A talent for value - d2oc0ihd6a5bt.cloudfront.net · A talent for value Anderson Group. Tenacious...
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Tenacious at the table but mellow in manner, Anderson Group co-founder Barry Shapiro puts his skills to good use as a self-described ‘deal junkie’ A talent for value BY TOM HENDERSON CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS C ory Gaffney, a partner in Bloomfield Hills-based private equity firm The Anderson Group LLC, says an unusual combina- tion of skills has driven the success of company co-founder Barry Shapiro. “Barry is a combination Bob Mar- ley and pit bull. He’s absolutely tena- cious when negotiating deal points, but at the same time, he’s super relaxed, as mellow as it gets, never flustered,” Gaffney said. The Rastafarian/pit bull model is one that has served Shapiro well since he turned the family business into a pri- vate equity company in the mid-1980s. Shapiro, 71, will receive the lifetime achievement award at the April 16 M&A Awards program of Crain’s Detroit Business and the De- troit chapter of the Associa- tion for Corporate Growth. His most recent deal, closed on March 14, was an acquisition of a Springfield- Mo.-based company, Red Monkey Foods, a manufac- turer and distributor of or- ganic spices to supermar- kets across the nation. Perhaps the best deal Shapiro has done in nearly 30 years of M&A was the 2005 acquisition of Hastings- based Hastings Manufactur- ing Co., a public company on the American Stock Ex- change, out of bankruptcy. Hastings was a well-known manufacturer of automobile parts that began making oil pumps and piston rings in 1915 but had fallen on hard times. It showcased Shapiro’s dogged determination to ne- gotiate the best deal possi- ble, but in such as way as to make friends, not enemies, said Charles Moore, a senior managing di- M&A AWARDS Crain’s Detroit Business, in partnership with the Association for Corporate Growth- Detroit Chapter, holds its seventh annual M&A Awards 5-9 p.m. April 16 at the Troy Marriott, troy. tickets are $75 for acG members or nonmembers in groups of 10 or more, or $80 for individual sales to nonmembers. ® www.crainsdetroit.com MARCH 24 – 30, 2014 Vol. 30, no. 12 M&A Awards nathan skid/crain’s detroit business “I can’t picture myself retiring,” says Barry Shapiro, who has worked for nearly 30 years in M&A. LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT WINNER BARRY SHAPIRO
Transcript of A talent for value - d2oc0ihd6a5bt.cloudfront.net · A talent for value Anderson Group. Tenacious...
Tenacious at the table but mellow in manner, Anderson Group co-founder Barry Shapiro puts his skills to good use as a self-described ‘deal junkie’
A talentfor value
BY TOM HENDERSONCRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS
Cory Gaffney, a partner inBloomfield Hills-based privateequity firm The Anderson
Group LLC, says an unusual combina-tion of skills has driven the successof company co-founder BarryShapiro. “Barry is a combination Bob Mar-
ley and pit bull. He’s absolutely tena-cious when negotiating deal points, butat the same time, he’s super relaxed, asmellow as it gets, never flustered,”Gaffney said.The Rastafarian/pit bull model is
one that has served Shapiro well sincehe turned the family business into a pri-vate equity company in the mid-1980s.
Shapiro, 71, will receivethe lifetime achievementaward at the April 16 M&AAwards program of Crain’sDetroit Business and the De-troit chapter of the Associa-tion for Corporate Growth. His most recent deal,
closed on March 14, was anacquisition of a Springfield-Mo.-based company, RedMonkey Foods, a manufac-turer and distributor of or-ganic spices to supermar-kets across the nation.Perhaps the best deal Shapiro has
done in nearly 30 years of M&A was the
2005 acquisition of Hastings-based Hastings Manufactur-ing Co., a public company onthe American Stock Ex-change, out of bankruptcy.Hastings was a well-knownmanufacturer of automobileparts that began making oilpumps and piston rings in1915 but had fallen on hardtimes.It showcased Shapiro’s
dogged determination to ne-gotiate the best deal possi-ble, but in such as way as to
make friends, not enemies, saidCharles Moore, a senior managing di-
M&A AWARDSCrain’s Detroit
Business, inpartnership with theAssociation forCorporate Growth-Detroit Chapter, holdsits seventh annualM&A Awards 5-9 p.m.April 16 at the TroyMarriott, troy. ticketsare $75 for acGmembers ornonmembers in groupsof 10 or more, or $80for individual sales tononmembers.
