A former TCF Financial executive is leading what aims to be a national effort to consolidate the fragmented small business-brokerage industry through a membership model that is designed to lead to acquisitions.
Brian Slipka, who left this year as head of TCF Technology Finance to become CEO of Sunbelt Business Advisors, a multi-state brokerage, said the new "Business Broker Investment Corporation (BBIC)" has raised $2.2 million for development and acquisition and that five brokerages have signed membership agreements to be BBIC contributors.
The BBIC is designed to be "an affiliation of business brokerages that benefits its members by defragmenting the business brokerage industry and leveraging its collective resources."
"They become member affiliates, get customer-relationship-management and other training," Slipka said. "You remain independent, but you are expressing a commitment to sell when you are ready. But you can still keep your local brand. These agreements will allow the brokerages to benefit from BBIC's best-in-industry strategic solutions and systems and allow the business brokerages to increase their enterprise value.
Minneapolis-based Sunbelt Business Advisors is part of the Sunbelt Network, which says it is the largest organization of business brokers and main street mergers-and-acquisitions professionals in the world. Sunbelt President Chris Jones will continue to serve as day-to-day leader of Sunbelt as Slipka focuses on adding and integrating business brokers.
Most traditional investment banks seek to advise on deals of $50 million-and-up, while a majority of small business sales range from several hundred thousand dollars to a few million.
The brokerages that have already joined the BBIC are Sunbelt Business Advisors, Pacific M&A and Business Brokers, Sunbelt Business Brokers of Tulsa, Sunbelt Business Brokers of Muskogee, and Sunbelt Business Brokers of Nebraska.
