Kessler & Brandt Sell-Side M&A · Chicago

Middle-Market Sell-Side · Chicago · Founder-Led Industrial

Your Life’s Work. Sold On Your Terms. Quietly Closed.

A disciplined, banker-led sell-side process for founder-led industrial businesses with $20M–$200M of enterprise value. Every workstream tracked in a private deal portal. We do not run 200-name auctions.

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Stage 06 of 09 · Mid-Diligence

Diligence

Westbridge Industrial Solutions · Aerospace contract manufacturing · Cincinnati

Day 124 / 270

124 / 270

Exclusivity window · 37 days remaining

Bid floor · Working-cap true-up

$48M

Bid floor · Working-cap true-up +$2.1M · Exclusivity buyer Greyfields Industrial

Curated Buyer Roster · Westbridge process

Eleven names. Not two hundred.

A curated buyer log is the difference between a process you control and a teaser blast that leaks. Below: the four buyers actively in the room on the live Westbridge sell-side.

  • Greyfields Industrial Capital PE · Industrial precision platform
    Exclusivity
    LOI countersigned · Quality of Earnings field-work week 3 Bid · $51M EV
    Latest action · 26 Apr 2026
    N C
  • Marlin Equity Partners PE · Aerospace supply add-on
    Final Round
    Best-and-final IOI submitted · awaiting management presentation feedback IOI · $46M–$49M EV
    Latest action · 18 Apr 2026
    N C
  • Hanover Tier-2 Aerospace Strategic · Tier-2 supplier consolidation
    Final Round
    Synergy review with line-engineering team scheduled · 02 May IOI · $44M–$47M EV
    Latest action · 22 Apr 2026
    N C
  • Pinnacle Industrial Group Family office · Long-hold platform
    IOI
    Initial IOI received · clarifications on customer-concentration disclosure pending IOI · $42M–$46M EV
    Latest action · 11 Apr 2026
    N C
View Full Buyer Log →

Closed EV · since 2020

$2.1B

40+ founder-led sell-sides closed across precision industrials, aerospace, and automation

Active mandates

11

Mandates we are actively running this quarter — never more than two per banker

Latest exclusivity

$51M

Westbridge Industrial Solutions · Greyfields Industrial Capital · LOI countersigned

What we run

Three workstreams. One senior. No auctions.

01 · Sellside

Sell-Side Sale Process

From mandate kickoff to definitive agreement, Marcus runs an 8–14-week marketed process built around your retirement timeline, customer concentration, and rollover preferences — not a generic auction template.

Read process detail →
  • CIMConfidential Information Memorandum
  • QofEQuality-of-Earnings reconstruction
  • Buyer LogCurated outreach + status grid
  • LOILetter-of-Intent negotiation + countersignature

Sample exhibit · CIM teaser

Every deal is documented. None is broadcast.

What every owner sees inside the deal portal: a parchment exhibit per artifact — CIM cover, fee schedule, IOI letter, APA markup. Pinned to the desk; never emailed in clear.

Exhibit A · Confidential Information Memorandum (Westbridge)

Westbridge Industrial Solutions

A 38-year, AS9100D-certified precision aerospace and defense contract manufacturer headquartered in Cincinnati. $42M LTM revenue, 18% adjusted EBITDA margin, 12-year average top-10 customer tenure. Process led by Kessler & Brandt Advisors.

EV target $48M–$54M · Exclusivity 37 days remaining · LOI countersigned

Owner’s testimonial

A banker who reads the diligence response before you send it.

Exhibit B · Owner attestation · Westbridge

“Marcus walked us through the LOI clause by clause. We went from feeling overwhelmed to feeling like we owned the room. By the management presentation he was flagging integration risks before the buyer’s deal team did.”

— Greg & Patricia W.Westbridge Industrial Solutions · Cincinnati

$72M EV · Day 248 of 270 · 1.5x exclusivity extension

Next move

Ready for the first honest conversation?

Selling a founder-led business is a long process. Start with a 30-minute discovery call about what you actually want.

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