Corporate Information For Business Owners Investor Information New Releases Contact Us Overview Our Business Platforms Investment Approach Overview Acquisition Criteria Target Industries Operating Philosophy Frequently Asked Questions WesternOne focuses on acquiring a portfolio of platform businesses that are predominantly in the construction and infrastructure services sectors and which meet the acquisition criteria as set forth below: • Strong Economic Trends – WesternOne focuses on acquisition opportunities located in markets that have strong long term economic trends, especially for the construction and resource sectors. Although most of the existing operations are in Western Canada, WesternOne also has operations in the United States. WesternOne will continue to seek organic growth and acquisition opportunities outside its current markets, including but not limited to central and eastern Canada and other parts of the world. • Growth and Stable Cash Flows – WesternOne seeks to acquire platform businesses that have a history of stable cash flows and that can grow significantly organically or through the acquisition or consolidation of businesses in the same market niche. • Return on Investment - Acquired business must be capable of generating go-forward returns on investment that are as good or better than the returns generated by organic growth of WesternOne’s existing businesses. • Strong Market Share Position – Acquisition targets are typically leaders in their markets that are or can become dominant in their market niches. They also have long-term and loyal customer base and a dedicated group of employees. Acquiring a market leader helps WesternOne pursue add-on acquisitions of smaller, independent businesses operating in the same industry as the platform business. Being the dominant player in a market also provides a more stable position for the business which in turn helps ensure stability of cash flows for dividend to Shareholders. • Favourable Trends – Target businesses will be in industries that have favourable economic, technological, social, or regulatory trends that result in high industry growth rates. Primary examples are the oil and gas sector in northern Alberta and the television and film production industry in North America. • Mid-Market Capitalization – WesternOne seeks primarily to acquire businesses with trailing adjusted EBITDA of between $3.0 million and $20.0 million. WesternOne has chosen to focus on such businesses as they typically embody many of the other facets of the acquisition criteria. Mid-market businesses are frequently privately owned, in the early or middle stages of growth, require additional capital to pursue growth opportunities, have stable cash flows, and have strong and committed management teams. Additionally, mid-market businesses are frequently overlooked by larger acquisition funds or private equity groups. • Strong Committed Management Team – WesternOne looks for targets that have strong, experienced management teams with deep knowledge of their business and industry and who are committed to the continuing growth and development of their business. • Privately Owned – WesternOne predominantly focuses on privately owned businesses that are experiencing succession or transitional issues, or that require additional capital in order to finance their ongoing growth. There is typically less competition when acquiring private businesses, thus reducing the risk of inflated prices caused by multiple bidders or public auctions. In addition, privately held businesses can usually be acquired at lower valuations than publicly traded companies. While the focus is primarily on privately owned businesses, sometimes accretive acquisition opportunities may arise from public companies. Trading prices of listed securities of public companies may be subject to volatility and negatively impacted for a variety of reasons, including short-term earnings disappointments and overall depressed market conditions. These firms can be undervalued as compared to their private counterparts and can provide an attractive and accretive acquisition opportunity. Advantageous transactions may also arise from acquiring non-core divisions of larger businesses that are focusing on their core competencies. WesternOne may benefit from these opportunities if these business operations align with the Corporation’s existing businesses and investment model. © 2013 WesternOne All rights reserved. | Site Map | Disclaimer | Privacy Policy Website Design by Graphically Speaking