®
www.crainsdetroit.com M A R C H 2 4 – 3 0 , 2 0 1 4 Vol. 30, no. 12
M&A Awards
nathan skid/crain’s detroit business
“I can’t picturemyself retiring,”says BarryShapiro, who hasworked for nearly30 years in M&A.
NATHAN SKID/CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS
In December 2012, Ray Telang wasnamed managing partner for theMichigan market forPricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. Telang,who joined PwC in 1988, discussed withCrain’s reporter Tom Henderson aneconomic report by PwC on globalmegatrends.
The report lists five megatrends.What are they?
They are a continuing shift ineconomic power, climate change andscarcity of resources, acceleratingurbanization, demographic shifts andtechnology breakthroughs.Organizations that will succeed arethose that most adapt.
In the past couple of years, we’vebeen seeing increased urbanizationhere. Young people are moving back.As soon as a condo project comes online or an old office building getsrehabbed as apartments, they fill up.
In 2008, about 50 percent of the worldlived in urban centers. That’s expectedto grow to 70-75 percent in 25 years.Workers and young people don’t wantthat commute, which lends itself toredeveloping the core. Vacancy rates are3, 4, 5 percent at most. Demand is high.
Technology will certainly solvesome of the problems created byother megatrends in unknown ways.
Megatrends create problems, butthey create opportunities, too. We’ll seerelationships develop between tradi-tional manufacturers and technologycompanies. Technology will drivespending in R&D and will drive M&Aactivity. Think of health care. Now,patients get off-the-shelf orthotics likeknees and hips. Soon, we’ll have 3-Dprinters creating orthotics that arespecific to each patient.
The established G7 countries had$29 trillion in combined GDP in 2009and will have $69.3 trillion in 2050.The emerging economies of China,India, Russia, Indonesia, Mexico,Turkey and Brazil had $20.9 trillion in2009 and are expected to have$138.3 trillion in 2050.
This will have a major impact. Oneinteresting thing is as theseeconomies grow, their populations willbecome consumers. They won’t justbe making things and shipping them.Companies here will open plantsthere to be close to their customers.
We’ve called you Ray in paststories but your business card saysRamesh. Which do you prefer?
Ray. I put Ramesh on my cards as apromise to my father. He didn’tunderstand why I would anglicize myname. I go by Ray, but I told him Iwould use Ramesh on my businesscards and formal documents.
March 24, 2014 CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS Page 11
M&A Awards
A CONVERSATION WITH
Ray Telang, Pricewaterhouse
Coopers LLP
If you know someoneinteresting in banking,finance, technology or biotechnology whom Tom Henderson should interview, call(313) 446-0337 orwrite [email protected].
Tenacious at the table but mellow in manner, Anderson Group co-founderBarry Shapiro puts his skills to good use as a self-described ‘deal junkie’
L I F E T I M EA C H I E V E M E N T
W I N N E R
B A R R YS H A P I R O
In addition to lifetime achievement winner Barry Shapiro, the other 2014winners, profiled by category on the following pages, are:
� Deal over $100 millionWinner: Aquilex Holdings LLC, Centerbridge Partners LP/InlandIndustrial Services Group LLC, Page 14
� Deal under $100 millionWinner: Blackford Capital LLC/Mopec Inc., Page 14
Finalist: Unique Fabricating Inc./Taglich Private Equity LLC, Page 14
� Dealmaker adviserWinner: Joseph DeVito, Howard & Howard Attorneys PLLC, Page 16
� Dealmaker, buyer/sellerWinner: Huron Capital Partners LLC; Brian Demkowicz, MikeBeauregard, John Higgins, Peter Mogk, Page 16
More information: crainsdetroit.com/events | Questions? (313) 446-0300 or [email protected] | Twitter: Join the conversation with #crainsma.
