Belnick, Inc. – Recapitalization Helps Popular Online Retailer Continue on its Growth Path

Challenge

Belnick, Inc., is a Georgia-based, family company that imports furniture to sell online. Belnick garnered national attention because the founder, Sean Belnick, was just 14 when he started the company in 2001 and grew it to a multimillion-dollar business with more than 5,000 products and warehouses in three states. Fifteen years after founding Belnick, the young entrepreneur sought to recapitalize the business and close the deal on an accelerated schedule. More than 100 private equity investors showed interest in investing in Belnick. Arnall Golden Gregory was brought in to negotiate the best deal possible for the seller.

Approach

The transaction needed to close at the start of the new year. Arnall Golden Gregory worked with the client through the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday seasons to keep the deal moving forward. Part of the work entailed putting together heavily-negotiated non-disclosure agreements with approximately 100 potential buyers. That was accomplished by working with the investment banker to properly manage the process so it would not get bogged down. In order to provide the client with the greatest number of options during negotiations, Arnall Golden Gregory also devised the unorthodox strategy of forgoing a letter of intent, which would have locked out all but one of the interested parties. Instead, the client went straight to contract with a buyer shortly before closing. That approach meant the seller had substantial flexibility in keeping a number of potential buyers involved in the sales process until just before closing, resulting in a highly favorable transaction for the seller.

Result

The investment will allow Belnick to continue to respond quickly to high customer demand on its online retail site, bizchair.com, and explore future growth opportunities.