Realizing full value for middle market businesses

Six things you should know about us

1. Middle market experts

Corporate Fuel Advisors exclusively serves companies with revenues of $10–$200 million. We understand their unique challenges and have deep experience in creating and executing the right solution for each one.

2. Independent, objective advice

At Corporate Fuel Advisors, advice is not an afterthought. Before initiating any transaction, we take the time to thoroughly analyze a business and determine the best strategy to meet its goals.

3. Senior, experienced leadership

Every engagement is personally led by a senior partner or managing director who takes a hands-on approach to planning and executing your solution.

4. Broad industry coverage

We have completed more than 500 different assignments since our founding in 2005, giving us knowledge and experience in a wide range of industry sectors.

5. Successful execution

Because we are so thorough up front with discovery, assessment and due diligence, transactions are less likely to fall apart later. We have a better than 90% success rate in closing deals after a Letter of Intent is signed.

6. A principled way of business

We still conduct business the old-fashioned way: face-to-face, with discretion and transparency, and committed to recommending what’s right for your company—whether or not it ever leads to a transaction.

Corporate Fuel Advisors is a boutique investment bank which helps middle market businesses realize their full value.

We are a small, principled team of professionals who focus on optimizing the long-term outcomes for our clients. We achieve superior results by drawing on the diverse experience of our senior professionals, who are directly involved at every stage of every assignment.

Corporate Fuel Advisors helps companies realize full value in four ways: strategic advisory, mergers and acquisitions, raising capital and leadership recruiting—which can all be crucial for middle market companies seeking to grow.

We typically begin by helping clients evaluate their strategic options. We take the time to gain a deep understanding of each company, its goals and the challenges it faces. Our principals have broad experience as commercial lenders, business owners, investment bankers, company presidents, mezzanine lenders, board members and private equity investors who understand the real-world challenges of running a business.

Because many of our clients have never been through these kinds of transactions before, we are committed to protecting their interests in the face of professional buyers and investors. Our mastery of transaction planning and execution leads to consistent success and enables our clients to realize maximum value.

Our relationships are structured to support an unbiased approach, so we can provide an objective view of each transaction. Unlike other investment banks, we do not accept assignments wholly dependent on a “success fee,” ensuring our interests are always aligned with those of our clients. When appropriate, we may advise clients against pursuing a transaction even though it appears counter to our own interest.

Recognizing the critical importance of these transactions to our clients, who have often dedicated their lives to building their companies, we always strive to conduct our business in an honorable and thoughtful way. We scrupulously avoid conflicts of interest, and are deeply committed to the principles of confidentiality, transparency and serving our clients’ best interests at all times.

Our principles

We take great pride in our reputation for doing quality work in an honorable way, and strive to confirm these principles in everything we do:

We regularly receive confidential information as part of our client work. Our responsibility to care for this information, entrusted to us, is the most important thing we do.
There is no such thing as partial ethics. You either have them or you don’t. Integrity and honesty are hallmarks of our firm. In this regard, we are always mindful of doing the right thing, rather than following the easiest path.
We avoid conflicts of interest and do not participate in any activities or arrangements that could be construed as conflicts. Our behavior in this regard is measured by ethics, not simply the bounds of the law or regulation.
Transparency in our relationships allows us to provide independent and thoughtful advice. The moment you think you should hide something is the time to share it with others.
Our conduct is always measured against a simple standard: Can you explain it to your mother? If not, you’re probably on the wrong path.

Doing the right thing means being honest, candid and forthright in all our communications.
Integrity in our personal lives is reflected in our business.
We keep promises and honor our commitments.
We believe in fairness.
Care and compassion are an important part of moral behavior. We take into consideration the consequences of our actions.
Our principles of behavior include being courteous and treating people with equal respect. We demonstrate respect for each human’s dignity, privacy, rights and interests.
It is vital to our business that we commit ourselves to excellence in everything we do. We strive to be leaders, and hope to set an example with our conduct by creating an environment in which principled reasoning and ethical decision-making are highly prized.
We are accountable, we acknowledge personal responsibility for our decisions and conduct.

How we realize full value.

Corporate Fuel Advisors helps successful businesses address the challenges of growth.

Read our case studies