“I can’t picturemyself retiring,”says BarryShapiro, who hasworked for nearly30 years in M&A.
BY TOM HENDERSON
CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS
Cory Gaffney, a partner inBloomfield Hills-based pri-vate equity firm The Ander-
son Group LLC, says an unusualcombination of skills has driventhe success of company co-founder Barry Shapiro.
“Barry is a combination BobMarley and pit bull. He’s absolute-ly tenacious when negotiating dealpoints, but at the same time, he’ssuper relaxed, as mellow as it gets,never flustered,” Gaffney said.
The Rastafarian/pit bull mod-el is one that has served Shapirowell since he turned the familybusiness into a private equitycompany in the mid-1980s.
Shapiro, 71, will receive the
lifetime achievementaward at the April 16M&A Awards programof Crain’s Detroit Busi-ness and the Detroitchapter of the Associa-tion for Corporate Growth.
His most recent deal,closed on March 14, wasan acquisition of aSpringfield-Mo.-basedcompany, Red MonkeyFoods, a manufacturerand distributor of organ-ic spices to supermarketsacross the nation.
Perhaps the best deal Shapirohas done in nearly 30 years of M&Awas the 2005 acquisition of Hast-ings-based Hastings ManufacturingCo., a public company on the Ameri-
can Stock Exchange, outof bankruptcy. Hastingswas a well-known man-ufacturer of automobileparts that began mak-ing oil pumps and pis-ton rings in 1915 buthad fallen on hardtimes.
It showcasedShapiro’s dogged deter-mination to negotiatethe best deal possible,but in such as way as tomake friends, not ene-
mies, said Charles Moore, a seniormanaging director of Birming-ham-based turnaround firm Con-way MacKenzie Inc., which ledHastings through its bankruptcy.
See Shapiro, Page 12
A talent for valueM&A AWARDSCrain’s DetroitBusiness, inpartnership with theAssociation forCorporate Growth-Detroit Chapter, holdsits seventh annualM&A Awards 5-9 p.m.April 16 at the TroyMarriott, Troy. Ticketsare $75 for ACGmembers ornonmembers ingroups of 10 or more,or $80 for individualsales to nonmembers.
NATHAN SKID/CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS
In December 2012, Ray Telang wasnamed managing partner for theMichigan market forPricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. Telang,who joined PwC in 1988, discussed withCrain’s reporter Tom Henderson aneconomic report by PwC on globalmegatrends.
The report lists five megatrends.What are they?
They are a continuing shift ineconomic power, climate change andscarcity of resources, acceleratingurbanization, demographic shifts andtechnology breakthroughs.Organizations that will succeed arethose that most adapt.
In the past couple of years, we’vebeen seeing increased urbanizationhere. Young people are moving back.As soon as a condo project comes online or an old office building getsrehabbed as apartments, they fill up.
In 2008, about 50 percent of the worldlived in urban centers. That’s expectedto grow to 70-75 percent in 25 years.Workers and young people don’t wantthat commute, which lends itself toredeveloping the core. Vacancy rates are3, 4, 5 percent at most. Demand is high.
Technology will certainly solvesome of the problems created byother megatrends in unknown ways.
Megatrends create problems, butthey create opportunities, too. We’ll seerelationships develop between tradi-tional manufacturers and technologycompanies. Technology will drivespending in R&D and will drive M&Aactivity. Think of health care. Now,patients get off-the-shelf orthotics likeknees and hips. Soon, we’ll have 3-Dprinters creating orthotics that arespecific to each patient.
