Jay Sachetti joined Jeff O’Brien, partner at Husch Blackwell and Dyanne Ross-Hanson, president of Exit Planning Strategies talked about the market for mergers and acquisitions, exit planning opportunities for companies that don’t end up for sale and how companies can maximize their eventual sale price during an early October panel at the first Upsize on Tap event at Summit Brewing Co. in St. Paul.
When the state Legislature passed a law requiring employers to provide paid leave and safe time for employees, Justin Bieganek started hearing differing details from friends, colleagues and peers.
Golden Valley-based SimonDelivers.com has begun expanding its services.
First, the online grocer will begin services to apartments in downtown Minneapolis, followed by accepting phone and fax orders, and finally the company plans to expand its delivery services beyond the seven-county metro area. SimonDelivers has 60,000 customers and revenue of $80 million.
“We’re not leveraging assets, so for us the expansion made sense,” says Simon Foster, founder and head delivery boy. “The risk is when you have to belly up several million dollars.”
Because the expansion won’t require any additional infrastructure, Foster says the company will forge ahead. However, additional capital would be required in order to expand into a second market, and Foster won’t try that in the current venture capital climate. The company’s geographic expansion will go north to St. Cloud, south to Northfield and east to Eau Claire. All can be accomplished from the infrastructure the company has in place.
“If you have to expand your assets and invest in them, then I would think pretty damn hard about that right now,” Foster says.
“It’s still pretty rough out there, if you ask me. I don’t think we’re done yet. If we go to war, that’ll pretty much put consumer spending in a funk,” he adds. (He talked to Upsize in early March.) “I think consumers have been fueled in the last year with low interest rates.”
Simon Foster, SimonDelivers.com: 763.971.4900; fe******@***********rs.com; www.simondelivers.com
