on a day-to-day basis provided assurance that Chesapeake would be operated with the same care and commitment that it had enjoyed during its first 30 years.