The established G7 countries had$29 trillion in combined GDP in 2009and will have $69.3 trillion in 2050.The emerging economies of China,India, Russia, Indonesia, Mexico,Turkey and Brazil had $20.9 trillion in2009 and are expected to have$138.3 trillion in 2050.
This will have a major impact. Oneinteresting thing is as theseeconomies grow, their populations willbecome consumers. They won’t justbe making things and shipping them.Companies here will open plantsthere to be close to their customers.
We’ve called you Ray in paststories but your business card saysRamesh. Which do you prefer?
Ray. I put Ramesh on my cards as apromise to my father. He didn’tunderstand why I would anglicize myname. I go by Ray, but I told him Iwould use Ramesh on my businesscards and formal documents.
March 24, 2014 CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS Page 11
M&A Awards
A CONVERSATION WITH
Ray Telang, Pricewaterhouse
Coopers LLP
If you know someoneinteresting in banking,finance, technology or biotechnology whom Tom Henderson should interview, call(313) 446-0337 orwrite [email protected].
Tenacious at the table but mellow in manner, Anderson Group co-founderBarry Shapiro puts his skills to good use as a self-described ‘deal junkie’
L I F E T I M EA C H I E V E M E N T
W I N N E R
B A R R YS H A P I R O
In addition to lifetime achievement winner Barry Shapiro, the other 2014winners, profiled by category on the following pages, are:
� Deal over $100 millionWinner: Aquilex Holdings LLC, Centerbridge Partners LP/InlandIndustrial Services Group LLC, Page 14
� Deal under $100 millionWinner: Blackford Capital LLC/Mopec Inc., Page 14
Finalist: Unique Fabricating Inc./Taglich Private Equity LLC, Page 14
� Dealmaker adviserWinner: Joseph DeVito, Howard & Howard Attorneys PLLC, Page 16
� Dealmaker, buyer/sellerWinner: Huron Capital Partners LLC; Brian Demkowicz, MikeBeauregard, John Higgins, Peter Mogk, Page 16
More information: crainsdetroit.com/events | Questions? (313) 446-0300 or [email protected] | Twitter: Join the conversation with #crainsma.
“I can’t picturemyself retiring,”says BarryShapiro, who hasworked for nearly30 years in M&A.
BY TOM HENDERSON
CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS
Cory Gaffney, a partner inBloomfield Hills-based pri-vate equity firm The Ander-
son Group LLC, says an unusualcombination of skills has driventhe success of company co-founder Barry Shapiro.
“Barry is a combination BobMarley and pit bull. He’s absolute-ly tenacious when negotiating dealpoints, but at the same time, he’ssuper relaxed, as mellow as it gets,never flustered,” Gaffney said.
The Rastafarian/pit bull mod-el is one that has served Shapirowell since he turned the familybusiness into a private equitycompany in the mid-1980s.
Shapiro, 71, will receive the
lifetime achievementaward at the April 16M&A Awards programof Crain’s Detroit Busi-ness and the Detroitchapter of the Associa-tion for Corporate Growth.
His most recent deal,closed on March 14, wasan acquisition of aSpringfield-Mo.-basedcompany, Red MonkeyFoods, a manufacturerand distributor of organ-ic spices to supermarketsacross the nation.
Perhaps the best deal Shapirohas done in nearly 30 years of M&Awas the 2005 acquisition of Hast-ings-based Hastings ManufacturingCo., a public company on the Ameri-
can Stock Exchange, outof bankruptcy. Hastingswas a well-known man-ufacturer of automobileparts that began mak-ing oil pumps and pis-ton rings in 1915 buthad fallen on hardtimes.
It showcasedShapiro’s dogged deter-mination to negotiatethe best deal possible,but in such as way as tomake friends, not ene-
mies, said Charles Moore, a seniormanaging director of Birming-ham-based turnaround firm Con-way MacKenzie Inc., which ledHastings through its bankruptcy.
