The Private Equity and M&A deal-making community came together on September 24, 2020 for Upstate Capital’s second annual Buffalo PE Summit. Over fifteen PE investors, deal makers and M&A professionals spoke about the latest data and activity from the private equity sector in Upstate New York.

Bob Wegbreit, Partner, GF Data

Bob set the stage for discussing acquisitions with data he and his firm collect from private equity firms on recent deals completed in the $10-$250M dollar range. Some Upstate Capital members use GF Data’s services to understand current deal pricing, valuation and structuring dynamics.

Conversation with Jeffrey Armbrister, Hamilton Lane

Jeff is the Global Head of Direct Equity Investments at Hamilton Lane. Hamilton Lane, a long-time supporter of Upstate Capital, is one of the oldest and largest alternative investment and advisory firms in the PE industry. Jeff joined the firm in 2018, and was promoted to his current role nearly a year ago. He had a conversation with Noa Simons, Upstate Capital’s Executive Director.

Sourcing and Setting Expectations

Nick Morreale, a Senior Vice President at Paramax, Jeff Lewis, a Partner at Bonadio Group, and Randy Bianchi, both Managing Partner at Lakelet Capital and President of the Board of Directors of Upstate Capital Association of NY discussed sourcing companies, and how they approach valuing businesses.

The Case for Business Intelligence in Transactions

Dan Gerena, a Principal at Freed Maxick that heads up their Business Intelligence Practice spoke about the case for business intelligence in transactions. His colleague, Dave Mancuso, introduced why business intelligence matters, both for preparing for a sale as a company and for monitoring acquisitions as a PE firm.

Getting Acquired with Gregg Lederman

Gregg Lederman built and sold both a small ice cream business and large marketing/branding company over the course of his career. He is now a professional speaker, coach, and New York Times best-selling author. He and Noa Simons had a conversation about building and selling his company, Brand Integrity.

Negotiating the Deal You Want

Every transaction involves negotiation. Maria Kast and Jill Knittel had a conversation about how to negotiate effectively. Maria Kast is the founder of Core Leadership Development. She works with Jill Knittel, founder of her own executive search firm, to share their expertise on how they negotiate agreements

Conversation with Niagara Thermal Products

Barry Heckman of Niagara Thermal Products has had a business career that spans more than 40 years in diverse manufacturing businesses with heavy engineering content. He has a conversation with David Kocen, a Managing Member at Bluehenge Capital Partners, about his experience working with PE investors to build and exit Niagara Thermal Products.

Capitalizing Acquisitions

Sean Moskal, Senior VP of Commercial banking at KeyBank, Mike Lasch, Managing Director at Pine Street Capital Partners and Brian D’Amico, Managing Partner at Summer Street Capital, spoke on a panel to provide perspectives from capital providers active in the PE & M&A industry.