Our team is happy to announce that Bohr Electronics has been sold to Alderman Holdings. FourBridges and John Beard of Patrick, Beard, Schulman and Jacoway acted as advisors to Bohr, leading the owner through the transaction process and negotiating the deal on his behalf.

Deal type: Sell-side

Deal team: Chris Rowe

About Bohr: Chattanooga-based Bohr is a second-generation family business that has been serving customers since 1957. Bohr specializes in PTC & engineering solutions, repair and return, unit exchange, and new and remanufactured electrical components to the railroad industry. The company’s team consists of electrical engineers, mechanical engineers, logistics specialists, project managers, and technical customer support personnel who pride themselves on doing work right “the first time.”

The objective: Edwin Bohr had successfully led his company for 16 years after taking over for his father, and he was ready to retire. Of course, Edwin wanted to get the best purchase price, but he also wanted to be sure his buyer shared his vision for the company, would take care of his employees, and would strategically position Bohr for future growth.

The challenge: When Edwin came to us, he had already received a solid offer from a potential buyer, which isn’t unusual: many business owners spend time fielding calls from interested parties, but aren’t quite sure how to handle them. How do you know if you’re getting a good deal? How do you structure a deal that achieves your objectives? And how do you keep a deal from going off the rails?

While Edwin had a good feeling about this buyer, he wanted to be sure he was getting the best price for his company, that the deal would be structured in a way that would lead him to his desired results — and of course, that the deal would actually get done.

Our process: We started by getting a grasp on Edwin’s key objectives, and then we took a step back to truly understand his business operations and financials. That information gave us a much clearer picture of Bohr’s fair market value. At that point, we were able to confidently go back to the prospective buyer, Alderman Holdings, with firm numbers and terms.

We also helped Edwin work through common decisions (like choosing between an all-cash deal versus an earn-out structure) and potential roadblocks (like the working capital adjustment and indemnifications), which can stop a deal in its tracks if you’re not prepared to handle them.

The result: FourBridges helped negotiate a deal with Alderman that checked all of Edwin’s boxes and allowed him to enter retirement knowing that Bohr and his employees were in good hands. Alderman is excited about the opportunity to take Bohr to the next level.

“I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished at Bohr over the 16 years, but when I was ready to retire, I was ready to retire. I had received a legitimate offer for my business, and I was tempted to sign on the dotted line and move on.

In hindsight, it would have been incredibly difficult and stressful to get a deal done without FourBridges and John Beard. Working with their team was easy, and their expertise made me confident when I was in uncharted territory. I’m happy with the outcome and can’t wait to see where Alderman takes Bohr Electronics.”