See Shapiro, Page 12
A talent for valueM&A AWARDSCrain’s DetroitBusiness, inpartnership with theAssociation forCorporate Growth-Detroit Chapter, holdsits seventh annualM&A Awards 5-9 p.m.April 16 at the TroyMarriott, Troy. Ticketsare $75 for ACGmembers ornonmembers ingroups of 10 or more,or $80 for individualsales to nonmembers.
NATHAN SKID/CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS
In December 2012, Ray Telang wasnamed managing partner for theMichigan market forPricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. Telang,who joined PwC in 1988, discussed withCrain’s reporter Tom Henderson aneconomic report by PwC on globalmegatrends.
The report lists five megatrends.What are they?
They are a continuing shift ineconomic power, climate change andscarcity of resources, acceleratingurbanization, demographic shifts andtechnology breakthroughs.Organizations that will succeed arethose that most adapt.
In the past couple of years, we’vebeen seeing increased urbanizationhere. Young people are moving back.As soon as a condo project comes online or an old office building getsrehabbed as apartments, they fill up.
In 2008, about 50 percent of the worldlived in urban centers. That’s expectedto grow to 70-75 percent in 25 years.Workers and young people don’t wantthat commute, which lends itself toredeveloping the core. Vacancy rates are3, 4, 5 percent at most. Demand is high.
Technology will certainly solvesome of the problems created byother megatrends in unknown ways.
Megatrends create problems, butthey create opportunities, too. We’ll seerelationships develop between tradi-tional manufacturers and technologycompanies. Technology will drivespending in R&D and will drive M&Aactivity. Think of health care. Now,patients get off-the-shelf orthotics likeknees and hips. Soon, we’ll have 3-Dprinters creating orthotics that arespecific to each patient.
The established G7 countries had$29 trillion in combined GDP in 2009and will have $69.3 trillion in 2050.The emerging economies of China,India, Russia, Indonesia, Mexico,Turkey and Brazil had $20.9 trillion in2009 and are expected to have$138.3 trillion in 2050.
This will have a major impact. Oneinteresting thing is as theseeconomies grow, their populations willbecome consumers. They won’t justbe making things and shipping them.Companies here will open plantsthere to be close to their customers.
We’ve called you Ray in paststories but your business card saysRamesh. Which do you prefer?
Ray. I put Ramesh on my cards as apromise to my father. He didn’tunderstand why I would anglicize myname. I go by Ray, but I told him Iwould use Ramesh on my businesscards and formal documents.
March 24, 2014 CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS Page 11
M&A Awards
A CONVERSATION WITH
Ray Telang, Pricewaterhouse
Coopers LLP
If you know someoneinteresting in banking,finance, technology or biotechnology whom Tom Henderson should interview, call(313) 446-0337 orwrite [email protected].
Tenacious at the table but mellow in manner, Anderson Group co-founderBarry Shapiro puts his skills to good use as a self-described ‘deal junkie’
L I F E T I M EA C H I E V E M E N T
W I N N E R
B A R R YS H A P I R O
In addition to lifetime achievement winner Barry Shapiro, the other 2014winners, profiled by category on the following pages, are:
� Deal over $100 millionWinner: Aquilex Holdings LLC, Centerbridge Partners LP/InlandIndustrial Services Group LLC, Page 14
� Deal under $100 millionWinner: Blackford Capital LLC/Mopec Inc., Page 14
Finalist: Unique Fabricating Inc./Taglich Private Equity LLC, Page 14
� Dealmaker adviserWinner: Joseph DeVito, Howard & Howard Attorneys PLLC, Page 16
� Dealmaker, buyer/sellerWinner: Huron Capital Partners LLC; Brian Demkowicz, MikeBeauregard, John Higgins, Peter Mogk, Page 16
More information: crainsdetroit.com/events | Questions? (313) 446-0300 or [email protected] | Twitter: Join the conversation with #crainsma.
“I can’t picturemyself retiring,”says BarryShapiro, who hasworked for nearly30 years in M&A.
