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.
Greg Hennes, CEO of Art Holdings Inc. in Golden Valley, was reassured after an early March meeting in Chicago with fellow vendors and Marshall Field’s execs.
The meeting focused on how management at the retailing giant was working to boost sales by weaving together the different divisions of Target Corp. Speculation for years has been that Target would sell Marshall Field’s and Mervyns. “I left the meeting thinking they’re not going to sell because they wouldn’t spend so much time on integration,” Hennes says.
About a week later, Target announced that Marshall Field’s and Mervyns are for sale. Art Holdings inked a deal last year to lease space for retail art galleries in Marshall Field’s department stores, a move expected to double the size of his company. But Hennes isn’t too worried about the change.
“Target for the most part has ignored them for years,” Hennes says, meaning Marshall Field’s stores, so a new owner may pay more attention and improve revenue.
Also, he didn’t spend money on building out space in the stores. The majority of fixed costs are in paintings and prints that Art Holdings owns; the company purchased 5,000 pieces of inventory when it began operating the galleries.
If a new owner didn’t want to continue the leases, Hennes would have to lay off employees in the stores but otherwise the corporation would be protected. “We have very few fixed costs associated with this. If we moved out we’d just move out,” he says. “It’s business as usual.”
Greg Hennes, Art Holdings Corp.: 763.567.2202; gh*****@*********gs.com; www.artholdings.com