BY TOM HENDERSON
CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS
Cory Gaffney, a partner inBloomfield Hills-based pri-vate equity firm The Ander-
son Group LLC, says an unusualcombination of skills has driventhe success of company co-founder Barry Shapiro.
“Barry is a combination BobMarley and pit bull. He’s absolute-ly tenacious when negotiating dealpoints, but at the same time, he’ssuper relaxed, as mellow as it gets,never flustered,” Gaffney said.
The Rastafarian/pit bull mod-el is one that has served Shapirowell since he turned the familybusiness into a private equitycompany in the mid-1980s.
Shapiro, 71, will receive the
lifetime achievementaward at the April 16M&A Awards programof Crain’s Detroit Busi-ness and the Detroitchapter of the Associa-tion for Corporate Growth.
His most recent deal,closed on March 14, wasan acquisition of aSpringfield-Mo.-basedcompany, Red MonkeyFoods, a manufacturerand distributor of organ-ic spices to supermarketsacross the nation.
Perhaps the best deal Shapirohas done in nearly 30 years of M&Awas the 2005 acquisition of Hast-ings-based Hastings ManufacturingCo., a public company on the Ameri-
can Stock Exchange, outof bankruptcy. Hastingswas a well-known man-ufacturer of automobileparts that began mak-ing oil pumps and pis-ton rings in 1915 buthad fallen on hardtimes.
It showcasedShapiro’s dogged deter-mination to negotiatethe best deal possible,but in such as way as tomake friends, not ene-
mies, said Charles Moore, a seniormanaging director of Birming-ham-based turnaround firm Con-way MacKenzie Inc., which ledHastings through its bankruptcy.
See Shapiro, Page 12
A talent for valueM&A AWARDSCrain’s DetroitBusiness, inpartnership with theAssociation forCorporate Growth-Detroit Chapter, holdsits seventh annualM&A Awards 5-9 p.m.April 16 at the TroyMarriott, Troy. Ticketsare $75 for ACGmembers ornonmembers ingroups of 10 or more,or $80 for individualsales to nonmembers.
C28988_ContentWare 5/15/14 7:53 AM Page 1
March 24, 2014CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESSPage 2
Finance: M&A Awards
Shapiro: Self-described ‘deal junkie’ has a talent for valuerector of Birmingham-based turn aroundfirm Conway MacKenzie Inc., which led Hast-ings through its bankruptcy.“It was a difficult deal with a lot of com-
plex issues, but he put a plan together andhe stuck with it,” said Moore. “Barry isvery relationship-oriented, which is veryhelpful with the kinds of troubled deals hegets involved with, creating value withstruggling companies.”Not only did the Anderson Group save
Hastings and its 250 jobs, but it ended up be-ing the M&A equivalent of a bases-loadedhome run.Last May, Hastings was sold to RFE In-
vestment Partners, a Connecticut-based pri-vate equity firm. The sale price wasn’t dis-closed, but Shapiro said it was his firm’sbest exit ever, bringing more than a 40times return on investment.Although the payoff was dramatic, a suc-
cessful turnaround at Hastings was any-thing but a given, except to Shapiro.“Conway MacKenzie had been shopping
Hastings for a long time, and no one sawmuch value in the company,” said TomGaffney, Cory’s father, who co-founded theAnderson Group.“A lot of people had looked at this compa-
ny and had taken a pass. Everyone else wassaying, ‘There are too many issues, I’m notgetting involved,’ ” said Gaffney. After being approached by Conway
MacKenzie, Shapiro toured the Hastingsplant. As soon as he left, he called Gaffneyand said, “ ‘Tom, this is a really good op-portunity. We have to get it,’” recalledGaffney.“I was totally smitten with this disgust-
ing, dirty plant that had so many issues,”said Shapiro. “It was horribly managed,but it had a great name. It was a greatbrand. If you had a 1932 Buick and needed apiston ring, they had it.”A week before the Anderson Group’s
stalking-horse bid prevailed at the bank-ruptcy auction, Shapiro took another tourof the plant, this time with Fred Cook, theCEO recruited to run it. Cook had been run-ning a die-casting company in New York.“In 45 minutes of walking the floor of a
150,000-square-foot plant, he saw tens ofthousands of dollars of opportunity at
every stop,” said Cook. “He could see pastthe asbestos and the clutter and unmotivat-ed employees.”Cook is now CEO of another Anderson
Group turnaround portfolio company, LasVegas-based Cole Kepro International LLC, amaker of slot machines.
A family businessShapiro got his start in his father’s busi-
ness.In 1950, Shapiro’s father, William, was
shopping for a large metal fuel tank. Likemany homeowners then, he was convertinghis home from coal heat to oil, and stoppedby a company called Anderson Tank in Flint.There were people waiting in line and
production was back-ordered. Shapiro saidhis father thought if there was that muchdemand, he wanted to get into the businessas an owner, not consumer.“He bought half the business from John-
ny Anderson for $6,000 and later boughtJohnny out for another $6,000,” saidShapiro.Barry joined the company in 1964 after
graduating as a finance major from BabsonCollege in Boston. “I thought I was a hotshot, but I started out licking postagestamps in the mailroom.”By the time Barry joined the business,
the company’s name had been changed toAnderson Safeway Guard Rail Corp., diversify-ing away from fuel tanks to makingguardrails for the fast-growing nationalhighway system.Shapiro soon graduated to hitting the
road as a salesman, then into operations asmanager of a plant in Evansville, Ind., thatmade bolts and galvanized parts for high-way bridges. “I loved the plant floor,” said Shapiro.
“I’d go in there at 2 in the morning andwatch the night shift work. I couldn’t getenough of it.“My dad was a man without ego. He’d
thrust me into positions of responsibility Iwasn’t ready for,” said Shapiro. “I’d say,‘Dad, I’m gonna screw this up,’ and he’dsay, ‘Don’t worry about it. You don’t learnfrom the things you do right. You learnfrom what you don’t do right.’ ”By 1985, the interstate highway system
was built, and Anderson’s sales had leveledoff at $30 million. The Shapiros sold thecompany to Dallas-based Trinity IndustriesInc.
Shapiro’s dad died last June at age 97 andwasn’t formally involved in the AndersonGroup, but was active until the end.“A few hours before he died, he was on
the phone quizzing me about one of my in-vestments,” Shapiro said. “He’d call mefrom the bathtub at 6 in the morning: ‘I’mreading the Wall Street Journal, and there’san article on one of your companies youneed to read.’ ”In 1987, Shapiro met Tom Gaffney, who
had been doing acquisitions for Bill David-son’s Guardian Industries as an executivevice president. Gaffney helped Shapiro andsome other investors put a deal together tobuy WWJ-AM, now owned by CBS Radio fromThe Gannett Co.
Gaffney and Shapiro did more deals on
ANDERSON GROUP’S PORTFOLIOn Aerial Wireless Services LLC, Mansfield,Mass.; provides infrastructure andmaintenance services for the wirelesscommunication industry
n Alliance Food Equipment Holdings LLC,northvale, n.J.; makes equipment formaking, packaging and storing ice cream
n Cole Kepro International LLC, Las Vegas;makes slot machines
n Latina Boulevard LLC, tonawanda, n.Y.;distributor of specialty foods to retailmarkets, pizzerias and restaurants
n Michigan Wheel Marine, Grand rapids;makes marine propulsion systems
n Oberfields LLC, columbus, ohio; makesconcrete blocks and other masonry andlandscape products
n Perfect Fit Industries LLC, charlotte, n.c.;makes bed pillows, mattress pads andelectric blankets
n Quality Logging Inc., Midland, texas;provides exploration services to the oil andgas industry
n Red Monkey Foods, springfield, Mo.;distributes organic spices to supermarkets
n TecArt Inc., Farmington hills; makespoint-of-purchase and backlit signs
n Thayer Power and Communication LineConstruction Co. Inc., Fairview, Pa.;provides utility line engineering, wiring andconstruction services for the power andcommunication industries
n Valley International Cold Storage LLC,harlingen, texas; provides cold-storage,packaging and logistics services
C28988_ContentWare 5/15/14 7:54 AM Page 2
an ad hoc basis well before the AndersonGroup was formally created. The first wasin 1986 to buy Theodore Bargman Co., a Cold-water-based maker of RV parts.“We grew the hell out of it and sold it six
years later. It did really well,” Shapiro said.“Before you knew it, we were doing somemore stuff.”In 1990, the partnership hit a hiatus
when Tom moved to Florida. In 2001, Tom Gaffney and Shapiro were
skiing out West. “I said, ‘We gotta get backinto it, again,’ ” said Shapiro. “And we did.”The Anderson Group was created. By
2006, business was heating up.“The recession was an opportunity for
us. We do much better in a poor economythan a good one,” Shapiro said.
Avoiding limited partnersShapiro and Gaffney put in their own
money or money from friends and family.Not having limited partners frees the firmfrom the time restraints a limited-partnerfund has for returning money to investors.The company uses a national network of
bankruptcy specialists, turnaround spe-cialists, brokers and investment bankers tosource deals.“Five deals a day come through here. We
look at 200 deals to do one. We’re very con-tent to say ‘no,’ ” said Shapiro.Half the acquisitions require immediate
or eventual change in management. Theothers involve creating better processes or
adding management help.A recent divestiture was an example of
the latter.Eight years ago, after an introduction by
an investment banker, the Anderson Groupbought a majority stake in La Bella SausageLLC, a company founded in Brooksville,Fla., in 1992 by a retired New York sanita-tion worker, George Kurppe. Kurppe need-ed financing to fund growth and help tomanage it.“I can’t say enough good about them,”
said Kurppe. “I couldn’t have had a betterpartner over the years. At the time, I was aone-man band and I needed help. They satme down and explained to me what I need-ed to do and how I needed to add to the man-agement team.”In October, La Bella was sold, at a sub-
stantial profit, to Premio Foods Inc. ofRochelle Park, N.J.If Hastings was their grand slam,
Shapiro and Gaffney have had a few strike-outs, too. In 1989, they bought TraverseCity-based Burwood Industries, a maker ofclocks and wall decor, out of bankruptcy.But they couldn’t save it. Shapiro said thecompany couldn’t compete with cheaperoverseas manufacturers and eventuallywas liquidated.Another strikeout? Horton Manufacturing
of Akron, Ohio, a maker of high-end cross-bows for hunters. Anderson Group boughtthe company just before the recession hitand the market for high-end equipment
evaporated. It too was liquidated.Either way, it’s part of the fun. Shapiro is
a self-described deal junkie.“I can’t picture myself retiring. I don’t
know what I’d do with myself,” he said. “Ihaven’t seen anyone in retirement that getsthe stimulation I get doing deals.”Which isn’t to say Shapiro is a worka-
holic. He’s happy to get away from the office,and when he’s away, he’s away. He’s not re-sponding to emails 24/7. He is an avid golfer,horseman and back-country skier, with asecond home in Aspen, Colo., that puts himon the mountain slopes frequently. But when he’s in town, the office is
where you’re most likely to find him. Pho-tos of him in cowboy gear or skiing downdeep powder after getting helicoptered inare prominent in his office, as are photos ofone of his heroes, Muhammad Ali, in themidst of pulverizing George Foreman inthe 1974 “Rumble in the Jungle” heavy-weight title fight.“Barry’s an incredibly hard worker.
He’ll put in 18-hour days if a deal is goingon,” said Cory Gaffney. “I hate to use thephrase, but Barry will probably die at hisdesk. He loves his job.”
Tom Henderson: (313) 446-0337, [email protected]. Twitter: @tomhenderson2
March 24, 2014 CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS Page 3
Finance: M&A Awards
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